CREATING PARTICIPATION
The Social Startup Pitch of the Fritz Henkel Foundation
For the second time, the Fritz Henkel Foundation is supporting founders and existing innovative projects with the Social Startup Pitch “Creating Participation.” These initiatives aim to improve the social participation of people with a migration background, leveraging the power of art and culture. The foundation believes that cultural education can open doors and enable encounters on new levels.
From all submissions, the jury has selected 8 social startups or existing non-profit organizations. These chosen teams will receive professional support through workshops and individual coaching sessions to prepare for their pitch in early December. This support will help them further develop their offerings, clarify the expansion and scaling of their projects, enhance their presentation skills, and network with each other. The result will be a clear future vision for the projects and a strong community driven by a shared vision.
In addition to the jury awards, there is also a public prize decided through an online vote. Voting for this prize will take place at the end of November on the project page of our partner, Social Impact. Even teams that do not win one of the four awards will receive €5,000 for their work. A total of €100,000 in prize money is available.
Pitch event on December 3 in Düsseldorf
We are giving away the last places for the final event in Düsseldorf, where the teams will pitch for 3 of the 4 prizes. If you would like to take part, you can register via this link until November 21.
Here are the 8 teams for the grand finale
Art AsylThrough diverse cultural education offerings, ArtAsyl e.V. supports refugee children, teenagers, and young adults, fostering their identity and personality development as well as their artistic expression.
ExilmuseumBecome a curator and create your Exilmuseum! On the way to the future Exilmuseum, we invite people in exile to provide critical input and develop their own content for the new museum.
Give Something Back to BerlinGive Something Back to Berlin – Creates places where refugees, migrants, and locals can meet and learn from each other. We want everyone to feel a sense of belonging, take responsibility for one another, and work towards a more inclusive and resilient society.
Humans of StuttgartHumans of Stuttgart – Young people with migration and refugee backgrounds collect photos and stories from Stuttgart residents. This project builds bridges between people and promotes the diversity and inclusion of the city.
JoblingeOur campaign “Encounters Create Cohesion” gives disadvantaged young people a voice, integrates them into public discourse, and highlights their hurdles in accessing the job market.
Magazin of Color gUGThe anti-racism platform for representation and empowerment of Bi_PoC in the culture and creative sector, addressing the lack of representation and structural access.
much cooler than yoursmuch cooler than yours – Sets new self-empowerment standards – made by migrants! It is the living room where empathetic dialogues from the migrant perspective are held on the sofa.
SPOKEN WORD AKADEMIESince 2020, the SPOKEN WORD AKADEMIE has been training young people across East Germany through a unique workshop concept to become committed poets, countering the growing right-wing trend.
The high-profile jury consists of:
- Sylvie Nicol (Board Member of Henkel Management AG and the Fritz Henkel Foundation)
- Thorsten Jahnke (Managing Director and Co-Founder Social Impact gGmbH)
- Cornelia Röper (Managing Director and Founder Wefugees gUG, Expert in Startups and Migration)
- Dr. Andreas Rickert (Board Member and Co-Founder Phineo gAG)
- Reza Solhi (Board Member and Founder of # DemokratieLautstark, Expert in Cultural Education)
