Essl Social Prize 2009 – Ground-breaking Ceremony for "Tibor háza" in Hungary
The Essl Social Prize, the first international prize for social initiatives, was awarded for the second time in April this year. Mrs. Tibor Szekeres from Hungary won the prize for her project "Tibor háza" (“Tibor’s house”). 8 July 2009 saw the ground-breaking ceremony for the three-storey residential building and hospice for persons with mental/psychic disabilities in old age, located in Csömör near the Hungarian capital Budapest.
On 8 July Martin Essl and the winner of the Essl Social Prize, Szekeres Tiborné, laid the foundation stone for the residential building "Tibor háza" in Csömör. The project aims at giving persons with mental/psychic disabilities a home where their special needs are taken into consideration and where they are provided with care and can live in dignity in old age until the end of their lives. 22 years ago, Mrs. Szekeres started a private initiative, building residences and workshops where persons with mental and psychic disabilities can live and work, and where they are well looked after in a comprehensive way. The new house will be named after Mrs. Szekeres’s severely disabled son Tibor.
"Tibor háza" is being built in the vicinity of the existing facility in Csömör. The building will house eight residential units and one lounge on each of its three floors. A surface area of 400 m² including a patio will offer accommodation for 24 persons. The housing units each consist of a vestibule, bedroom and bathroom, and they are grouped around a lounge which is also the main common room of the carers. The new house will be an energy-efficient building to keep future operating costs as low as possible. It is scheduled to open in 2010.
The project is funded from the prize money awarded with the "Essl Social Prize", the first international prize for trailblazing projects run by the private social initiatives of social entrepreneurs. The prize money of 1 million euro is awarded annually. It is a special feature of the Essl Social Prize that the actual projects are developed in cooperation with the prize winners and followed through by the donor.
