The European Commission has selected 12 civic participation projects that encourage action and debate on EU issues at the grass-roots level. Later this year, these projects will be awarded the "Golden Stars of active European citizenship" in a prize ceremony in Brussels , hosted by Commissioner Ján Figel'. The 2008 Golden Stars are awarded as part of the Europe for Citizens programme, and give official recognition to initiatives that showcase cooperation, effective working methods and tangible results in the area of civic participation. The winning projects involve participants from 22 EU Member States.
The European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Ján Figel' , said: " Europe needs participation, needs the feedback of its citizens. The Europe for Citizens programme endorses and promotes successful efforts of active civic participation with concrete results. It is therefore not a surprise to find among the Golden Stars winners systematic, reflection-provoking initiatives that point in the same direction: the participation in, and promotion of, common European concerns. In my view, these projects clearly show active citizens constructing Europe at the level of everyday life, as they mobilise for issues that are relevant to them".
The task of identifying this year's winners was trusted to an external jury, composed of seven members, and chaired by Mr. Hannu Takkula, Member of the European Parliament and Vice Chairman of the EP Committee on Culture and Education. Members in the jury included Mrs. Brenda King from the European Economic and Social Committee and Mr. Keith Walters from the Committee of the Regions.
" We were given the chance to review quality projects and identify among them those that both reflected the purpose of the Europe for Citizens programme and could be further used to encourage similar efforts in the field" stated jury chairman Takkula, adding: " This year, though, and in tandem with the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, we selected three projects that build on the historical experiences of past generations and educate future ones by teaching them how to be tolerant and open ".
The Golden Stars are awarded each year under the Europe for Citizens programme, which focuses on organised civil society and at a wider, grass-roots audience. This main EU programme in the field of active citizenship is designed to enhance citizen involvement in the construction of Europe; to this end, a budget of some € 27 million is available for the year 2008.
The Golden Stars award ceremony will take place on 13 November 2008, in Brussels. It will be open to the public upon registration.
For more information on the programme, on the winning projects as well as for the complete programme of the upcoming award ceremony event in Brussels, see http://ec.europa.eu/citizenship .
