Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 12: What the 2025 SozialMarie Ceremony Taught Us
5 Plays9 minutes ago
In this special gala edition of Why Why Why, we take you inside the SozialMarie 2025 Award Ceremony — a celebration of courage, community, and transformative social innovation in Central Europe. Join Bea, Jose, and a lineup of inspiring guests, including Martina Kolesárová, Anna Misovicz, Dominik Bagola, Wanda Moser-Heindl, and Elisabeth Hammer, as they share fresh insights, personal reflections, and lessons learned from this year’s winning projects.
Whether you're thinking of applying for the 2026 awards or simply looking to be inspired, this episode offers a heartfelt glimpse into the people and ideas reshaping our future — one bold step at a time.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Social Marie 2025 Gala
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Why Why Why, the podcast that explores the best social innovations in Central Europe. This is Bea, your Social Marie bestie, and today we are rolling out the red carpet for an extraordinary moment, the Social Marie 2025 Gala.
00:00:14
Speaker
Did you join us for the gala on May 1? If not, you missed a celebration of bold ideas, transformative projects and the brilliant minds shaping a more inclusive, sustainable and forward-thinking future.
00:00:25
Speaker
Get ready for inspiring stories, behind-the-scenes insights and true emotions.
00:00:47
Speaker
Thank you, Bea. This episode is very special and incredibly useful for anyone considering applying to the Social Maria Awards 2026. I'm joined by several inspiring guests today, including, in order of appearance, Martina Kolesarova, Anna Misovics, Dominic Bagola, Wanda Moser-Handel, and Elizabeth Hammer.
00:01:12
Speaker
Are you ready?
The Role of Social Innovation in Projects
00:01:16
Speaker
Hi, my name is Martina Kolesarova. I'm from Slovakia and I'm this year's patron of Social Marine Project. Martina, what's your role as a patron and do you have any expectations?
00:01:30
Speaker
So first of all, for me, you know, my almost whole life passion, ah whole professional life passion is social innovation.
00:01:41
Speaker
ah So for me to a award those who, you know, bring new innovations in in social field ah is something that definitely needs to be awarded, that we definitely need to know about.
00:01:56
Speaker
And what is special about Sociál Marie is the connection of you know different countries. And we need to be inspired, especially in these hard times so for many you know non-profit sectors in different countries.
00:02:11
Speaker
We need to be inspired and cooperate not only within our nations and countries, but especially across borders. So this is why Sociál Marie for me is very special project.
00:02:25
Speaker
And what I expect as a patron, I expect especially to help um to to help all projects, or at least some of them, ah with ah mainly financial part, because this is what what I focus on in my professional life.
00:02:45
Speaker
ah where to get finance, not only grants, ah but also maybe the area, um I know something about the area of impact investment and cooperation with governments and advocacy ah for financing the project. So this is t this is what I expect this year.
00:03:05
Speaker
Thank you, Martina.
Celebrating Innovative Projects at Sozialmari Ceremony
00:03:06
Speaker
Up next is the main conversation of this episode, a reflection on Sotelmary and this year's award ceremony.
00:03:16
Speaker
This year Sozialmari awarded again 15 innovative projects from ah six countries of Central Europe in Vienna um at the Theater MUT at Augaten.
00:03:31
Speaker
And we had a very, very nice event filled with and innovators from all over these six countries and celebrated with them the innovation of their work.
00:03:46
Speaker
To summarize it, there was a really nice Slovenian band playing. I remember it because um I found it interesting and curious that the the singer, the musician, ah was a patron last year of Sozia Almari.
00:04:02
Speaker
So I didn't know it's possible to have a patron at Sozia Almari who then next year becomes a musician at the ceremony. That was really nice. And I'm sure that Dominic will want to introduce himself and say something about it.
00:04:17
Speaker
Hi, I'm Dominic Bagola-Baladero, last year's Social Marie patron and this year's ah performing pianist and singer-songwriter on stage. It was a big honor to be in Das Muth.
00:04:30
Speaker
ah theater in Vienna again and this year in a a different role and i was very pleased that with me was one of the best Slovenian guitarists Peter De Kleva and yeah a great night tonight Hi, my name is Petr De Kliva.
00:04:47
Speaker
I was um very honored having been invited by Balladero and Social Marie on this great event. And the thing I was um feeling tonight, i was I felt extremely proud to be a part of such kind of organization that supports um innovations, that supports people who are doing something for other people and I'm not feeling any selfishness here at all.
00:05:15
Speaker
So I'm very proud of, by I mean, just being human. Yeah, that was amazing. And Dominic is really, he has something special in connecting with words, his music, right? His art.
00:05:31
Speaker
And it was it was very interesting to see how he was trying to pay attention to what was going on and and and make the connections with the meaning of the songs. so Yeah, that was very, very cool.
Understanding Subtle Innovation in Social Marie
00:05:45
Speaker
Unfortunately, I don't speak Slovenian, so I did not understand the lyrics, but he summarized it for yeah for the audience. yeah And ah you mentioned the word innovation.
00:05:59
Speaker
And that's pretty complicated word, right? and And the definition of innovation is different for everybody, I think. So when you're thinking about ah social innovators and social marie awards, what do you think innovation means?
00:06:21
Speaker
I think in the context of social, Marie, or um when you look at projects that um are awarded with the prize, innovation is not, um I mean, I know you should not define something something by saying what it is not, innovation.
00:06:40
Speaker
It's not um innovation that jumps in your in your view and you understand it from the first second that, oh, this is new, this is innovative, this is, I get it. So this is not, most of the time, this is not how the projects are like.
00:06:57
Speaker
um But rather the innovation is subtle, it's in the details, because um because oftentimes it's and the innovation happens in shifting of practices, in shifting the discourse, in creating new relationships, new communities, new new services even.
00:07:21
Speaker
um or creates access to culture, to services, to care, to networks, to communities. So this is not something that is, um that, you know, what maybe some people or a lot of people think when they think about innovation.
00:07:39
Speaker
But this is how we at Soziarmadhy define innovation and see innovation. um Also, innovation important In our context, it's set in in already existing systems where people um identify lacks or or missing missing services, missing things, missing access, and they try to adapt these existing systems so they don't create, again, they don't create something totally new because it would not even make sense.
00:08:10
Speaker
It's more about um shifting together the existing structure to make it better.
The Awards Focus on Existing Solutions
00:08:17
Speaker
You know, I remember there is a a definition ah of innovation that is the capacity to bring an idea into the market.
00:08:26
Speaker
And I like that definition a lot because it doesn't necessarily include the word new. Right. So, um I mean, if we otherwise this would be invention, right?
00:08:41
Speaker
Yeah, you would have to invent, I don't know, electricity all over again. Exactly. so and it is High bar. Exactly. so um Okay, great. So that means that, so if I if i understood ah understood correctly, ah innovation then in the context of ah social marie and social innovation is more about this capacity to to solve existing problems using systems or or methodologies that are already there, you know, but just need to be adapted. yeah Right? Yeah.
00:09:20
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And maybe even not solving some some solving a social issue, but rather contribute to the solution um by um identifying new actors, by including groups of people who who are affected but were never um included in solving or making a situation better. Right.
00:09:44
Speaker
And it's also when you said it's um bringing the idea to the market. Right. um For Sozialmary, what's also crucial is the implementation. So Sozialmary awards projects that are implemented that um take an idea and already test it already um saw how it worked, already adapted it a little bit more. So we are looking at projects here that already shifted a structure or adapted to a system and changed it.
00:10:20
Speaker
that's ah That's very crucial to Sotia Marie. And I think that that makes Sotia Marie very different, right? Because a lot of award ceremonies or competitions that I see available are normally focusing on creating new initiatives or new ideas.
00:10:38
Speaker
or accelerating the solution of a problem. But Social Marie focuses directly on organizations that are already operating, that they already have some experience in ah solving ah solving an issue, right? Or, as you said, computing, right? Yeah.
The Adaptive Nature of Projects
00:11:01
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, what what is also um something we discovered or we see constantly each year is that um organizations apply again and again with their projects they or with their activities. um So it's the same organization, the same NGO, but the activities evolve or they um invent new activities and um because there is a need for it. So mo very often we we we are working or we we see these organizations again with new projects and we can see how they also evolve and have to evolve because the structures they live in change politically, economically, etc. How is this ah award ceremony thought or designed?
The Ceremony as a Celebratory Gala
00:11:50
Speaker
ah What is it supposed to bring? I think that the Sozialmari award ceremony is um is basically trying to be two things.
00:12:01
Speaker
On the one hand, it is obviously the the presentation of these 15 projects that are awarded. um So we try to convey the content or the information behind these projects to show why we think they are socially innovative, why they meet our criteria, why they um convinced our expert jury.
00:12:27
Speaker
um So this is the informative part. And then the other part is the the gala part. So it is basically... little bit like an Oscar gala for social innovation.
00:12:42
Speaker
It's not that posh or and you don't have to dress up so much as for the Oscars and it's not that exclusive but it is and it should be an honoring and a celebration of of the work of these very brave people and really celebrate their creative ideas and their um strong wills and their professionalism.
00:13:11
Speaker
How do you do to pass the sense of innovation during the event? during the event i frame I think that um from the past years that I've seen the ceremony, I would say that the best um conveyors of the work are the projects themselves.
00:13:36
Speaker
When they get the chance to talk about their projects, when they get a good question to answer, they really, would convince that i would say convince us about about the key points in their work. So we from Sozi Anmory, we try to create videos and texts so that we can talk about the innovation. But I think when the people who who are really doing the projects talk about the projects, we can not only understand the information, but also feel their really strong will and and faith in their mission.
00:14:14
Speaker
Yeah, for me, it's very emotional. Every single time that I see them speak, they are talking from their heart, right? Because the questions are questions that they are not necessarily expecting.
00:14:26
Speaker
So they have to ah be spontaneous in front of a lot of people. And ah what they say is very honest, very sincere.
00:14:37
Speaker
And also it's a reflection of how much do they care about what they do. right And at least to me, it is inevitable to to think and to feel like we have hope because there are so many persons that are trying to do their best, taking risk, ah not taking other opportunities and kind of constructing a life that is dedicated to ah to support others.
00:15:09
Speaker
Yeah, this is actually what what was for me the
Community-Driven Motivation and Action
00:15:12
Speaker
biggest... um say impression or a strong the strongest impression after the ceremony or the lingering question in my mind um like what keeps these people going like we we have so many and don't know so many issues in society we are aware of we feel divided we have political crisis etc and and i i cannot help but feel helpless or hopeless a little bit you know this
00:15:43
Speaker
classical you go to you you vote but you don't really hope that the party you will vote for I don't know gets enough votes to do a change but you still go there but in the end you feel I don't know you don't feel so well or or so good about it but when you are at the ceremony and when you leave the ceremony or you get the chance to talk to them to the the project members Yeah, that's what you like what you said happens. you You cannot help but feel also this motivation in you or this faith in you um arising. and And I think this is a very important um and very crucial part of the ceremony. And I also think that it's true what you said that them being honest about their emotions...
00:16:31
Speaker
that the the ceremony is not planned to the last detail in the sense that the projects do not know that they will win. So they get on the stage as a surprise for them. So they cannot really prepare a talk or anything.
00:16:44
Speaker
And so maybe the ceremony could be a bit more professional if everyone would be prepared super well, ah every project member. But the surprise factor makes it so human and and honest, I think. And And with that set, I think the audience cannot help but feel also motivated when they go out.
00:17:06
Speaker
Yeah, I totally agree. um you You made an important question there. What's the motivation that these persons are having, right? and And you see a blend of ah very young people elders, right?
00:17:21
Speaker
elders right ah So that's that's fascinating because sometimes we think the young people is more motivated now by ah practical, fast access to to money or possibilities.
00:17:36
Speaker
But Social Marie actually proves ah that that idea is wrong. um But, you know, I talked with one of the leaders of one organization that participated here.
00:17:52
Speaker
And she said to me, it is not about me and my motivation. It is about the movement and what we are trying to do for the rest.
00:18:07
Speaker
So that was shocking to me. right Because I always think on what I have to do, what is my role, ah what can I do, right?
00:18:21
Speaker
But she said to me, it's about the movement. It's not about you. So once you remove your personal complications and and your ego and your desires, and you focus on what the rest of the people is trying to achieve,
00:18:40
Speaker
Right. Then you find kind of a limitless a source of inspiration. So it's a synergetic movement, right, between the people that wants to solve the same problem.
00:18:54
Speaker
Yeah, and I think this is such a powerful insight because in our individualistic society, I think the natural response is exactly what you say. What is good for me? What's not good for me? I have to identify where should I go? what you know What is my motivation or or problem or whatever? and and And what these projects show is all of them r have this in common.
00:19:22
Speaker
they really, really focus a lot on community and on relationships. None of these projects would be where they are now if they would not invest a lot into their communities.
00:19:36
Speaker
And that is a skill. It's not something that everyone can do naturally. I think um this is a problem in our society that we don't have this skill anymore. so and Or maybe we never had it. I don't know.
00:19:49
Speaker
But... um I think it is this a skill to be able to motivate others and to create um or not even create because the people are there already, but so to manage manage to to build up relationships to them.
00:20:08
Speaker
to other people and to create a space where relationships can evolve by themselves is is a very important skill for these projects and they all have these skills.
00:20:21
Speaker
They would not be there where they are today if they had not would not have these skills. And they have some kind of a level of disconnection with the other problems.
Focus on Single Issues for Effective Change
00:20:32
Speaker
right So when when we see from ah an individualistic point of view, we analyze reality and we say, okay, there's a war here, there's a war there. We have problems in the with the economy, the technology is bringing change. We have a whole view of different things, right?
00:20:51
Speaker
But something I've noticed is that the organizations that are participating in in in this award ceremony, they know what is happening, of course, but they decide to focus their efforts on one problem.
00:21:07
Speaker
Yeah, I think if you you you try to be aware of each and every problem in society, then you will be totally stuck and immobile to do anything.
00:21:20
Speaker
And um it's not upon the individual to to change ah climate change or to, to you know, it's There are so huge users of of resources and they are never mentioned.
00:21:34
Speaker
The responsibility is always put onto the individual when when we are talking about these huge societal issues. And um it's not the individual who can change. It's always the group, the community, the network that ah can change.
00:21:52
Speaker
create pressure towards political systems, for example. um and And I think you're right. And I think the person you were talking to is right, that it's not a not just my motivation, it's it's about the group.
00:22:08
Speaker
And when you think of the group, and when you think of yourself a part of the group and what is your role in this group and what are your strengths that you can um share with with the success of this group then you you can really work towards a real change yep i think that we just discovered a great thing ah it's not about individual power it's about creating the community that wants to solve the same issue yeah right And that might be also connected with the idea of you social innovation.
00:22:42
Speaker
All of this makes me think ah about ah the other, the past ceremonies. And I would like to know if you see that the past ceremonies are very similar to this one, the 2025 ceremony.
00:22:59
Speaker
If you find ah something in common that these ah participants had, or Or do you see some kind of evolution where social innovation is moving towards?
Communication and Adaptability in Dynamic Projects
00:23:12
Speaker
um What's your reflection? That's a very tough question that I didn't prepare for. um Looking back...
00:23:24
Speaker
Maybe, i mean, this is just out of my head, so i cannot um put sources underneath my statement.
00:23:35
Speaker
ah But I have the feeling that projects this year... or in the last years compared to, I don't know, eight years ago, are a bit more dynamic, like dynamic in their way to adapt to new situations, dynamic more dynamic in their way to communicate, because as we said about the importance of networks, it's very important to be able to communicate with these networks. And and I think with... um
00:24:09
Speaker
with our world changing faster and faster than ever, I think also these projects have to be dynamic and very resilient in there in their way of work or way of acting.
00:24:23
Speaker
And although they are set in one context, and as we said, focusing on one or two issues and not on each issue they could focus on, But still, they are more interconnected, I think, also with each other or other you know other initiatives working in similarly or or on similar issues.
00:24:46
Speaker
So I would say this is um this is one thing. And another thing that maybe changed is that, unfortunately, ah some national context became even more precarious.
00:24:59
Speaker
So ah in Hungary, for example, civil society's existence is um is a very hard existence, um a very hard fight for existence. And this is a change in the last years, or this change is still ongoing. So that is something that definitely changed also.
00:25:21
Speaker
Now that we're seeing the the participants of 2025, what do you think they have in common?
Challenges of Funding and Recognition
00:25:29
Speaker
Well, um they work obviously on different topics in different countries. what What we can see on the one hand is that a lot of them work in the big field of education, so be it institutional education education.
00:25:46
Speaker
awareness raising, non-formal education. lot of the projects are set in this big field. um And um whatever the the subtopic is, but education is the framework.
00:26:01
Speaker
um What also connects them is these precarious precarious conditions they work in. So it's um very often... um an unstable funding for a project or unpaid work or very little money for a lot of work um and little public recognition or slow reaction of the public to the project.
00:26:30
Speaker
What also connects them is they rely on people, they rely on their communities and they don't just rely on them, they also build them, they tend for them, they care for them.
00:26:41
Speaker
One of the project members said, was Nika Kovac from My Voice, My Choice, she said, um volunteers do not ah grow on trees.
00:26:55
Speaker
So it's really a lot of care work to to hold these communities together. And what also I would say is common or connects them is they're really high standard on professionality. They are very professional in their work, in their expertise. They take it really, really serious what they are doing and how.
00:27:14
Speaker
And even though they they know that, you know, they cannot always reach their own high standards, they really try.
00:27:24
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, that's amazing. You know that um after the the the event took place and I returned ah ah to Slovenia and I was talking with other entrepreneur entrepreneurs, ah part of my my usual network, and I was presenting some of the cases, some of the ah the winners and what do they do.
00:27:45
Speaker
And I found that... ah ah some reactions that are like trying to not be surprised. And I'm saying trying to not be surprised.
00:27:58
Speaker
And they would ah try to diminish the impact of these kind of organizations because they do not conform to what these other persons think a good ah investment of of their time is.
00:28:17
Speaker
So those are are ah other kind of organizations that are more oriented to profit ah or different kind of impact that is not social impact.
00:28:29
Speaker
And they would immediately see and compare the activities of these social innovations or so ah social innovators with the political ah beliefs that they hold.
00:28:45
Speaker
So they would say, okay, this they this looks very socialistic. Or ah yes, we know that these persons are a bit of a communist group and and things like that. do you know It was, to me, incredible to see.
00:29:01
Speaker
And I was trying to explain that this is not about politics. It's about solving problems. and ah and and And they would even start talking about some of the individuals that participate in these organizations to try to diminish the the influence that they have and ah to polarize their their image.
00:29:25
Speaker
I mean, what what I realized also when, because I i um interviewed some of the projects as well in as part of the evaluation process, that um I also expected a more, um how to say, a more upfront political agenda is a bit strong word, but narrative, let's say, you know, that that the project members would put their activities into ah political movement, let's say, you know, being against something.
00:29:55
Speaker
um working for something but what i what i what I saw and what I found really powerful is how how they see themselves set in a context with various actors who who who whose loyalties are different
Inclusivity and Bridging Gaps
00:30:11
Speaker
And they they try to to to look for contact to all of these players because they understand that they need to convince each and every one of them.
00:30:24
Speaker
they need to They need to build the bridge through the issue and not through political sides or ideological sides. So... And when they when they are so much set in the topic and they are working in the field with the people who are affected or they are affected, then it's much easier to to build this bridge to, let's say, different allies. You know, who you would not maybe think of an ally first because because you are so close to the issue
00:30:56
Speaker
And when you find a way to explain and to make the other person also feel close to the issue, then I think it's easier to build the bridge.
00:31:08
Speaker
So that that really struck me. that um or Or for example, you know, let's say... ah and The inclusive school is not for everyone, maybe, you know, because people have the feeling, ah, maybe I'm not the right, you know, not my child is not, it's not the right setting for my child.
00:31:26
Speaker
um It's politically ah different. um um It's left and I'm not not ah not on the left side or whatever. But when when an inclusive school and the people managing that school realize that it's about um making everyone feel safe there, including kids, teachers, staff and parents, no matter what their political views are.
00:31:51
Speaker
Then ah suddenly the inclusive school works for all of them. no So this this was Rosmanita Lab School with which project I made the interview.
00:32:03
Speaker
And this is what they described. And it really is, I found it very interesting. Wow, that's amazing. This is another important realization, right? So basically, social innovation might be about ah bridging the gaps, right? So it's not about finding a position against someone or some group, but it's how do we solve the problem together, acknowledging the differences, right?
00:32:30
Speaker
Yeah, and I mean, we have to be real. In some settings, it's not possible. I mean, there are political settings where it is wait it's not possible anymore to talk to some actors, some political players.
00:32:45
Speaker
But at least, you know, they tried. They tried once, twice, three times. And after, i don't know, fourth try, okay, we are doing it differently then. But this is this it's it's a basic openness to so different thought patterns or or ideologies.
00:33:04
Speaker
It's not an exclusive um mindset, but a very open mindset where I think the the um innovators are... or have to be um certain that they need a lot of allies to to move forward and to make changes.
00:33:24
Speaker
And they get they manage to to collect these allies, but not by diminishing their cause. You know what I mean? They don't compromise their cause. Yeah.
00:33:36
Speaker
So ah something else that ah that I found in common that everybody talks about after the ceremony is that they need the visibility.
Recognition Highlights Community-Driven Innovation
00:33:49
Speaker
Do you have something, I mean, ah something to reflect about this? Well, because as we mentioned, they operate in a niche and very often do not have and not receive a lot of attention or they receive negative attention in very hostile environments.
00:34:12
Speaker
And And yeah, I mean, I think it's it's kind of logical when you operate in ah in a community mindset, what you just described, that your role is one of the roles set in a group, in a community, the causes are common, um the goals are common and the skills are, you know, she shifted who has which skill and how does this merge together to create something better.
00:34:42
Speaker
um when this is this is the ah reality, then I think it's really crucial to be seen. Because if you're not seen... then where are you moving towards?
00:34:56
Speaker
You know, how can you, how can you reflect on the impact you, you receive, you know, or you create that you cause?
00:35:08
Speaker
And on the other hand, um so when we reflect on the ceremony and sociology as an and an award, I also think that it's,
00:35:21
Speaker
how to put it, it's necessary to celebrate these this mindset, this this willpower and this kind of, what we just said, this very open, very brave culture of innovation because um Because it is a very precarious work. It's very often in fields of society where people are unpaid or um where work is not regarded as, you know, work that we should pay for.
00:35:56
Speaker
care Care work, we say in German, carearbeit. um and and And we do not celebrate these roles in so society enough, although they really do a very crucial part of the work. It's it's a little bit like after COVID or or during COVID.
00:36:16
Speaker
and We realized, all the healthcare workers, they are doing a great job. We should celebrate them. But they did a great job before as well. And it's also precarious.
00:36:27
Speaker
It's paid really bad um when you compare it to how important the work is. And this is this this is true for for a lot of innovators as well. You know, you're making me think that Sotel Marie is actually...
00:36:46
Speaker
recognizing people instead of motivating people. Right? Because I see other ah ah ceremonies or competitions, they're more focused on the on the motivation.
00:37:00
Speaker
So they are giving awards to motivate people to do something. Right. To create a new business, to create a new idea. um I'm not criticizing this as a bad thing.
00:37:12
Speaker
It's just a difference. Right. ah And it is that SocialMari is, as we talked before, is ah focusing on organizations that have initiatives already in the field. Right.
00:37:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah it's it's it's absolutely true. It's not about motivating or or supporting um projects that, let's say, started um to to implement their ideas.
00:37:43
Speaker
ah Yeah, there are there are other and awards or programs where also the projects receive support. expertise and and resources like that.
00:37:53
Speaker
And so Ciamati is really focused on on recognizing the already done work. So with everything that we talked so far, what is your final reflection?
00:38:09
Speaker
Well, I... i am When I think about innovation and social innovation and all of the discussions I had about it with various people, um but I am really not the expert.
Motivation and Vision for Change
00:38:25
Speaker
I'm not a researcher in innovation. But for me, what I see, what's really common in each of these projects is they um begin with a sense of absence. So,
00:38:40
Speaker
People recognize that something is missing because either they feel it on their own skin or they know people who do or they they are just, you know, like like this, that they care for other groups.
00:38:56
Speaker
And instead of being shocked and sad and depressed about this absence, um about something that is not working or that is missing, they ask, what if what if we could change that?
00:39:11
Speaker
And I think that is the starting point for each of these innovations. And what I really admire in all of them is their ability to act and to turn this discomfort of this something that is missing, to turn this discomfort into direction is really something that I admire in them.
00:39:35
Speaker
Yeah, i I get a bit envy when I talk to them because I see myself as a social innovator, but what I see in them is a capacity of organizing people.
00:39:47
Speaker
They create structures for people to join, right? And yeah it is like innate to them. it At least it feels like if this would be an automatic effortless ah um effort,
00:40:03
Speaker
ah no, effortless um endeavor or initiative. And i'm I'm like, what? How can you do it? Because the majority of us are trying to convince people to join instead of inspiring them to do something.
00:40:20
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, but isn't it crazy that it seems so effortless and natural and I'm 100% sure that ah look each of them is working on their, i don't know, most or highest capacity and and that... um if they were working with this same uh amount of power for i don't know a well-paid job they might even burn out and i think what keeps like i i heard that um as a result from a study that uh
00:41:01
Speaker
What keeps you from burnout, one factor is also finding clear role, your really really clear role, and also a sense or cause in your work.
00:41:13
Speaker
So that's why I say I think if they would be working for a cause they cannot identify with so much, then the risk of burnout would be very, very, very much higher.
00:41:27
Speaker
Yeah, but I also saw and noticed the tension and the ah ah burnout, the stress, right, in in in some of these initiatives.
00:41:37
Speaker
And um I don't know what could be done about it. Yeah, I think we should not um like not mention it. you know When we talk about these projects and how great they are, how unimaginable it is what they are doing, um we cannot forget that it's it's really um the precarity of the work is not just that it's not paid well or that it's unpaid, but it's also the the the stress, the emotional stress, the thousand things to do at the same time.
00:42:11
Speaker
And also the stress of, um so when, I think when you get close to people who are affected by certain societal, um you know, structures, or when you are affected also, ah it it is it is serious. It's not just like reading the news and, you know, feeling for um ah disadvantaged group or,
00:42:37
Speaker
Which is also a genuine emotion, of course, but I think it's it's more of survival, more like so fighting for survival-like than when you are not really embedded um in in the issue or in the field And I think that they are not victimizing themselves with their work.
00:43:00
Speaker
And that's something that is so visible when they get recognized. right Because um we we we intuitively feel that in order for them to be there, they had to sacrifice, hard, work hard.
Sacrifices and Achievements of Participants
00:43:14
Speaker
ah solve a lot of problems and arrive to a position and ah when they can inspire others to do the same thing and to feel like there is hope.
00:43:27
Speaker
So I wouldn't like to present the participants in the competition as a bunch of depressed people actually is is the opposite, right? So they are they are going through their own ups and downs, but um
00:43:48
Speaker
focused on achieving a solution, right? So then when they get recognized, the persons that are watching at the award and participating at the award ceremony is just so inspiring.
00:44:03
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely.
00:44:12
Speaker
Thank you, Ana, for this in-depth conversation. I'm sure many will find it both useful and validating. Now, let's hear from Wanda, who shares her fresh impressions just minutes after the 2025 ceremony finish I think have a good feeling it was the 21st anniversary. How do you say it?
00:44:36
Speaker
It's a lucky number, isn't it? And it was a lucky ah time this evening. Very, very good. And I have to tell you, the band, they were great because...
00:44:50
Speaker
The music, of of course, all the musicians was good the last years. But he tried to get a connection to the people with his song to the people ah about the innovation.
00:45:05
Speaker
So he found a very good conversation with the audience. I think, yes, I appreciate it very much. This was very good. And all the emotions with the people here and I think they really liked it and they enjoyed it and they had a lot of fun and um yeah still crying on the stage.
00:45:31
Speaker
I think it was a fine ceremony today. I think it was a beautiful ceremony. Did you see any kind of difference between the applicants of these years and the past ones?
00:45:42
Speaker
I think every five years I can see the applications get clearer and clearer. It is also because our um oh ah um criteria get clearer or we explain it better.
00:46:01
Speaker
So we we also get a better um um understanding of social innovation so we can ah give it better to the people. And um I think the innovations get more precise. ah
00:46:28
Speaker
Thank you, Wanda. To conclude, you'll hear some reflections from Elizabeth, a long-time active member of the Social Marie team, who is now embracing new challenges in her professional journey.
Elizabeth Hammer on Social Innovation's Role
00:46:41
Speaker
Elizabeth, we wish you the best and see you soon. Hi, I'm Elisabeth Hammer. I've been a member of the jury of Sozialmarie for six years now.
00:46:52
Speaker
These were quite important years in my professional life and I guess also in the in the life of Sozialmarie. Sozialemarie has um developed very much um in these years, um and it was an honor to be part of it through this journey.
00:47:12
Speaker
For me, Sozialemarie is a very important um intervention in the in the European scene of social innovation. In my professional life, i'm I'm very much interested in social innovation at the intersection of civil society, NGOs, and um bureaucracy.
00:47:31
Speaker
So um I was very much inspired by um by projects um in this field of action. And um I think Sozialmarie is a very important prize um also in in this um in the way Europe is developing right now, um with democracy being under pressure, with right-wing positions and parties um on the rise.
00:47:58
Speaker
and social inequality as well being on the rise. So I think there's that this network of projects that the Maree is creating is very important to um to learn from each other and to have the the best answers how to um deal with the problem with the societal challenges in Europe.
00:48:25
Speaker
The projects I like the most um work on the intersection of um providing more or less help and support for individuals as well as having a systemic impact.
00:48:40
Speaker
And over the years I have been following soma I think that this project with a clear vision on ah how to achieve systemic impact, um these projects um got more and more.
00:48:55
Speaker
um And I am hope that this development um is getting stronger and stronger.
Conclusion: A Call to Action for Social Innovation
00:49:20
Speaker
That's it for today's special Social Marie Gala celebration on YYY. We have heard incredible stories, met inspiring changemakers and celebrated groundbreaking innovations that are making a real difference.
00:49:31
Speaker
It's clear, social innovation isn't just an idea, it's a movement. And this year's winners are leading the way. Thank you for joining us on this journey. If you love today's conversations, don't forget to subscribe, share and keep the dialogue going.
00:49:44
Speaker
Let's continue to champion creativity, inclusion and impact together. um And do not forget, true change starts with asking why, why, why. bye