Austrian Ambassador, Dr. Oskar Wüstinger, welcomed guests at the Austrian residence on November 7th, 2022, to celebrate Puppets World’s Intercultural Achievement Award (IAA) in the category Technology.

The Intercultural Achievement Award is a key project of the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. The award honors successful and innovative civil society projects in the field of intercultural and interreligious dialogue, both in Austria and on a global scale. The seven winning projects in 2022 were selected from more than 180 submissions worldwide and came from France, India, Jordan, Morocco, Austria and South Africa. The award-winning Jordanian mobile puppet theater aims to raise children’s awareness of social, behavioral, emotional and cultural issues regardless of their social background or geographical origin. Puppets World focuses on integration and teaching values such as tolerance and compassion in a playful and entertaining way.

Co-founder Rami Bader - together with one of his puppets - received the award at the ceremony in Vienna on Tuesday October 18th on behalf of the Puppets World team. In his speech, he emphasized the important values the organization’s work conveys to children: “This puppet has been my tool to teach children about coexistence and accepting differences, regardless of their gender, social class, color, religion and culture. The IAA award will help us continue our work with passion and love.”

At the reception in Amman, which was also attended by his Excellency Minister of Education Dr. Azmi Mahafzah, the Austrian Ambassador congratulated the team and appreciated their work: “Your admirable work and innovative approach is putting smiles on children’s faces.”

More information about the Award and this year’s winning projects here: Intercultural Achievement Award – BMEIA, Außenministerium Österreich