September 8, 2022
Industry
VideoDays are back: With a huge award gala and 16 award winners, the two-day festival celebrated a successful new start in Cologne. Over 400 content creators, who together inspire several hundred million people on the web, were on site. In workshops and panel discussions, they exchanged ideas with fan communities, the major social media platforms and the media industry on socially relevant topics and social media trends. Among the prominent guests at the closing award gala was Hendrik Wüst, Prime Minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, who presented the award in the "Social Responsibility" category with a laudatory speech.
More than 1,000 visitors were drawn to DIE HALLE Tor 2 in Cologne. Germany's "who's who" of creators and numerous players in the media industry came together, including talents such as food influcner Sally, Rick Azas, "beerfluencer" Clemens Brock, fitness creator growingannanas, Leeroy and TikTok star Younes Zarou. The fusion of different media worlds and the social transformation of the social web could be experienced for the first time at VideoDays Festival. Inspiring success stories, topics such as diversity, mental health, anti-racism and getting to know each other personally defined the program.
VideoDays Festival was sponsored by the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. The event was supported by YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Joyn and LinkedIn, among others. The event was moderated by comedian Negah Amiri and Dominik Porschen.
The highlight of the festival was the closing award gala on Wednesday evening. In addition to awards in categories such as Animation, Comedy, Food, Gaming or Science & Education, a Special Award "Social Responsibility" was given to ichbinhier e.V. by NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst. The association is committed to combating hate comments and incitement on the Internet.
"North Rhine-Westphalia is the home of Germany's web video scene and a top location for high-profile events in the media industry. The web video and creator scene makes a significant contribution to the diversity in our state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is a source of ideas for many other industries as well," said Minister President Hendrik Wüst. "A constructive culture of discussion and digital civil courage are of elementary importance for a living democracy, for fairness and respect. Associations like 'ichbinhier e.V.' make an important contribution to improving the online discussion culture and thus to better and respectful coexistence online."
Tobias Schiwek, organizer of the VideoDays Festival and CEO of We Are Era, added: "The past two days were a great and long-awaited reunion. No matter if emerging or established creators, across platforms all generations were on site. They celebrated together, but also took away a lot in terms of content. The response from the community and the mood of optimism in the industry have confirmed that we have laid a valuable foundation with the realignment of the VideoDays. This would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors and the platforms. I'm proud of what our team has put together."
"We are very happy about the successful relaunch of VideoDays Festival and thank all the organizers, partners and especially the creators for their great commitment. The result is 16 happy award winners and an innovative festival. Mission accomplished!", says Petra Müller, Managing Director of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.
Creators were awarded in 16 different categories.
- Breakout Creator: Dave
- Best in Shortform - kaan.etm
- Best in Longform – Leeroy Matata
- Best in Streaming – Trymacs
- Animation – Darkviktory
- Beauty & Fashion – unlabeled_
- Comedy - Clemens Brock
- Dance & Arts – JETTE
- Food - Vegane Wunder
- Gaming – HandOfBlood
- Music - Marti Fischer
- News & Commentary – Rezo
- Science & Education – Herr Anwalt
- Lifestyle & Entertainment – Papaplatte
- Sports & Health – Xin
- Special Award Social Responsibility – ichbinhier e.V
