AWARD NIGHT 2022

It was a beautiful evening at Auktionsverket Kulturarena in Gothenburg, where you were met by enormous photographs of various sea creatures signed by photographer Carl Ander, which was a part of the national aquaculture campaign Catch of the Week. Set designer Gudrun Bonér, also known as Karuscha Styling, is a creative mastermind that every year gets the task of interpreting the yearly theme in physical form. This year, she decorated the great hall with giant jellyfish floating above the audience in fluorescent lights, all made from reused material.

The evening started with the berlin based pop-duo Juno Francis, who took the audience under the surface to a mystic seascape with their hypnotic beats and dreamy tunes. Like a mermaid washed ashore, the wonderful host of the evening Madeleine Josted Ulrici, hit the stage. She took the audience through the evening in a finely tuned combination of seriousness and humour. The first stop of the evening was the prize cubes of 2022, encapsulating the theme of Sustainable Aquaculture by London- and Seoul-based Studio newtab-22.

Delighted to receive one of the stunning prize cubes was the WIN WIN Youth Award winner of 2022: Sara Gutierrez Plata, a Colombian researcher who, by using the Caribbean King Crab, has found a way to minimize harmful macroalgae proliferation and at the same time supplement the local economy with a sustainable seafood revenue source. To present the award on stage was Swedish star chef and cookbook writer Monika Ahlberg, who has an excellent mind for creating sustainable and delicious dishes. Sara Gutierrez Plata held an informative and inspiring presentation on her work in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.

From the back of the hall, the youth choir of Gothenburg entered, singing atmospheric songs like the Swedish classic "Så skimrande var aldrig havet" written by the famous Evert Taube, only to be followed by an energetic interpretation of "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid.

And then, at last, the winners of the WIN WIN Award and the 1 Million SEK were called up on stage surrounded by the cheering crowd. Johan Ljungqvist and Mikael Olenmark described their way from idea to actual fish farm, working day and night to make the old farm out on the Scanian countryside a good home for their robust, omnivorous, freshwater living fish specie Tilapia and Clarias. Today, you can find their fish at almost any grocery store; fillets for the creative and fish meatballs for the hectic everyday life. The fish from Gårdsfisk was, of course, served the audience during the award night.

The award night ended with jury chair Emma Dalväg revealing the theme for the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award 2023: Fighting Disinformation. With her up on stage came the expert advisor for 2023, Carl Heath, who previously was appointed Special Counsel for the protection of democratic dialogue by the Swedish Government. Nominations are open to the public until January 15.

The evening continued in the foyer with music, dessert, many interesting conversations and a lot of laughter.

Thank you all involved. Bit by bit, we create the change needed for a more sustainable future.