Pan-European laureates to be unveiled on 12 November

More than 110 individuals, organisations and movements were nominated in 11 languages for the EurActiv Awards for Debating Europe Nationally before the nominations closed on September 15.

The awards’ national Juries have now selected three winners for each EurActiv language portal.

Among the nominees advancing to the next round are bi-lingual TV channel Arte, which promotes debate on Europe’s culture, heritage and future; InterRail, which allows exploring Europe by train; the environmental film ‘Home’; and a Bulgarian radio programme ‘Europe for me’, which animates debate on the EU.

German business newspaper Handelsblatt, the founder of the Hungarian Platform for Creative Industries, József Mlinarics, European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, a Romanian Pro Democracy Association, and the Slovak Euro-Atlantic Centre are also among the national winners.

The Awards were of particular interest in Turkey, with around a fifth of the nominations submitted in Turkish. One of the Turkish national winners is ‘Coffee Futures’, a documentary film aiming to spark renewed debate on Turkey’s EU accession.

National laureates now head to the pan-European final contest

Five winners will be selected by a VIP Jury from among the 37 national winners and invited to Brussels for the prestigious ceremony in which the grand prize winner will be announced at the European Parliament on November 12, 2009. See programme at http://www.euractiv.com/29/images/Brochure_EA_10thanniversary_programme_tc....

VIP jury members selecting the EurActiv award winners include Commission vice-president Günter Verheugen, MEP Graham Watson, former president of the European Parliament, Pat Cox, director general of Commissions’s DG communication, Claus Sorensen, EU’s Lisbon Strategy advisor Maria João Rodrigues and President of Euronews, Philippe Cayla. Other Jury members include a number of think-tank, corporate and civil society leaders.

The awards and November's prize ceremony and debate are sponsored by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, The Coca Cola Company and EURid, which manages the Internet domain .eu. The event’s media partners include Euronews and the International Herald Tribune. Award winners will be lodged in the Stanhope Hotel, with the support of Thon Hotels.

EurActiv Publisher Christophe Leclercq said: “EU communication policy needs truly decentralised actions, not just ‘going local’, but ‘starting local’. EurActiv’s network of national policy portals already supports the debates where they belong: in the countries. But many other ‘EU actors’ do great things at national level and deserve recognition both nationally and at EU level.”

Natalie Todd, Managing Director of Ogilvy's Brussels office said: "It's really refreshing to see the range of initiatives - each advancing dialogue about Europe in their own way. It's the things that really impact people's lives that will get us talking more. These national winners of the EurActiv Awards are models of how this can be achieved. We at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide congratulate them on their success."

List of national winners

English & Others

· ARTE (TV channel)

· Politics.ie (online forum)

· J Clive Matthews (blogger)

· Interrail (rail pass)

· Guy Verhofstadt MEP (politician)

· Home (film)

Bulgarian

· Europe for me (radio programme)

· National Association of Municipalities in Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB)

· Cafe Babel Sofia (civil society platform)

Czech

· Lenka Rovná (academic)

· Europeum/David Král (academic)

· Jana Hybášková (politician)

French

· European general assembly (civil society platform)

· Young European Parliament of France

· Eur@dioNantes (journalist platform)

German

· Network European Movement Germany (debate platform)

· Handelsblatt (newspaper)

· Franz Mayer (academic)

· Special nomination for Austria: European Umbrella Infopoint

Hungarian

· Dániel Csonka (NGO founder)

· István Hegedüs (think tank founder)

· József Mlinarcis (SME platform founder)

Polish

· Jerzy Buzek MEP (politician)

· Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (politician)

· demosEUROPA - Center for European Strategy (debate platform)

Romanian

· Asociatia Pro Democratia (Pro Democracy Association) (NGO)

· Alianta Nationala pentru Boli Rare din Romania (The National Alliance for Rare Diseases in Romania) (NGO)

· Asociatia Prader Willi Romania (The Prader Willi Association Romania) (NGO)

Slovak

· Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, UMB, Banská Bystrica (academia)

· Euro-Atlantic Centre (NGO)

· Regional European Information Centre Banská Bystrica (debate platform)

Spanish

· Ana Patricia Botín (politician)

· Nueva Economia Forum (debate platform)

· Macarena Rodriguez (blogger)

Turkish

· Ayhan Kaya (academic)

· Coffee Futures (film)

· AEGEE Ankara (NGO)

The Awards are an initiative of the Fondation EurActiv, which provides EurActiv.com with guidance on editorial strategy and coaches non-Brussels-based online media on how to get a foothold in EU circles.

The objectives of the EurActiv Awards were set out in an earlier press release: www.euractiv.com/29/images/EurActiv%20Awards%20PRESS%20RELEASE_11052009_tc....

- ENDS -

Media contacts:

Frédéric Simon, Editor - Tel. +32 2 788 36 78, editor2@euractiv.com

Rick Zedník, CEO - Tel. +32 2 226 58 12, ceo@euractiv.com

Christophe Leclercq, Publisher - Tel. +32 2 226 58 13, publisher@euractiv.com

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