Taking action together – apply now!

For the past ten years, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group have invited organizations around the world to apply for the Intercultural Innovation Award. The two partners have used this award to support innovative projects promoting intercultural understanding.

“As we celebrate ten years of this ever-growing partnership between UNAOC and the BMW Group and now with the support of Accenture, we shall continue to collaborate to amplify the work of cutting-edge social innovators and promote diversity and inclusive societies,” said Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative for UNAOC.

“In our anniversary year, we are not only celebrating a very successful partnership, but also using the Intercultural Innovation Award once again to appeal to people’s feeling of community,” said Ms. Ilka Horstmeier, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Human Resources and new patron of the Intercultural Innovation Award. This takes on a whole new meaning in the face of Covid-19. As Ms. Horstmeier said, “We can only manage the added challenges of the pandemic by taking action together.”

Wanted: projects for an inclusive and diverse society

This year, the focus will primarily be on projects promoting gender equality, countering violent extremism, hatred, and prejudices and advocating for art, culture, and sports as vehicles for social cohesion and diversity.

To leverage the social impact of the selected projects, all ten finalists will receive the same financial assistance. For this reason, with the support of the consulting firm Accenture, the partners have increased the financial award to USD 200,000. In addition, the finalists will receive individual and professional consulting and participate in various training sessions and workshops. Recipients will also have access to “Intercultural Leaders”,an exclusive skills and knowledge-sharing platform developed by UNAOC and BMW Group for civil society organizations and young leaders working on promoting intercultural dialogue worldwide.

Interested organizations are invited to submit their application by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, 27 May 2021, at www.interculturalinnovation.org.