The social enterprise Humana Nova has been nominated for the SozialMarie 2026 Award,one of the most prestigious European awards for social innovation, presented by the Austrian Unruhe Foundation.
Our project"Inclusive Circular Economy"shows that things can work differently: textiles that would otherwise end up as waste are given a new life, and people who often remain on the margins of the labor market are given the opportunity for a dignified job.
Out of 61 people working at Humana Nova, 37 have some form of disability, and 20 belong to other vulnerable groups. Together, we have so far prevented the disposal of more than 5,000 tons of textiles, proving that sustainability can be both ecological and social.
SozialMarie is the first European award for social innovation. This year, more than 360 solutions and projects from Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary were submitted. Among them is Humana Nova’s model of an inclusive circular economy.
Each year, the expert jury nominates a maximum of 35 projects for the award, and awards the 15 best ones – those that solve concrete social problems through innovative and applicable solutions and have a real impact. The award ceremony will be held on May 11 in Vienna.
Vote for the Audience Award!
You can also cast your vote for Humana Nova!!
While the expert jury selects the 15 best projects for the main awards, the audience chooses its favorite among this year's nominated projects.
The audience vote starts on Tuesday, April 7 (10 am) and runs until Thursday, April 16 (11:55 pm). It is conducted online.
The project with the most votes wins the Audience Award and receives a cash prize of EUR 1,000 euros for education and development. Voting for the Audience Award is independent of the jury awards.
How to vote for Humana Nova?
Open the following link Humana Nova – Inclusive Circular Economy | SozialMarie and click on the "Vote for this project" button.
Enter your email address. You will receive a confirmation email. Click on the link in the email to confirm your vote.If you don’t get the email, please wait a few minutes or check your spam folder. Your vote will only be recorded when you click on the link in the confirmation email. You can only vote once.
Voting opens on 7 April at 10 am.
Every vote you cast will be an important"Inclusive Circular Economy"for our work. Thank you for that!
