Street Project Foundation Wins  Intercultural Achievement Award

Selected from more than 100,000 entries, a Nigeria-based arts organisation was honoured in the Innovation category by the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs.

Street Project Foundation (SPF), a Nigeria-based, arts-led organisation working with young people and communities, has won the Intercultural Achievement Award (IAA) 2026 for its project ARTvocacy. 

The IAA honours innovative civil society projects that strengthen intercultural and interreligious dialogue, in Austria and around the world. 

Launched in 2014, it was presented for the 13th time in 2026 and recognises projects across categories including innovation, technology, media, the environment and interreligious dialogue. 

The 2026 ceremony was hosted by Federal Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger at the Alois Mock Hall of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs in Vienna, Austria.

The result places a Nigerian, community-rooted initiative among the most recognised civil society projects in the world. SPF began in 2008 with an idea and has since built ARTvocacy with young people, families, partners and communities across seven cities in Nigeria.

In notifying SPF of its selection, the Ministry’s Task Force “Dialogue of Cultures and Religions” said the project had been evaluated in detail by the Task Force and the independent jury, who highly commended SPF’s civic engagement and its dedication to intercultural dialogue.

Commenting,  Founder/Lead Visionary, SPF, Rita Ezenwa-Okoro  said:”We started in 2008 with imagination and people willing to show up. We had no big funding and no established network. To be chosen from more than 100,000 entries tells us that work grown in Nigeria, with young people at its heart, has something real to offer the world. This award belongs to every young creative, partner and community who built ARTvocacy with us.”

Also commenting, SPF Chief Operating Officer,  Eduvielawhe Olutimayin, said:

“Behind this recognition is a team that has shown up consistently, year after year, often with very little. This award validates the way we work: trust first, community first, and creativity as a serious tool for change. It gives us a stronger platform to grow the work and reach more young people.”

Consultant and Programmes Director,  Ezenwa Okoro,  said: “Receiving this award in Vienna on behalf of the team was a profound honour. Every young person who has stood on a stage, written a poem or joined a workshop with us is part of this moment. It shows that creativity, even with limited resources, can build understanding across cultures.”