Ganz nah am Menschen

“The value of our society and the value of our democracy is particularly evident in how we deal with people who are on the margins of our society, who can't speak up for themselves and say - I have these needs and they need to be met, please,” says Edith Strauch, a social worker at Diakonie. She is one of 10,800 employees of Diakonie in Austria, who provide care, support and advice to 412,000 people in over 30 organizations and associations at around 620 locations.
Filmmaker Robert Schabus respectfully portrays her and other Diakonie employees in various institutions in their day-to-day work, which is too little recognized by the public. From care for the elderly to work with people with disabilities and youth care, we delve deep into the work of Diakonie.
Robert Schabus uses touching images and situations to illustrate the importance of the social work that is so vital to our society and shows that this work is very fulfilling. Or as Susanne Lissy, Director of the School for Social Care Professions in Waiern, says: “Our work is very close to people, and being very close to people is what makes us human.”
The documentary was broadcasted on ORF 2 on January 12, 2025.