The “Opening Horizons” project helped sponsor thirty children from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro with a grant aimed towards improving their language skills. Within the framework of a two-week stay in Germany, they got to experience what German culture and the German way of life are like through numerous discussions and visits to families. Included in the trip were Munich, Würzburg, Lohr, Berlin, Cologne and Aachen. The highpoint was their appearance at the closing of the Quadriga Awards in Berlin. The 1200-strong audience rewarded the perfection and rhythm of the group with standing ovations. In their letter of thanks the schoolchildren wrote that the opportunities presented to them by the grant were indeed a gift for life, in the truest sense of the words. The “Opening Horizons” project received widespread coverage on the radio, on TV and in the Press.

United we Care also forms the financial pillar for an exemplary project under the direction of Father Eckart Höfling. In Brazil, until today, there were no opportunities for training in the hotel and catering industry. The initiative “Barão de Tefé” hopes to fill this void. The hotel of the same name, which is under the ownership of the Franciscan Order, will be transformed into a school for hotel management. A rounded training concept as a municipal undertaking will impart both theoretical and practical knowledge to its students. The aim of the hotel management school of Rua Barão de Tefé is to give the children of the favelas a chance at a dignified and self-dependent life through social integration.

Video: Best of 2008

The Courage of Perseverance

Winner:
Boris Tadić, President of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade

Presented by:
Dr. Heinz Fischer, the Federal President of the Republic of Austria, Vienna

Video: One day in the life of Boris Tadic

The Home of Charity

Winner:
Father Father Eckart Höfling, Director General Venerável Ordem Terceira de São Francisco da Penitência, Rio de Janeiro

Presented by:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Foreign Minister of Germany, Berlin

Video: One day in the life of Eckart Höfling

A Mission of Enlightenment

Winner:
Wikipedia, represented by: Jimmy Wales, Founder and Honorary Chairman of the Wikimedia Foundation, San Francisco

Presented by:
David Weinberger, Author and Fellow at the Berkman Center
Harvard University, Boston

Video: One day in the life of Jimmy Wales

United we Care

Winner:
Peter Gabriel, Artist, Wiltshire

Presented by:
Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Video: One day in the life of Peter Gabriel