This year's YouFab Grand Prize was unprecedentedly awarded to two works. Congratulations to Dora Bartilotti and masharu studio for the accomplishment!

Both works are certainly excellent, and that is exactly why they were awarded; not because we were not able to decide on one. Both works were awarded the YouFab Grand Prize because, through the evaluation process, we have released that the perspectives embodied in these two works are both esential for this year's theme, Democratic experiment(s).

Dora Bartilotti's "Public Voice" is a work by women and sexual minorities who have been oppressed in the Latin American society. They walk around towns dressed up in brightly colored "talking clothes" that they have created with their own electronic devices. By acquiring a "voice" in the form of talking clothes, they are able to appeal their existence to society while maintaining their anonymity.

On the other hand, masharu studio's "the Museum of Edible Earth" sheds light on the "soil" that is always and everywhere at our feet. Through the direct and shocking experience of taking the earth into one's body, this mobile museum, which researches and archives the "earth-eating" cultures of various parts of the world, provides hints for reconnecting with non-human beings, both in an inorganic and organic form.

Public Voice" takes a human perspective, while "the Museum of Edible Earth" takes a non-human perspective. All the jurors came to the conclusion that having both of these perspectives at the same time is fundamental for creating the democracy of the future. In order to improve the relationship between humans, we must improve the relationship between humans and non-humans.

The act of “creating” is most likely facing headwinds now. The impact of mass production and mass consumption on the environment is serious, and the problem of exploitative labor in the manufacturing industry is also acute. “Manufacturing is evil” — we may soon enter a time where people openly verbalize such things.

That is why we wanted to go back to the basics of "making" in the You Fab Awards this time. The act of making is essentially an activity that lies at the boundary between the inside and outside of human society. If we call it a "product," it becomes the object of trade in human economic activities, but its materials are derived from nature, which should not have belonged to anyone in the first place.

After screening 335 works from 26 countries and regions, what emerged was the possibility of "making" as an activity on this borderline. How can we think about the problems of the "inside" of human society together with the "outside"? In order to do this, we need to be aware of what our convenient lives have depended on, and listen to the voices of those we have excluded from our lives.

This would undoubtedly mean contemplating about democracy. Voting in elections is not the only way to achieve democracy. It is about meeting the outside world and changing the inside through creation. We must continue to experiment democracy.

Last but not least, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my fellow judges who worked with me through the screening process, to the staff who gathered the applications and prepared them for the screening, and most of all, to everyone who applied for the prize. Thank you very, very much.