IBC2023 Social Impact Awards Winners

SWI swissinfo.ch, which has introduced a data-driven process to evaluate for use of inclusive language in its multi-lingual digital newsroom.

Head of Distribution and Formats Jo Fahy said "I'm over the moon. We have seen a cultural shift towards more inclusive and gender-neutral languages, and as a website in 10 languages published around the globe we can have a huge impact on society worldwide."

Iron Mountain Data Centers, which are on the path to using 100% locally sourced clean electricity 100% of the time to make their operations carbon free.

Iron Mountain Data Centres VP and General Manager, Europe, Eric Boonstra said: "We need a better world for the future and we are the only ones in the data centre business who do this, tracking all our usage and matching it with local green power generation. We are really focused on sustainability."

RTVE, which used AI to provide local election news coverage of nearly 5,000 small Spanish municipalities.

Partners: Narrativa, Monoceros Labs, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Universidad de Granada, ONCE, AWS

Accepting the award, RTVE Head of Innovation David Corral Hernandez said: "Gracias. It's a great award for all the team. Our challenge was to serve the public service that we can. It's important because we offer democracy for everybody in Spain."

The Social Impact Awards will be held on Sunday, 17 September at 16.30 CEST in The Forum as part of the Changemakers Programme. IBC will be welcoming Martin Österdahl, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest to the stage at the Changemakers programme to accept the award and talk about the live broadcasting event. The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the BBC and the EBU on behalf of Ukraine’s UA:PBC, was watched on five continents, with 162 million viewers tuning in to watch the competition over the three live shows.

“On behalf of the European Broadcasting Union, which strengthens and supports public service media in over 50 countries, I’d like to thank the IBC for this Changemakers award, recognizing the societal and cultural contribution made by the Eurovision Song Contest.

Like the IBC itself, technology and innovation are very much part of the DNA of the Eurovision Song Contest, infusing every aspect of the event since it was created in 1956 to expand broadcasting boundaries.

At its core, the Contest has always aspired to unite audiences in different countries and celebrate our diversity. From dazzling stage designs to flawless live audiovisual production, cutting-edge technology allows us to bring millions of viewers around the world together through music and three spectacular state-of-the-art shows.

And the impact goes beyond those three nights every May - the Eurovision Song Contest now connects millions more throughout the year via its social media channels.

We’re proud of the impact the Eurovision Song Contest continues to have – entertaining audiences, launching new artists, and, in an ever-fractured world, showing we are all united by music.” - Martin Österdahl