11 - Who does the ORF help?

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Whether natural disasters at home or abroad, war or everyday hardship in Austria: ORF undertakes many aid campaigns, spontaneously in the event of a crisis or regularly, for example at Christmas for "LICHT INS DUNKEL". The data speaks for itself:





Lisa Zuckerstätter, Head of Humanitarian Broadcasting, has summarized the achievements of the past year.

Before I answer this question, allow me to take you on a quick journey. On February 24, 2022, the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops began. The attack not only woke many Ukrainians from their sleep, but also took them out of their normal lives forever. Since then, nothing in the country has been the same. Places of childhood and daily encounters were destroyed by the war, as were vital infrastructures (schools, hospitals, energy supply ...). The cold winter months in particular drive many Ukrainians - especially those from vulnerable groups (elderly people, children, people with disabilities) - to the limits of a decent life. Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, the aid organizations of "Neighbours in Need" and their local partner organizations in Ukraine and neighbouring countries have been in constant operation - with no end in sight.

On February 6, 2023, several earthquakes - including a magnitude 7.8 quake - shook south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria. Millions of people lost their homes and over 56,000 people died. The survivors lacked the most basic necessities - a place to sleep, medical care, food, hygiene products and clean water. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 23 million people were directly or indirectly affected in one fell swoop. With an earthquake disaster of this magnitude and due to the winter conditions, time was of the essence. "Neighbors in Need" responded immediately with a new aid campaign and provided donations for essential goods on the ground. The survivors are still suffering from the consequences of the disaster today.

The P. family in Burgenland in 2023: The now 20-year-old son suffered a brain haemorrhage at the age of eleven, which came as a complete surprise. Although an emergency operation lasting several hours saved his life, the damage to his brain is permanent. Paralysis in his hands and feet and regular epileptic seizures are part of his everyday life. He requires ongoing intensive treatment to keep his joints, tendons and muscles as mobile and pain-free as possible. The best forms of therapy cannot be fully covered by the public purse and are far beyond the family's financial means. Thanks to the support of the "Licht ins Dunkel" emergency aid fund, the family can be helped quickly, unbureaucratically and sustainably.

Devastating storms in the south of Austria in the summer of 2023 resulted in the flooding of numerous places in Carinthia and Styria. Thousands of Austrians not only lost most of their belongings, but also their entire livelihood in a matter of moments. The "Austria helps Austria" initiative immediately launched a relief campaign, triggering a wave of solidarity among the Austrian population. Within three weeks, almost six million euros in donations had been collected. More than 2,500 families in need were able to be helped quickly and over the initial period. Austria Helps Austria" will also take immediate action in the event of future storm disasters.

Another example: more than a quarter of the Austrian population has a history of migration, and in Vienna alone, more than half of all schoolchildren grow up speaking at least two languages. This change presents us with challenges, but also offers a great opportunity. The multilingual speech competition "SAG'S MULTI" seizes one of these opportunities. The event is not only intended to promote engagement with different cultures, but also to boost the self-confidence of children and young people by allowing them to express their multilingualism and their thoughts in a public space. Two of these thoughts and messages belong to Mohid Singh and Sabiha Moradi. In their award-winning speeches, the young people from Afghanistan pleaded for hope, inclusion, women's rights, freedom and education, among other things. They alternated between their mother tongues Hindi and Dari and German. Singh is now a scholarship holder of the Austrian Study Foundation of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Moradi works in IT and project management and has started a degree in business informatics in Linz. The competition will be in its 15th round in 2024. This year, ORF is once again giving a stage to the voices of today and tomorrow. This is where our journey ends - for now. You may now be asking yourself: What do these stories have to do with ORF?

More than 50 years ago, Kurt Bergmann, then director of the ORF regional studio in Lower Austria, visited the "village for the disabled" in Sollenau. Shocked by the conditions there, he decided to collect donations for the facility. Due to the high volume of donations at the time, the humanitarian ORF aid campaign "Licht ins Dunkel" was founded and became an annual fixture on television. Today, there are very few adults who can remember a Christmas without "Licht ins Dunkel" TV day. This was followed around 20 years later by the ORF campaign "Nachbar in Not" (1992), on the occasion of the war in the former Yugoslavia, and a few decades later, in 2020, the initiative "Österreich hilft Österreich" at the instigation of the current ORF Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Pius Strobl, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The brands are managed operationally by Austria's leading aid organizations (such as "Red Cross", "Caritas", "Diakonie", "Volkshilfe", "Hilfswerk" ...), ORF is and remains THE strong media partner.

"LICHT INS DUNKEL", "NACHBAR IN NOT", "ÖSTERREICH HILFT ÖSTERREICH", but also
"SAG'S MULTI", have a lot to do with ORF. On the one hand, we are the inventors; on the other hand, we are constantly initiating new campaigns and thus ensuring that the brands have been visible for decades and remain relevant. We do this not only because the "consideration and promotion of social and humanitarian activities" as part of our programs and offerings is part of our core mission (§ 4 ORF G), but also because this commitment is part of our public service identity. What Kurt Bergmann must have felt strongly back in 1973, I feel the same way today: We have the power and reach to direct the cameras to where the attention of our society is needed. We can attach importance to inclusion, equal participation and solidarity. Despite our supposed prosperity, experts say that more people are in need of humanitarian aid today than ever before and the outlook does not promise any improvement.

We can help. And we should do so not just out of compassion, but because it is smart. We are neither "satellites" nor do we already live on the "island of the blessed". A healthy community is important for all of us. However, it only functions and survives if everyone plays their part. When we invest in the future of our fellow human beings, we are also investing in our own future. Together, we are strong enough to overcome major challenges, be it the climate crisis, resource scarcity, political conflicts or unstable geopolitical situations. Each and every one of us has the potential to actively participate in society and give something positive back.

So who does the ORF help? In my opinion: You and me. All of us.


Hilfe
"NACHBAR IN NOT"

Sozialspots
"ÖSTERREICH HILFT ÖSTERREICH"
"LICHT INS DUNKEL"

#individuellerwert

Help

"Neighbor in Need"

Donation status for "Help for Ukraine" in 2023: €5,000,000
Total donations for Neighbor in Need since 1992: €314,100,000

Donation appeals for "Help for Ukraine" in 2023 through 4 spot campaigns:
"Elderly People in War" (April 2023), "Flood Disaster after Dam Destruction" (June 2023), "Help for Children in War" (June 2023), and "Winter in Ukraine: Help for People Must Continue" (October 2023)
Total donations for Ukraine aid since February 24, 2022: €101 million
Donation appeal for "Earthquake Victims in Turkey and Syria": When the earth shook in the Turkish-Syrian border region shortly after 4 a.m. on February 6, 2023, millions lost their homes, families, and jobs. The situation on the ground remains very tense. Reconstruction is underway but will take years. Through donation appeals launched by ORF and NEIGHBOR IN NEED the next day, more than €11.4 million (by the end of 2023) was raised to help people in the affected area.

Social Spots
TV spot slots provided free of charge to a total of 30 aid organizations: 884
Free slots for broadcasting social spots on ORF radios commissioned by Humanitarian Broadcasting: >4,800

"Light into Darkness"
Donation status in the action year 2022/2023:

Donated up to and including December 24:
(including doubling of the donation amount from 11/17-12/24/2022 by the federal government) €36,938,300.17
Donations at the "Gala for LIGHT INTO DARKNESS" and the "Radio OÖ Family Day for LIGHT INTO DARKNESS" on November 18, 2023: €3.38 million

During the "50 Hours for 50 Years of LIGHT INTO DARKNESS," listeners could request their favorite songs on all ORF radios in the federal states for a donation. This "Music Request Day for LIGHT INTO DARKNESS" raised: €546,000

The "Ö3 Christmas Miracle" for the LIGHT INTO DARKNESS emergency fund took place in Bad Ischl in 2023, with a collected donation amount of
€5,239,214

The total amount of all donations for LIGHT INTO DARKNESS from 1973 to and including Christmas Eve 2023 is: €416,133,806.76

Austria Helps Austria
Combines awareness-raising for crisis and disaster-related issues with effective solutions and requests for donations to make the needed help possible.
Donation status AUSTRIA HELPS AUSTRIA in 2023: €6,815,000
In 2023, two campaigns of the third ORF aid brand "Strengthen Children for the Future!" (February 2023) ran with the main theme "Multiple Crises: Supporting Children, Youth, and Their Families Together."
o "Flooding - AUSTRIA HELPS AUSTRIA" (August 2023)
o "Flooding - AUSTRIA HELPS AUSTRIA Reconstruction Aid"

Solidarity Contribution
A new type of donation income was developed in 2023 with the charity concept of the solidarity contribution and implemented for the first time at the Vienna Opera Ball.
Through ticket and catering surcharges, €567,975.59 was collected for urgently needed aid projects.

We Move Austria (Note: part of ÖHÖ)
The new movement initiative aims to motivate people of all ages and fitness levels to engage in sports and exercise year-round while also raising awareness for a sense of community. On National Day, thousands of participants registered their completed sports activities.
1,000,000 minutes of movement
Total donation income since 2020: €8,535,000