"Active for Democracy and Tolerance": Mayor presents award for civic engagement to the "Bündnis Bunter Brühl" alliance
"Democracy means demanding and defending values such as freedom and equality. Especially on the ground, in the community, it is important that we look and act. With today's award ceremony for the Bunter Brühl alliance, we are honouring people who are committed to the guiding principle of a cosmopolitan and tolerant city of Chemnitz. I would like to thank everyone involved in this alliance for their courage and commitment," said Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig.
The award winners were selected by the "Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance - against Extremism and Violence (BfDT)". A total of eleven projects from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia were honoured at the event for their "exemplary and exemplary civil society commitment to democracy and tolerance".
Monika Lazar, Member of the German Bundestag and member of the BfDT Advisory Board, Prof. Dr Uwe Backes, member of the BfDT Advisory Board, and Dr Gregor Rosenthal, Head of the BfDT Office, joined Mayor Barbara Ludwig in honouring the award winners.
The Bunter Brühl alliance was founded at the beginning of March 2012 in response to a shop called "brevik", which sells the fashion brand Thor Steinar, which is popular with right-wing extremists and whose name is strongly reminiscent of the right-wing extremist mass murderer Breivik. Since then, the alliance has been protesting against the shop in a neighbourhood that is set to become increasingly family and student-oriented with a variety of campaigns involving various stakeholders and addressing different target groups. The alliance is also committed to raising awareness among local residents and educating them about the codes of the far-right scene.
In the 2012 competition, the "Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance - against Extremism and Violence (BfDT)" selected a total of 67 initiatives and projects as award winners for their exemplary and worthy civil society commitment to democracy and tolerance. The prizes are endowed with between €2,000 and €5,000.
Contact: Ines Vorsatz, LAP Coordination Centre at the City of Chemnitz, Department 3, based at Bürgerhaus Am Wall, Düsseldorfer Platz 1, phone 0371/488-1934, fax 0371/488-1993, e-mail koordinierungsstelleLAP@stadt-chemnitz.de