IT STARTED WITH A CNN REPORT.
 A report on CNN about Mikhail Gorbachev proved to be the catalyst to
expand on this fermenting idea. Georg Kindel: “It was like an epiphany
and made it immediately clear to me that only he could be the President
of this global initiative. He is a person who has changed our world like
virtually no other and a man for whom freedom and tolerance are of
particular importance.”
Two months later the founder of the WORLD AWARDS met the former
President of the Soviet Union. Not in Moscow, as he expected, but in August 2000 at the small Garden Plaza Hotel in Jackson, Tennessee,
Georg Kindel presented his ideas for making our world a better place to
a man who did his best to do just that: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Mikhail Gorbachev, the architect of the New World Order.
Georg Kindel: “The idea was not intended to create a macho event showing
how good or successful men were, but rather to convey the message that
much still has to be done, so that men can change their attitudes and social
behavior, which are at the core of the many pressing global problems.
From the beginning it has been our intention to honor role models,
people effecting positive change and thereby inspiring millions of
others.” Mikhail Gorbachev was so impressed by the concept of the WORLD
AWARDS that he immediately agreed to become its President: “Only by
creating a new awareness among men can we hope to bring about positive
changes in our world”.
THE FIRST WINNER WAS SIMON WIESENTHAL.
 The first WORLD AWARDS honoring men were held in Vienna only three
months later on MEN’S WORLD DAY, November 3rd, 2000 at the Imperial
Hofburg Palace. Among the first award winners were Simon Wiesenthal,
heart pioneer Christiaan Barnard, star tenor José Carreras and actor
Maximilian Schell. It was a low key, yet highly emotional beginning that
set the stage for bigger things to come.
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