’We are Ilmenau’ initiative by TU Ilmenau and the city receives the 2024 State Prevention Award

The "We are Ilmenau" initiative has been awarded the Thuringian State Prevention Prize 2024. The campaign, which was awarded second place, aims to strengthen the "we-awareness" in the region, promote mutual respect and thus strengthen the sense of community and security among the population. "We are Ilmenau" is aimed at all people in the region who feel connected to their - new or old - home.

Against the backdrop of an increasing feeling of a lack of cohesion in society, the aim is to bring the community back into focus and highlight what makes Ilmenau and its districts a region worth living in for all residents. The city of Ilmenau, the TU Ilmenau and the "Jugend Integrations Projekte Ilmenau" (Jipi) are involved in the project. Second place is endowed with prize money of 1500 euros. The certificate was presented to project representatives this week in Erfurt by the Head of the Prevention Council at the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior and Local Government, Prof. Thomas Ley.

"I am very grateful for second place in the State Prevention Award 2024. The prize is a wonderful recognition of our joint initiative ’We are Ilmenau’, which gives our city and the people who live here a face. I am particularly pleased that the project has succeeded in bringing the university and the city a little closer together again," said Ilmenau’s Lord Mayor Daniel Schultheiß.

Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler, President of TU Ilmenau, also emphasized the cohesion between the city and the university, which is strengthened by the award: "As a university, we are delighted that the ’We are Ilmenau’ campaign initiated together with the city of Ilmenau has been recognized with the State Prevention Award 2024. With this campaign, we want to strengthen the sense of community and identification with the city and university and thus make Ilmenau even more liveable and attractive as a university city. The award is motivation to continue this joint work."

In addition to "We are Ilmenau", other Thuringian projects also received the award. The first prize went to Manuela Heublein from the "Cabrini" meeting place in Meiningen. According to the jury’s statement, she works on a voluntary basis to help people find support and community. Third place went to the Erfurt Crime Prevention Council with Together with other cooperation partners, the council has been training volunteer safety advisors for senior citizens since 2015, who educate senior citizens and people with disabilities about the dangers of safety and crime at numerous events and information stands. The main topics are scams, burglary protection and road safety.