#everynamecounts wins Smart Hero Award
The Arolsen Archives have won the Smart Hero Award under the heading “Innovation in Digital Engagement” for their crowdsourcing initiative #everynamecounts with its innovative, technological approach.
The joy is great! The Arolsen Archives have won the special prize of the Smart Hero Awards under the heading “Innovation in Digital Engagement” for #everynamecounts. The Smart Hero Award is jointly presented by the Digital Opportunities Foundation and Meta.
“It makes us incredibly proud and thankful that we as a 75-year-old institution have won the “Innovation Prize for Digital Engagement” at the Smart Hero Award for #everynamecounts. We will continue searching for new ways to bring the knowledge from the Arolsen Archives to fruition in the present – for the reasons for persecution are not a thing of the past! I was thrilled by the projects of the nominees, by the inspiration I have taken from them and regard it as a great honor that we were chosen. Our special thanks are due to Jutta Croll, Chairwoman of the Management Board of the Digital Opportunities Foundation, and to Dr. Agnes Strack-Zimmermann as patroness for their trust in us. And to thousands of #everynamecounts volunteers – it is their award as well,” says Floriane Azoulay, Director of the Arolsen Archives.
Sharing their joy at the award for #everynamecounts: Project Manager Sonja Pöhl (left), the Director of the Arolsen Archives, Floriane Azoulay (middle), and the Chairwoman of the Management Board of the Digital Opportunities Foundation, Jutta Croll. (Photo: Svea Pietschmann/Gero Breloer for Meta)
Stand up for Respect, Diversity, and Democracy
The Arolsen Archives house the world’s largest collection of documents on the victims and survivors of the Nazi regime. The archives preserve a total of 110 million documents and digital objects, some of which are part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World program.
The #everynamecounts initiative aims to build a digital monument to the people persecuted under National Socialism thus allowing future generations to remember the victims’ names and identities. However, #everynamecounts is about society today too. By looking back at the past, we can see where discrimination, racism, and antisemitism can take us.
»When I found out that #everynamecounts was participating in the contest, I thought to myself: What an innovation to put social media to the use of making just such offerings accessible! Getting the community involved and making the documents utilizable, that’s an incredible step!«
Jutta Croll, Chairwoman of the Management Board of the Digital Opportunities Foundation
Congratulations to all projects and award winners!
This year, Smart Heroes were awarded for the ninth time. The Smart Heroes 2022 were honored in Berlin under the headings “Social Action,” “Ecological Management,” “Democratic Design” and “Innovation in the Digital Space”. A Facebook group award and an audience award were also presented. This year’s Smart Hero Award focuses on initiatives that actively shape a sustainable and future-oriented society with innovative approaches. We are particularly honored to be able to share the stage with the representatives of the other nominated and award-winning projects, who are all doing such important work and contribute to our community in different ways. Congratulations!
The award winners and nominated under the heading „Innovation in digital engagement“ with Jutta Croll (fourth from left), Chairwoman of the Management Board of the Digital Opportunities Foundation. (Photo: Svea Pietschmann/Gero Breloer for Meta)
