"Regional art & culture" – that is the concept behind KUKURYKU! On Thursday, November 21, the spin-off from the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) was awarded the 2024 Courage Award by the Oderland-Spree start-up partners' working group. Founder and Viadrina graduate Philip Murawski accepted the €500 award on behalf of his team at the Spreepark in Beeskow. The laudatory speech was given by the Mayor of Frankfurt (Oder), Claus Junghanns, who praised Philip Murawski and his team for their courage and creativity.
The KUKURYKU! is being honored with the Courage Award as an outstanding sideline start-up. The store in the pedestrian zone of Große Scharrnstraße in Frankfurt (Oder) is a gallery, bar, meeting place and co-working space all in one and functions as a shop window into the diverse art and cultural landscape of the twin city. Founder Philip Murawski and his co-founder Paul Bethge were supported in the implementation of their business idea by the Viadrina Start-up Center's funding program.
In addition to the Courage Award, the Oderland-Spree Start-up Partner Working Group also awarded the 2024 Founder Award, which is endowed with 2,024 euros, to Florian Henkel, who has taken over the Seecamp Waldreich campsite on Lake Ranzig. For the first time, the "Succession Award for the Oderland-Spree Region", including 1,000 euros in prize money, was donated by the East Brandenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Frankfurt (Oder) Chamber of Skilled Crafts; it went to Judith Giese for her takeover of the funeral service Sigrid Oßwald GmbH from Seelow. "This evening has once again shown how diverse and imaginative the start-up scene in East Brandenburg is," enthused Anja Rillcke from the Viadrina Start-up Center. "Things are really happening here, and the path to self-employment is paying off for many."