Berlin: charity gala exceeds expectations

Staefa, Switzerland, October 17, 2010

A total of EUR 50’000 donated for children with hearing loss / Hear the World Awards presentation ceremony

The Hear the World foundation enjoyed a wonderful evening in Berlin last Saturday with some notable celebrity support. Among the over 300 guests present were Jade Jagger, Jette Joop and Minu Barati-Fischer, helping to make the gala a resounding success. In the presence of the Foundation's Patron, Princess Mafalda of Hesse, donations totaling EUR 50’000 were collected, to be directly assigned to projects for children with hearing loss.

The auction of original portraits of high-profile Hear the World ambassadors such as Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz and Diane Kruger – photographed by rock star Bryan Adams – was very well received and made a significant contribution towards the total amount raised during the evening. The inaugural presentation of the Hear the World Awards saw Prof. Dr. Brigitte Schulte-Fortkamp and Prof. Dr. Annette Leonhardt honored in the Prevention and Solutions categories respectively. World renowned violinist and Hear the World ambassador Charlie Siem and singing sensation Charlie Winston were also at the event, entertaining guests with their live performances.

A number of high profile celebrity guests attended in aid of the Hear the World Foundation. A special appearance was made by Jade Jagger who auctioned the portrait of her father, Mick. Dr. Philipp Duke of Württemberg from Sotheby's, was also on hand to auction off photos of Annie Lennox, Diane Kruger, Charlie Siem and Lenny Kravitz, all making their contribution toward the same good cause. The highest bid of the evening was achieved for Bryan Adam’s self portrait. In addition, guests bought spontaneously the photos of Jerry Hall, Jude Law, Dionne Warwick and Elle Macpherson. Singer and campaign photographer Bryan Adams had captured the stars for Hear the World in a pose to convey conscious hearing, with one hand cupping an ear. Many of the guests were happy to be photographed by Rolf Schneider and Patrice Bouedibela in the conscious hearing pose and put their own hearing to the test – also in aid of the Hear the World Foundation.

A further highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Hear the World Award in the Prevention and Solutions categories to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the fields of hearing and hearing loss. The award in the Prevention category went to Prof. Dr. Brigitte Schulte-Fortkamp, the initiator of the Tag gegen Lärm anti-noise day campaign. Since 1997, Tag gegen Lärm has been carrying out a wide range of events at local and national level, along with campaigns aimed at promoting awareness among the general public on the topics of noise and the prevention of hearing loss. Prof. Dr. Annette Leonhardt, the Professor of Education for the Deaf and Hearing-impaired at Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University, was honored with the Solutions category award. For a number of years she has been concentrating on the integration of children and young people with hearing loss at school and pre-school. One notable result of her work is the study into the integration of schoolchildren with hearing loss, which encompassed the whole of Germany.