On Thursday 16 November, around 70 University of Europe for Applied Sciences’ students from the Department of Art and Design, won the PR Report Award in the category of Political Communication for the project 'Brokdorf bleibt!”, meaning “Brokdorf remains!”.

For a year, the students delved into the history of a nuclear power plant and the people who work and live in the region. The result was an interactive campaign and an already award-winning book, featuring voices from the community and providing insights into the history and workflows of the nuclear power plant. In addition, the students organised exhibitions and films on the subject. There were reports in newspapers, radio, and television at both regional and national levels, with around 200,000 views on the YouTube channel.

Professor Dr Christian Meyer zu Ermgassen, Project Leader and Associate Dean of the Department of Art and Design at UE, and Hauke Ratjen, power plant spokesperson, accepted the award on behalf of the students and commented: “We have been engaged with the project 'Brokdorf remains' since the summer semester of 2021 and are delighted to see that it continues to be noticed and recognised.

“The topic of nuclear energy was heavily discussed in the public sphere after the project started and is being reevaluated by the younger generation. Public discourse and personal exchange are important, with all involved parties, and, of course, this applies not only to the topic of energy generation. We see a lot of potential for the project to serve as a model for communication in similar debates and to support the perception of different perspectives.”

The PR Report Awards have been honouring exceptional communication campaigns, consultants, communication professionals, and young professionals of the year since 2002. The renowned jury consists of nearly 40 industry experts who, in a two-stage process, vote on submissions in 25 categories.