A social project in favour of the youth of Zurich and a Caritas project in aid of the unemployed: these are the two projects that received the “Social Prize of the Churches for 2002”. The award is promoted by the Christian Churches of Switzerland as part of “Expo.02” and on the occasion of the “Federal Day of Prayer and Fasting”. The Day was celebrated on 15 September and is promoted by the Swiss Confederation to celebrate “the Nation’s recognition of the values of peace” and “the hope in a fairer system of justice for everyone”. For the 7 members of the jury, the award of the prize was no easy task this year: no less than 95 projects were submitted from all over Switzerland. The competition says its promoters was an occasion to “review the situation of social commitment in Switzerland”. Most of the projects concern the field of social integration and efforts in support of immigrants. One of the two winners is “NetZ4”,a project of the Methodist church in Zurich in favour of immigrant youth and their families that have so far failed to integrate themselves in society. The other award-winner, “Ecrevis”, is promoted by Caritas Jura: it’s aimed at helping the chronic unemployed and facilitating their re-insertion in the world of work.
