A project named “Be The Missing Piece” created by the NPC of Croatia has won the award for the nation's best sponsorship project ©Allianz Zagreb

A project titled "Be The Missing Piece" created by the Croatian National Paralympic Committee (NPC) and insurance company Allianz has won the award for the nation's best sponsorship project at the SPORTO conference in Portorož in Slovenia.

During the SPORTO sports marketing and sponsorship conference, the Slovenian Marketing Association awarded prizes to the best sponsorship projects in the region.

An international jury, consisting of seven members, declared the "Be The Missing Piece" project the best sponsorship project in Croatia.

As a result of winning the award, they have been given a direct pass to the contest for the European Sponsorship Association's "Best of Europe" prize, due to take place in London next February. 

The goal of the project is to build a more tolerant society and promote the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration, and equality. 

It is with that vision, ahead of this year’s Paralympic Games in Rio, that Allianz encouraged a series of activities urging that differences toward athletes with and without disabilities be reduced.

They also emphasised "the passion that Paralympic athletes have for sports as well as their persistence and deprivation on the way to success".

The programmed collected the award at the SPORTO sports marketing and sponsorship conference ©SPORTO/Facebook
The programmed collected the award at the SPORTO sports marketing and sponsorship conference ©SPORTO/Facebook

This is the second time that the Croatian NPC and Allianz have successfully collaborated. 

They were awarded the same award two years ago for a project entitled "Wholehearted coaches", which started in October 2013 and was the first in Croatia aimed at local level sports development for children with disabilities.

"The Paralympics have always been an inspiration, motivation, and embodiment of values for Allianz," said Vanja Bzik, head of corporate communications at Allianz Zagreb.

"It is a fact that in this Paralympic year we have jointly managed to “tear down” the prejudices toward athletes with disabilities and build a 'star status' of extraordinary sportsmen, which presents the true value of this project. 

"We are very pleased that this was recognised also by professionals in Croatia and on the international level; this prize motivates us additionally to continue to build a better and more tolerant society through such projects."

This is the fourth prize that “"Be The Missing Piece" has won.

The digital part of the project has won the Awwwards "Site of the Day" and also collected honours at the CSS Awards, CSS Winner and CSS Design Awards.