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EACA Care Awards 2015 honour MEPs Mariya Gabriel (EPP) & Damian Drăghici (S&D)

Date

25 Jun 2015

Sections

Global Europe
Innovation & Enterprise
Social Europe & Jobs
Brussels, 24 June 2015: Last night, the EACA Care Awards awarded MEPs Mariya Gabriel and Damian Drăghici with the MEP Care Award and a Special Commendation respectively for their contribution to social causes in the last year at the Radisson Blu EU in Brussels. 
 
Ms Gabriel, Vice-President of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, devoted much personal time and effort to combating domestic violence in order to reduce number of deaths resulting from it. She supported the campaign "One Billion Rising - Bulgaria" from the very beginning. During the campaign in 2014, she represented the European Parliament in Bulgaria. With her help, the EU Anti-Trafficking Co-ordinator, Myria Vassiliadou, expressed her support for the “One Billion Rising – Bulgaria” Campaign. In 2015, the campaign launched on Bulgarian National Television presenting TV spots with prominent Bulgarian public figures from artistic circles, as well as the media, politics and the government, including Yordanka Fandakova, the mayor of Sofia. Ms Gabriel’s strong commitment and sustained efforts to fight violence against women earned her the MEP Care Award 2015.
 
A special commendation was presented to MEP Damian Drăghici, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, who has been a relentless fighter for the cause of the Roma. He gave up his world class music career to join a political and civic fight for the integration of Roma and other populations in need. He was, and continues to be, an inspiration both through his own life story, but also through his dedication and the results he has achieved in the integration of Roma in society.
 
MEP assistants and the general public were able to nominate an MEP of their choice. Nominations were considered by a panel composed of representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA), the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) and Advertising Community Together (ACT). Together, they selected the MEP who, in their opinion, made the biggest contribution to society. 
 
The EACA Care Awards for Social Marketing Campaigns, which recognise excellence in promoting care for people, resources and the environment, are judged annually by a panel of MEPs. The 2014 and 2015 winning campaigns were recognised at a ceremony held in Brussels last night.
 
Entries in the 2014 & 2015 Care Awards covered issues as diverse as domestic violence, public health, child abuse and disability to name a few. 
 
The winners were presented with their trophies at the Radisson Blu EU in Brussels last night.