On Monday, November 22, 2010, ten projects from the German states of Hessen and Thüringen were honored with awards in the country-wide competition, "Aktiv für Demokratie und Toleranz 2009" ("Active for Democracy and Tolerance 2009"), in a ceremony held in the "Kaisersaal" of the Frankfurt "Römer" (City Hall). Among the award recipients was the FVV sponsorship program, Outreach Eastern Europe. The team of hard-working volunteers was honored for their exemplary dedication and work in the areas of functioning democracy and the advancement of tolerance.
The "Bündnis für Demokratie und Toleranz" ("Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance") has been holding this competition since its founding in 2000. One of their ongoing goals is to learn about and collect information on the numerous and diverse examples of civil-social programs across Germany and to make them known to a wider public.
Organizations and projects that actively work for integration and against xenophobia, discrimination and violence may participate in the competition. Important criteria for consideration are the imitability and role model status of the projects. And the requirement is that all active workers on the projects are volunteers.Over 400 entries were submitted nationwide for consideration in the 2009 competition and of that number, 81 were honored.
Gay men and lesbians who live east of us often do not know what a life without discrimination is like. Their first steps towards visible communities, like sports organizations, require courage and a pioneering spirit.
… and it was for these pioneers that FVV created the Outreach Eastern Europe program. Our mission, now in cooperation with Artemis, is to support and sponsor Eastern European athletes via our Outreach program, enabling them to come and participate in our XMAS Tournament. By taking part in this event, our friends gain feelings of self-worth, appreciation and solidarity. They tank energy here in Frankfurt for use in their own struggles for equality and acceptance at home. They meet kindred spirits from other Eastern European countries and are able to establish networks.
Volker Desch, cofounder of Outreach Eastern Europe, presented the concept of the program at the ceremony, and, along with Hans Andrees, accepted the award for their team's successful work.
"We are very happy to receive this honor and we share it in spirit with our friends in Eastern Europe. Their pioneering work for a LGBT sports movement in their homophobic societies has made our program so evident and important."
The prize money accompanying the award is going towards the sponsorship of athletes who are attending the 22nd XMAS Tournament in December 2010. The continually increasing number of assistance requests to come to the XMAS Tournament documents the large interest in sportive activity and competition in a free and tolerant environment.
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