Start of the new campaign year with a military music festival in Grafenegg; Broadcast of the recording on May 25th on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – The 51st year of LIGHT IN DUNKEL once again included numerous fundraising campaigns and focal points that motivated people in Austria to donate. Even after the 50th anniversary year and despite challenging times, the donors showed how important helpfulness and solidarity are to them. Through campaigns such as the TV program “Gala for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL”, which presented itself with inclusive challenges in a new look, the “Ö3 Christmas Miracle” or the donation day on Christmas Eve, a provisional donation result of 20.06 was achieved over the entire campaign year million euros together.
The LICHT INS DUNKEL emergency aid fund helped more than 6,400 families and more than 18,700 children. In addition, around 500 social and disability projects throughout Austria are once again receiving support. The LICHT INS DUNKEL innovation fund, which was set up in 2023 and supports particularly innovative and inclusive lighthouse projects, was able to support an additional 14 projects with an investment volume of 6.7 million euros over three years. The total donation volume has grown to 420 million euros since the campaign began in 1973.
Start of the 2024/2025 campaign year in Grafenegg
The start of the new year of action by LICHT IN DUNKEL will once again be the military music festival of the Austrian Armed Forces, which will take place this year on May 22nd and 23rd, 2024 in Grafenegg in Lower Austria. Seven military bands with around 350 military musicians make the world of the armed forces musically tangible in and around the Wolkenturm in Grafenegg. Tickets to the military music festival are provided free of charge; instead, visitors can donate to LICHT INS DUNKEL. ORF 2 will show the entire recording of the military music festival on May 25, 2024 at 10 p.m. (barrier-free with subtitling and audio commentary).
ORF General Director Mag. Roland Weißmann: “LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL has proven, even after the great success in the 50th anniversary year, how important solidarity and charity are to the people of Austria and that their help will not stop. This is reflected not only in the great amount of donations raised in the 51st year of the campaign, but also in the ongoing willingness to further promote inclusive ideas. The ORF, as the media platform of LICHT INS DUNKEL, is also very concerned about promoting inclusive awareness-raising in Austrian society, which is why we are not only continuously expanding our barrier-free offerings, but also supporting LICHT INS DUNKEL in all of our media and thus the people in Motivate Austria to donate. My thanks go to all donors who, despite challenging times, make an important contribution to LICHT INS DUNKEL in a selfless and solidarity manner, as well as to all our partners for the excellent support in the past and next campaign year.”
Prof. Pius Strobl, head of the Corporate Social Responsibility department and therefore ORF head LIGHT INTO THE DARK: “With every call for donations, the ORF supports several hundred social and disability projects and thousands of families after strokes of fate who are helped quickly and without bureaucratic hurdles in emergencies. However, our responsibility as media partner of LICHT INS DUNKEL goes beyond simply collecting donations. It is a matter of course for us to draw urgently needed attention to the realities of life of people with disabilities with our radio and TV broadcasts as well as online throughout the year in order to raise public awareness in this regard. Because only through continuous discussion can we bring about real change. This work not only promotes diverse and inclusive thinking, but also strengthens the foundation of our society.”
LICHT INS DARK President Mag. Ines Stilling: “Art and especially music create connections between people with and without disabilities on an equal footing. We see this in many of the LIGHT IN THE DARK projects! Together with the Austrian Armed Forces and the ORF, we want to use the power of the music and images from Grafenegg to point out the importance of an inclusive society. It is precisely the different requirements and abilities of people that often create the greatest masterpieces. The military music festival helps to reach as many people as possible and remind them of what is possible in a society without barriers and what potential lies in the diversity of people. The cooperation between the Austrian Armed Forces, the ORF and LICHT INS DUNKEL is taking place for the third time as part of the military music festival, and we are always impressed by the commitment, the atmosphere, the unique venues and the skills of the musicians. I would like to thank everyone involved and the political representatives who made this event possible and of course I hope that as many people as possible follow the event and thus support LIGHT IN THE DARK.”
The ORF supported LICHT INS DUNKEL in the 51st year of the campaign
In the 51st year of the campaign, the ORF continued to support Austria’s largest fundraising campaign in all of its media and state studios in order to promote inclusive projects in the spirit of the LIGHT IN DUNKEL association and thus provide as many people as possible with the necessary support in the area of accessibility and learning assistance and thus a better To enable participation in society. Particular highlights in the past campaign year were the newly organized “Gala for LIGHT IN THE DARK”, in which four inclusive teams competed against each other in challenges, the “Ö3 Christmas Miracle” and the traditional fundraising day on Christmas Eve.
The ORF reaches up to 6.1 million people in Austria with its multimedia offering. With its extensive campaigns, program focuses, programs and contributions on TV, radio and online, the ORF motivates a broad audience to strengthen cohesion in Austria and to donate to LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL.
You can donate to LICHT INS DUNKEL all year round; all information about the fundraising campaign can be found at lichtinsschwarz.ORF.at.