Turkish school in Germany awarded for cohesion efforts

By Cuneyt Karadag

BERLIN (AA) - A Turkish educational association in Germany has been awarded a special prize for promoting social cohesion and democracy.

The Regine Hildebrandt Prize -- named after a prominent East German scientist and democracy activist -- is given to an institution which has achieved significant goals in social integration.

Run by Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) it has been awarded annually since 2002 on Nov. 26, the date of Hildebrandt's death.

SPD vice-president Manuela Schwesig, at a ceremony at party headquarters in Berlin, presented €20,000 ($24,000) to Fatih Turk, founder of the Sport and Education School Kahramanlar ('Heroes' in Turkish).

Schwesig told the ceremony on Sunday evening the association was entitled to receive the award for its contributions to "social justice and peace".

Receiving the prize, Turk said the school -- which was founded 11 years ago -- provides opportunities in eight different sports for young people from many nationalities.

The school -- based in Bruhl, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Cologne's city center -- was also praised by the government for its contribution to integration through sports in 2015 and 2016.

* Ilker Girit contributed to this story from Istanbul.