Heimatpreis 2023 goes to youth farm "With you"

Bocholt - This year's Bocholt Homeland Prize goes to the Bocholt association Jugendfarm Mit Dir. On Wednesday evening, Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff presented the prize, which is endowed with 5,000 euros, to director Nadja Kaszubowski from the youth farm.

Since 2019, the state of NRW has been supporting associations and initiatives that are particularly committed to the topic of "home". To this end, the districts and towns belonging to the districts are provided with a grant to award a "Heimatpreis", which they can then use according to local criteria. Bocholt successfully applied for this funding for the fifth time in a row in 2023 and received 5,000 euros.

A jury of eight people, made up of representatives from the city of Bocholt and the Bocholt council factions as well as two other advisory members, awarded the prize to the Jugendfarm Mit Dir. e.V. association at its meeting in November.

Numerous applications

No fewer than ten associations and initiatives applied for the Heimatpreis 2023. "The applications all received a lot of approval from the jury," says Rainer Howestädt, Head of the Volunteer Agency, advisory member and host of the jury meeting, "because each project had a positive impact either for the residents of Bocholt or for the city society in general. In the end, the jury's decision was unanimous after a lengthy discussion."

A home for children and young people

"By creating media-free moments of experience that are close to nature, children and young people are taken out of a generally structured everyday life and playfully encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions - completely without mobile phones," says the jury's statement. This encourages independence and creativity using the example of local and traditional agriculture, it continues. Children and young people of all backgrounds, with or without an inclusion background, are given a very special home on the farm: "The Bullerbü of Bocholt."

"You and your organisation represent the city of Bocholt and our home in the best sense of the word," said Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff, who presented the award on behalf of the jury and the city of Bocholt. He presented the Heimatpreis on St Nicholas' Day following the St Nicholas celebration for the children at the youth farm to the farm's manager Nadja Kaszubowski and the association's managing director Gisela Fechte. Many children and their parents were able to take part in the event. Peter Wiegel (City Party) took part in the award ceremony as a representative of the jury.

About the Heimatpreis:

The Heimatpreis is a funding project of the Ministry for Homeland, Municipal Affairs, Building and Equality of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The aim of the programme is to get people excited about local and regional specialities, to preserve the homeland and at the same time to shape it for the future. The NRW Homeland Prize therefore primarily honours voluntary commitment and innovative, exemplary projects in the area of homeland. The Homeland Prize has been awarded annually since 2019 by the state of NRW and also by the districts and towns belonging to the districts, provided they apply to the state.

Winner from Bocholt:

• 2019 Dorfgemeinschaft Mussum e.V. (Homeland Prize of the City of Bocholt)
• 2019 Heimatverein Suderwick e.V. and the citizens' initiative Dinxperwick (Heimatpreis
• of the state of NRW)
• 2020 Pro Barlo e.V. (Homeland Prize of the Borken district)
• 2020 Bürgerverein Biemenhorst e.V. (local history prize of the city of Bocholt)
• 2021 Friends of the Bocholt Crafts Museum e.V.
• 2022 Dochdu Kult & Ko. e.V. (local history prize of the city of Bocholt)
• 2023 Jugendfarm Mit Dir e.V. (local history prize of the city of Bocholt)