Spielecafé der Generationen nominated for Deutscher Engagementpreis 2020
The Spielecafé der Generationen has been nominated for the Deutscher Engagementpreis 2020. “This is not only significant for us but essentially for the entire games world,” writes Petra Fuchs. She is the first chairperson of the non-profit association that runs the Spielecafé.
The Spielecafé der Generationen has been promoting intergenerational gaming in society since 2017, especially in and around Rottal-Inn. The district is located in Bavaria and borders Austria. The Spielecafé is one of 382 people and initiatives nominated for the Deutscher Engagementpreis. The award recognises individuals who volunteer their time and aims to promote the recognition of voluntary commitment. There have been particularly many nominations in the areas of social work, education, and integration and discrimination, reports the Deutscher Engagementpreis project office. The most important target group for the commitment remains children and young people, with 63.8 per cent of the nominations.
“That our association has been nominated shows that the relevance of social games is understood. Playing brings people together. Playing builds bridges. Playing creates a sense of belonging and togetherness. Playing is a common language that connects people who would otherwise not meet in real life,” writes Fuchs on the Spielecafé’s homepage.
The winner of the prize will receive €10,000. “With this amount, we can further expand the Spielecafé der Generationen: the work with children, young people and seniors. After all, both the youth club and the seniors’ café are run entirely on a voluntary basis. The expansion of game research could also be supported with this,” Fuchs continues.
Until 27 October, interested parties can vote for their favourite at www.deutscher-engagementpreis.de/publikumspreis. If you want to vote for the Spielecafé der Generationen, you can do so directly on this page. In addition to the audience award worth €10,000, a jury will decide on further winners in the five categories “Creating opportunities”, “Preserving life”, “Connecting generations”, “Overcoming boundaries” and “Strengthening democracy”. These will each receive €5,000. The winners of all six prizes will be announced at an awards ceremony in Berlin on 3 December, which will be broadcast via live stream.
By the way: In addition to the Spielecafé der Generationen, the Spielköpfe (formerly: Das Bunte Deck) have also been nominated. Our interview with the Spielköpfe can be found under Spielkarten gegen Sexismus, Rassismus und Stigmatisierungen.
Deutscher Engagementpreis
The Deutscher Engagementpreis is the umbrella award for civic engagement in Germany. Only winners of the approximately 700 competitions and awards for civic engagement, whose awards meet the criteria of the Deutscher Engagementpreis, can be nominated. Self-nomination is not possible. The Spielecafé der Generationen was proposed by “startsocial – Hilfe für Helfer”.
The initiator and sponsor of the Deutscher Engagementpreis, which has been awarded since 2009, is the Bündnis für Gemeinnützigkeit, an alliance of major umbrella associations and independent organisations from the third sector, as well as experts and academics. Supporters include the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the Deutsche Fernsehlotterie and the Deutsche Bahn Stiftung.