B.A. Creative Industries Management
The selection committee chose Chono C. Chibesakunda as the laureate of the DAAD Prize for International Students 2020 because he is impressive and exemplary in academic and social terms.
After only three semesters of his studies in Berlin, he has already distinguished himself through great commitment, systemic reflexiveness and relational leadership qualities.
Chono has the special ability to quickly analyse a new environment, and then to propose and implement concrete initiatives from the given situation through which solutions to systemic deficits are developed. When he identifies problems, he does not fall into resignation or frustration, but proactively explores solutions and involves other people in the process. He has demonstrated numerous times his ability to approach students, professors, university executives, academic staff and managers and creative professionals in the entrepreneurial environment of the cultural and creative industries in Berlin in a confident and approachable manner. Through these proactive qualities, he has already succeeded in developing a portfolio of activities in a short time, through which others can develop knowledge, skills and contacts for working in the creative industries. In doing so, his concern is not just short-term actions, but to set impulses for the further development of a socially responsible and sustainable institutional infrastructure in the creative industries.
Examples of his commitment are:
- (Further) development of the social media platform Creat[IN], which emerged in 2019 from an event with leaders from Berlin's creative industry for students of SRH Berlin, which Chono Chibesakunda initiated as part of a module and implemented very professionally with fellow students. Building on the success of the event and the recognition from industry partners, he and project partners have further developed Create[IN) with the aim that Create[IN) acts as a social media platform that shines a light on the stories of people tackling global societal challenges creatively and through the perspective of the cultural and creative industries. Content about innovative and creative initiatives is curated and re-produced for the growing platform.
- Organisation and implementation of the digital event series "The Future of the Creative lndustries in Times of Disruption" in the streamteam of SRH Berlin, which focused on finding out how different branches of the cultural and creative industries react to the Corona crisis; Mr. Chibesakunda co-conceived the event series and independently led the operational and content project management;
- his activity as Student Ambassador of the SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences and is primarily the contact person for prospective students and new students, especially with regard to the BA Creative lndustries Management,
- Support for the project "SOS Songs of Substance" by the musician and lecturer Jocelyn B. Smith, which he actively supports as Creative Producer; the project is a platform that aims to make the role of musical lyrics for positive social change clear to a wider audience,
- Project assistant at "The lnnovationlabs.Berlin" where in 2019 he contributed to the digital implementation of an online summit in which international actors, leaders and entrepreneurs were interviewed about the development of innovations with social impact.
As a photographer and filmmaker, Chono supports fellow students in documenting their projects. He works in a very relational way, as he reaches out to others and involves them in the implementation of projects.
As an international student, he demonstrates early in his career the capacity to generate projects through which other people can test, develop and communicate their professional skills and confidence. But he is also a systems thinker, thinking in larger institutional and societal contexts. Young people like Chono Chibesakunda are action-oriented, creative bearers of hope at a time when we as a global society are still very laboriously learning to live constructively with social, economic, ecological, technical and medical challenges, uncertainties and changes.
