MoTIV (Uganda) and the Slovenian Kozjansko Park Institute of the Year, UNESCO Cultural Awards

MoTIV, a creative studio based in Uganda, has been selected as the winner of the first edition of UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for Creative Economy. The Kozjansko Park Public Institute in Podsreda (Slovenia) was awarded the The 2021 UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercury International Prize for the Protection and Management of Cultural Landscapes. The winners were selected by Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the recommendation of an international jury established for each award.

reason He was selected from among 69 Creative Economy Award nominations and will receive $50,000 in recognition of his innovative work promoting youth leadership in the creative economy. Located in Kampala, Uganda, MoTIV is an integrated creative studio that promotes collaboration in an efficient and sustainable manner by providing tools and training. He works in various fields, such as product and fashion design, helping entrepreneurs master and expand their businesses. MoTIV has a Design Academy that offers educational opportunities to innovators, designers and young entrepreneurs. Students are also paired with professionally experienced MoTIV mentors who can provide guidance and best practices in their respective fields. The design community is also very strongly committed to gender equality, with the target for women’s participation in each of the Ministry of Tourism and Technology’s projects being 70%.

for its part, Kozjansko Park Public Institute He was selected from over 47 nominations for the Cultural Landscape Award and will receive $30,000 to continue his work. They manage the unique Podsreda region of Slovenia, which includes a total of 314 protected cultural heritage sites and monuments. The diverse landscape is characterized by pre-alpine forest hills merging with wine hills, which in turn merge with a fertile plain along the Sutla River. The most prominent elements of this cultural landscape are the prairie orchards and fruit gardens, which are threatened by agribusiness in many countries of the world. The exceptional biodiversity of the area is maintained by the quality of the agricultural network. Local communities are also custodians of this unique cultural landscape; Cultural events and festivals make their preservation a sustainable activity.