The award for sustainable local commitment is awarded to active initiatives or associations whose commitment meets several dimensions in the sense of the global sustainability strategy. The award recognizes the commitment to preserving the regional natural and cultural heritage and the creation of social and economic networks.

The jury - consisting of representatives of the BMI, the BHU and municipal umbrella organizations - selected five initiatives and associations from across Germany for the second time.

The focus of the assessment is local commitment that takes more than one aspect of the global sustainability strategy into account, i.e. has an economic, social, ecological or cultural dimension. The prizes are each endowed with 1,000 Euros.

The award was presented on June 24, 2024, as part of the BHU Federal Congress in Berlin's Red City Hall by the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland (BMI), Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter. The laudatory speech was given by the Federal Managing Director Dr. Inge Gotzmann of the Federal Association of Homeland Societies in Germany (BHU).

We are very pleased about this honor because it is a beautiful way of recognizing our voluntary commitment!

Eleven municipalities were named "Country Music Venue of the Year" by the German Music Council in 2024. This prize will be awarded for the third time in 2024. For the first time, a municipality from Saxony-Anhalt is among the winners: Wettin-Löbejün.
The award ceremony took place during a concert entitled "Loewe & Goethe" on August 31, 2024 in the chamber music hall of the Carl Loewe House in Löbejün.
In her laudation, Prof. Jutta Schnitzer-Ungefug, former Secretary General of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and President of the State Music Council of Saxony-Anhalt, praised the musical life in the Carl Loewe town: "This honor is not only recognition of the extraordinary musical commitment of this town. It is also proof of how music as a cultural force can enrich the life of a place in many ways and increase its appeal far beyond its own borders... At the center of this diverse musical life is ... the International Carl Loewe Society, which has been tirelessly cultivating Carl Loewe's musical legacy and spreading it around the world since its founding in 1992."