The BMW Group signed an agreement wth the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) to explore in a joint initiative, the ‘Award for Intercultural Innovation’. The award represents a new kind of partnership between the private sector and the UN system. 

Photo: interculturalinnovation.org

Innovative projects that promote exchange and cross-cultural understanding will be selected and supported with money prizes. The ten most significant projects will be awarded for the first time in an award ceremony held during the fourth Annual UNAOC Forum in Doha (Qatar) on December 12.

An agreement was signed on September 23 at the UN’s New York Headquarters as part of the 66th UN General Assembly by President Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance, and Konstanze Carreras, Senior Official for Corporate Social Responsibility of the BMW Group. The signature took place in the presence of ministers from over 130 countries and international organizations and the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon.

According to President Jorge Sampaio, UNAOC and BMW both are fostering imagination and creativity to build collaboration among cultures.

“Together with the UN Alliance of Civilizations, we are now taking our efforts in this field to a new level,” commented Harald Krüger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG and Patron of the Award for Intercultural Innovation. “The cooperation with UNAOC allows us to pool strengths, to reach even more people and to increase the efficiency of our international commitment.”

The BMW Group has supported culture development in different countries for years, including the BMW Group Award, the BMW Guggenheim Lab. This year BMW also celebrated 40 years of its cultural commitment at the Venice Biennale.

The awardees will receive $50,000 (split between winners), guidance, potential partners, IT support, legal advice as well as increased visibility. In addition, the winners will be supported by services from the ‘World Intercultural Facility for Innovation’ (WIFI), a program initiated by the UNAOC in cooperation with the BMW Group. This will help award-winning projects become more efficient and expand to other places.

Applications are accepted till October 16, 2011 online.