Berlin — The Hear the World Foundation held a charity gala in Berlin on October 16th to help raise money for the foundation. An auction took place featuring original portraits of high-profile Hear the World ambassadors like Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz and Diane Kruger – photographed by singer and Hear the World photographer Bryan Adams.

Among the more than 300 guests present were Jade Jagger, Jette Joop, Charlie Siem, Charlie Winston 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 totaled EUR 50,000 (close to $70,000), which will be directly assigned to projects for children with hearing loss.

The first ever Hear the World Awards went to:

  • Dr. Brigitte Schulte-Fortkamp (Prevention Category winner): Developer of the Tag gegen Lärm anti-noise day campaign. Since 1997, one day every year has been dedicated to all things related to the theme of noise – with campaigns, events and media coverage designed to raise awareness taking place throughout Germany. Thanks to Prof. Dr. Schulte-Fortkamp, the Tag gegen Lärm day has established itself as a firm fixture on the calendar each year and attracts the attention of a wide audience.
  • Dr. Annette Leonhardt honored (Solutions Category winner): Prof. Dr. Annette Leonhardt, has been rewarded for her outstanding work in relation to the integration of children and young people with hearing loss into regular schooling. As the Professor of Education for the Deaf and Hearing-impaired at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilian University, Prof. Leonhardt has spent more than ten years concentrating on the integration of children and young people with hearing loss at school and pre-school levels. One notable result of her work is the most comprehensive study into the integration of schoolchildren with hearing loss across the whole of Germany.
  • Joey McIntyre (Support Category winner): The American singer, best known as a member of the band “New Kids on the Block,” broke a taboo in spring 2010 when he spoke openly in the international media about his son’s hearing loss. His youngest son, Rhys Edward, was born in December 2009 with severe congenital hearing loss. By dealing openly with the subject of hearing loss, Joey McIntyre has reassured many parents all over the world who find themselves in a similar situation, thus making a significant contribution toward dispelling the stigma surrounding this topic.

SOURCE: The Hear the World Foundation