FUTURE needs DIVERSITY Award

In 2024, the Hannover Region's Economic and Employment Promotion Agency announced the FUTURE NEEDS DIVERSITY Award for the first time. On 20.06.2024, the winners were announced and honored at the business development agency's summer reception.

Diversity is a location factor that is decisive for the economic success of regions today and in the future. The decline in the workforce due to demographic change requires further improvements in the integration of hidden reserves in the labor market and immigration.

Diversity in the workforce leads to greater crisis resilience and a higher capacity for innovation, and thus to economic success.

With the "FUTURE NEEDS DIVERSITY" award, the Hannover Region wants to strengthen companies that take diversity - i.e. age, ethnic origin & nationality, gender & gender identity, physical and mental abilities, religion & ideology, sexual orientation and social background - of their employees into account and thus strengthen the Hannover Region as a business location.

The award aims to highlight existing approaches in companies in the Hannover Region that strengthen diversity and to motivate the consistent further development of these approaches. The funding competition also aims to offer companies a platform for their commitment, as well as to present "good approaches" that have already been implemented to other companies and to contribute to thematic networking. The award is endowed with €5,000 per category.

• Small and medium-sized enterprises (10 to 249 employees in the Hanover region): SKM GmbH, Isernhagen, manufacturer of switchgear and power distribution systems
  
  
• Medium-sized companies (up to 499 employees in the Hanover region): LPKF Laser & Electronics SE, specialist in laser material processing, Garbsen
  
  
• Special Transformation Award: APS - Akademie für Pflege und Soziales GmbH, school for training and further education for healthcare professionals, Hanover

We would like to thank our 2024 jury for their commitment!

• Head of Department Ulf-Birger Franz (Hannover Region)
• Ayten Berse (ÜBV e.V., Hanover region)
• Prof. Dr. Johann Nils Foege (Leibniz University Hannover)
• Dr. Carl-Michael Vogt (Hanover Chamber of Crafts)
• Annelies Bruhne (Regional Church of Hanover & Protestant Association Church-Economy-Workplace)
• Heide Grimmelmann-Heimburg (Lower Saxony Business Associations)
• Jasmin Arbabian-Vogel (Interkultureller Sozialdienst GmbH)