HORUS 2019: Three main awards were received by organizations from Maribor

Today in Maribor, companies, organizations and individuals were awarded the Slovenian HORUS Social Responsibility Awards for the eleventh time

(Maribor, Slovenia, EU, December 17, 2019) This year’s awards and prizes within the project Slovenian Award for Social Responsibility HORUS 2019 were presented today at 6 pm in the Rotovž Ceremonial Hall in Maribor. Awards and recognitions are given by IRDO – Institute for the Development of Social Responsibility in cooperation with many support partners of the project. With this project, the partners want to find and reward comprehensive approaches of companies and individuals to social responsibility and sustainable development. The honorary sponsor of the award is Aleksander Saša Arsenovič, Mayor of the Municipality of Maribor. On his behalf, the participants were greeted by Josip Rotar, City Councilor of the Municipality of Maribor.

Various legal entities and individuals competed for the Slovenian Horus Award for Social Responsibility 2019. By 15 November 2019, 11 applications had been received for the HORUS 2019 call, of which three applications were received for the Strategic Award category, two applications for the Project Award, four applications for Special Awards in general, and two applications for the Journalist Special Award. Applications were sent for evaluation in November, to 13 independent experts, who were appointed from among the organizers, project support partners, experts and other publics. The evaluation took place in two rounds. In order to be among the finalists, the candidates had to collect at least 51% of all possible points, which means that they actually competed with themselves, regardless of the number of candidates in the category. One of the candidates did not make it to the finals. Emphasis was placed on comprehensive approaches to social responsibility, activities and monitoring the effects. The judging panel announced 10 finalists and awarded three prizes and six special recognitions.

In the category of small non-profit legal entity, the winner was DOBA Faculty of Applied Business and Social Studies Maribor, which was in the lead by 0.27% points over the social enterprise Malo mesto d.o.o. from Ljubljana. In the category of small for-profit legal entity, the award went to FlawlessCode, Information Engineering, d.o.o. from Maribor. The Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor received the award for the project in the category of non-profit legal entities for the project Learning Gardens as Intergenerational Centers of the Future.

Recipients of special Horus 2019 recognitions in the general category were: Borut Ambrožič, Per Ardua d.o.o., Tomaž Bole, Gallus Foundation, Andrej Perko, PhD., Mitikas Mekinje Institute, and the winner in this category Jurček Nowakk from the association HOPLA – Association for family recreation.

A special recognition in the category of journalist was received by Viva Videnović, editor of the Proglas section (weekly magazine Mladina), and the finalist in this category was Branka Bezjak, editor of Štajerc (Newsletter Večer).

The evaluation committee for the Horus 2019 Award decided to award the Manager Association the Platinum Horus Award 2019 on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. This association set high ethical criteria for the performance of Slovenian managers. The award was accepted by Marko Lukič, Member of the Board of Directors of the Manager Association, who said, “Every day gives us the opportunity to become a better version of ourselves.” This is true for all of us, especially in the area of ​​awareness of our interdependence and responsibility.

Anita Kovačič Čelofiga, President of the Horus 2019 Evaluation Committee and President of the Slovenian Public Relations Association, said at the award ceremony: “We at the Slovenian Public Relations Association are extremely proud to be part of such an important story from the very beginning, when the Slovenian Award HORUS is also an initiative for social responsibility – the idea of ​​how to promote integrity in thinking, innovation in operations and responsibility in the operations of organizations. After 11 years of awarding the award and the exceptional commitment of the Institute for the Development of Social Responsibility, the recognition is not only established, but also respected and appreciated. Today, it is the leading Slovenian award in the field of balanced and innovative social responsibility, due to which social responsibility is increasingly recognized as a mandatory component or prerequisite for the survival of organizations.”

So far, 40 professional interest organizations and media, co-financiers have participated in the Horus project, more than 90 experts from various fields have evaluated it, more than 180 different candidates have participated – from companies, institutions, non-governmental organizations, to individuals. Ever since the creation of the Horus award, Marko and Marika Pogačnik have been creating unique works of art, full of positive vibes, intended to promote the successful work of HORUS award winners. This created a mosaic of knowledge, values ​​and cooperation, which strengthens the development of social responsibility in Slovenia.

This year marks 15 years since the establishment of IRDO – Institute for the Development of Social Responsibility, based in Maribor, Slovenia. At the event, its founder, Anita Hrast, MSc., director of the IRDO Institute, said: “I am glad that we have been able to cooperate with so many organizations, individuals and institutions for many years and co-create Slovenia’s progress in the development of social responsibility. The Horus Award helps participants to strengthen the reputation, loyalty of employees and customers, improves their internal strategy of social responsibility and helps to analyze the current situation and compare themselves with others in this field. ”

Professor Emeritus, two-time doctor Matjaž Mulej, President of the IRDO Expert Council and President of the Expert-Organizing Committee of the Horus Award, added: “One of the most recognizable projects is the Slovenian Award for social responsibility Horus. It raises awareness of the impact we have on the environment and society, and thus on the living conditions of all of us and for future generations.”

The award would certainly not have been possible if it had not been supported for many years by many support partners, such as: Slovenian Public Relations Association, Slovenian Employers ‘Association, Manager Association, Styrian Chamber of Commerce, American Chamber of Commerce, Slovenian Marketing Association, Journalists’ Association Slovenia, the Slovenian Association of the United Nations for Sustainable Development, the Slovenian Association for Quality and Excellence, the Center for Information, Cooperation and Development of Non – Governmental Organizations, the Association of the Social Economy of Slovenia and others. This year, the project is partly co-financed by the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth, the musicians’ performance was made possible by the Gallus Foundation, and the use of the hall for this award ceremony was made possible by the Municipality of Maribor. The clipping partner is Press Clipping.