IP/07/1939
Brussels, 17 December 2007
“The European Union and non-discrimination” 2007 competition open to all young people in the EU: the Commission announces the winners’ places “The European Union and non-discrimination” is the title of a competition launched on 30 July last by Franco Frattini, Vice-President of the Commission with responsibility for justice, freedom and security. European children and teenagers in two age groups, 12 to 13 and 15 to 18, were asked to design a poster illustrating the idea of non-discrimination in the EU. After an initial round in each Member State, and a prize-giving ceremony in each country on 20 November – International Children’s Rights Day - and a second round in which the entries were considered by a European jury, the six teams that won at European level, three for each age group, were asked to come to Brussels for a European prize-giving ceremony hosted by Mr Frattini today, 17 December. The best posters may be used in future European campaigns against discrimination The competition followed the success of another competition held last year on the subject “The European Union and the rights of the child”, which aimed to make young European citizens more aware of their rights.
These competitions involve children directly and personally: the general objective is to combine creativity, competitiveness and education with an awareness of very sensitive and important aspects of our society.
Mr Frattini said at the prize-giving that he was very impressed by the great interest shown by the young people of Europe in the subject of non-discrimination – the number of teams taking part was 6 153 – especially as this year 2007, which still had a few days to run, was the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. As he had hoped, the slogan “Together against discrimination” was there to recall that the rejection of discrimination had to be a common objective of the European Union, its Member States and all its young citizens and residents.
Mr Frattini gave each of the six winning teams a diploma and announced their places:
For the age group 12-14: First prize: France Second prize: Belgium
Third prize: Portugal
For the age group 15-18: First prize: Czech Republic Second prize: Portugal
Third prize: Italy
The best posters will be displayed on the websites of the Commission’s representations in the countries of the EU and on the Europa server. They may also be used in future European anti-discrimination campaigns. The Commission has been working for a long time to promote non-discrimination in all its policies, both internal and external. To find out more about Vice President Frattini's work please visit his website:
http://www.ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/frattini/index_en.htm
