The Madame Courage prize donated by Filzwieser goes to Nina Proll

In June, the “Mostviertler Wirtschaftsforum” (a project of the PODKASTL support association) organized a special kind of networking meeting. Under the motto “Civil Courage”, companies came into contact with committed associations. Great private initiatives in the form of associations showed that political failures and short-sightedness are not countered with whining, but with action. The Club für “Potenzialentfaltung für Kinder” is one such example. The topic of courage was addressed in various ways by speakers such as doctor Maria Hubmer-Mogg, writer and science researcher Jan David Zimmermann and cabaret artist Walter Kammerhofer. What they all had in common was their commitment to freedom of expression. This is all the more important as, in recent years, we have developed rapidly and alarmingly towards a society in which independent and critical thinking is no longer opportune, and on the contrary is massively restricted or even prevented. Through sometimes very perfidious reinterpretations of language and false association patterns, our society is divided and divided into a “good” and “bad” group. But it is precisely at a turning point that we need diversity and integral thinking, in which individual perspectives are viewed less from the perspective of right or wrong, but rather as part of the whole. The highlight of the event was the presentation of the “Madame Courage” prize, which was awarded for the first time. This went to the actress NINA PROLL … a woman who refused to be silenced and who was one of the very few from the art and culture scene during the coronavirus pandemic who did not allow herself to be taken in by the political mainstream and its narratives. In einem Interview mit Servus TV zeigte sie sich gerührt, aber auch nachdenklich darüber, dass man in der heutigen Zeit einen Preis für Meinungsfreiheit oder kritische Fragen vergeben muss … denn das sollte eine Selbstverständlichkeit sein. With this in mind, Nina Proll spoke out in favor of more tolerance in our society. With the foundation of this prize, Filzwieser wanted to make a small contribution to emphasizing the importance of freedom of opinion and diversity in our society and to thank those people who stand up for it with their courage.