Mondialogo
Mondialogo is an initiative of Daimler AG and UNESCO to promote intercultural dialogue and exchange.
The global initiative is based on three pillars: the Mondialogo School Contest, the Mondialogo Engineering Award and the Mondialogo Internet Portal as a dialogue and communication platform.
The initiative
Mondialogo was launched in October 2003 as an initiative of Daimler AG and UNESCO . The aim of the global initiative is to bring young people from different cultural backgrounds together, to promote mutual understanding and to inspire them for intercultural exchange in the long term. Mondialogo is aimed primarily at schoolchildren, students and teachers worldwide. The ambassadors of the initiative are the writers Henning Mankell and Paulo Coelho .
The project pillars
Mondialogo School Contest
The Mondialogo School Contest is the world's largest international competition for students between 14 and 18 years of age. All school teams registered for participation will be assigned a previously unknown partner team from another region of the world. Both teams get in contact, get to know each other and jointly develop a project that focuses on topics such as peace, fair play, the prevention of discrimination, a sustainable future, identity, respect for cultural diversity or emigration / immigration. The 25 best project submissions will be selected by an international jury at the end of a 6-month teamwork phase and awarded at a multi-day symposium. Here students and teachers from all parts of the world have the opportunity to get to know each other personally.
Two Mondialogo School Contests have already taken place: 25,000 students from 126 countries took part in the first competition in 2003/2004. The award was presented in 2004 in Barcelona. More than 35,000 students (organized in 2,600 teams) from 138 countries took part in the second competition. The symposium took place in Rome in 2006. The award ceremony for the third round of the Mondialogo School Contest took place at a symposium in Beijing in September 2008 .
Mondialogo Engineering Award
The Mondialogo Engineering Award calls on engineering students from industrialized and developing countries to work in international project teams on proposals for realizing the United Nations Millennium Development Goals - proposals that will improve the quality of life in developing countries.
In its first two rounds, over 3,600 young engineers from 113 countries took part in the Mondialogo Engineering Award, organized in 1,500 project teams. At the end of a 6-month project collaboration, the teams submit elaborated project proposals, which are evaluated by an international jury of experts. The 30 best projects will then be awarded in a multi-day symposium. Symposia have already taken place in Berlin and Mumbai. The award is endowed with a total of € 300,000 in prize money, which is intended for the implementation of the projects.
Mondialogo Internet Portal
In five languages, the website offers a global online community of over 30,000 members from 174 countries various dialog, interaction and networking functions. The teams participating in the Mondialogo School Contest and Mondialogo Engineering Award can work on their joint projects with the help of virtual offices.
Awards
The Mondialogo initiative has received various awards for promoting intercultural dialogue since it was founded in 2003, including these:
- Clarion Award 2005 from the International Visual Communication Association (IVCA) in London
- Prize for Freedom and Responsibility 2005
- PR News CSR Awards 2006
- Best Global Website Award 2005
- WebAward 2006 (Outstanding Community Website)
- International Business Award 2007 (Best CSR Program in Europe)