ECKART 2017 for “Creative Responsibility” awarded to Tiffany Persons. Long-standing efforts for Sierra Leone.

Munich. The jury of the International Eckart
Witzigmann Award (ECKART) has announced its next selection: American
Tiffany Persons will receive the ECKART 2017 for “Creative
Responsibility”. The jury, which includes “chef of the century” Eckart
Witzigmann, paid tribute to Persons’ services to education, health and
sustainability in the extremely poor Kono region of Sierra Leone. The
award will be presented at the ECKART gala hosted by the Witzigmann
Academy and the BMW Group at the Palace of Versailles, outside Paris,
on 21 Sept. 2017.

In 2006, the well-known marketing and music-video director Tiffany
Persons travelled to Sierra Leone for the first time to film a
documentary. She spent three months living in the rural,
diamond-mining mountain town of Kono, where she witnessed the
community’s extremely difficult living and working conditions for
herself. Impressed by the enthusiasm and cheerfulness of local people
in the most adverse of conditions, Persons founded Shine On Sierra
Leone (SOSL) in 2007 to raise money for building urgently-needed
schools. The organisation has continued to grow ever since: Today, the
non-profit SOSL is committed to promoting wider access to education,
healthcare, microfinancing and regional culture, and providing
sustainable building and agricultural programmes for the communities
of Sierra Leone and its people.

“I prefer to use the term ‘partnership’,” says Persons, describing
her approach. “We have come a long way from our humble beginnings. Our
community and our projects have grown a great deal. We have formed a
deep relationship with the people there, based on trust and
authenticity. My biggest goal is to involve the people of Sierra Leone
in projects with the highest level of integrity that celebrate the
beauty of the country.”

Her success speaks for itself: The Muddy Lotus Primary School founded
by SOSL, which was built using the revolutionary sustainable earthbag
construction method, is one of the best in the country. More than
20,000 people across the country were also able to improve their
future prospects by attending computer classes. In just five years, by
focusing on microloans for women, the organisation has enabled more
than 3,500 female small-business owners to earn their living. SOSL
worked with the ecotourism company Tribe Wanted to build an
ecovillage, using the CalEarth earthbag method and creating many new
jobs. The aim is always to develop sustainable change from within
society, instead of relying on outside intervention as an act of charity.

“Tiffany Persons shows us how each of us can do great things for
others – we just have to make a start,” explained Dr. Nicolas Peter,
member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Finance,
and patron of ECKART 2017, with reference to the jury’s decision. “In
her tireless efforts to help the people of Sierra Leone, Tiffany
Persons is also a role model for the BMW Group. We take
responsibility. We have made social commitment and sustainability an
integral part of the BMW Group’s identity. I am therefore delighted
that the ECKART 2017 for “Creative Responsibility” and the cash award
endowed by the BMW Group will benefit Tiffany Persons and her good cause.”

 

The ECKART 2017

The International Eckart Witzigmann Award (ECKART) 2017 will be
presented in the categories “Art of Cookery”, “Innovation” and “Art of
Living”, as well as in the “Creative Responsibility” category, which
is endowed by the BMW Group with a cash award.

The jury has already announced the winners in the categories “Art of
Cookery” (Alain Ducasse) and “Innovation” (Maria Marté and Luisa
Orlando) and now Tiffany Persons in the category “Creative Responsibility”.

The award ceremony will be held outside of Germany for the first time
on 21 Sept. 2017 in Versailles, near Paris. This international meeting
of the culinary scene will be hosted by ECKART award-winner Alain
Ducasse and marks the start of the ECKART world tour, which will
continue in the United States in 2018.

The BMW Group and the Witzigmann Academy have been partners since
2012 and are committed to their joint aim of creating an international
platform for healthy eating, sustainable cuisine and responsible use
of resources. Previous award-winners include Daniel Boulud, HRH
Charles Prince of Wales, Elena Arzak, Anne-Sophie Pic, Harald
Wohlfahrt, Dieter Kosslick, Ferran Adrià, Marc Haeberlin, Joël
Robuchon, Alex Atala, Jon Rose, Mick Hucknall, Massimo Bottura,
Dominique Crenn, Andreas Caminada and many others.

 

 

If you have any questions, please contact:

 

BMW Group Corporate Communications

Julian Hetzenecker, BMW Group Business and Financial
Communications
Tel.: +49-89-382-39229
Email: julian.hetzenecker@bmw.de

 

Email: presse@bmw.de

Media website: www.press.bmw.de 

 

 

Press contact
Witzigmann Academy

Otto Geisel
Lachner-Straße 18
80639 München
Tel: +49
89 139 260 26
office@ottogeisel.de

 

Further information on the Eckart Witzigmann Award can be
found at:

www.eckart-witzigmann-preis.de

 

 

 

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than
140 countries.

In 2016, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.367 million cars and
145,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax was approximately
€ 9.67 billion on revenues amounting to € 94.16 billion. As of 31
December 2016, the BMW Group had a workforce of 124,729 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

 

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