Language app for refugees wins European Charlemagne Youth Prize 2023

Every year national and European juries select a project from each EU country. 26 national winners were invited to the award ceremony in Aachen on 12 May, where the three EU winners were announced.

European winners

The first prize of €7,500 went to AILEM from Belgium – the first ever language app tailored for refugees and asylum seekers and developed in consultation with them. It uses language to break down intercultural misunderstandings and gaps between refugees and their host country and includes useful phrases, language learning stories and games, as well as ways to connect to other users. The project aims to bring together people from different backgrounds, experiences and social status.

Two projects took joint second place: Mobile Climate Museum from Lithuania and The European Correspondent from the Netherlands. They will both receive €3,750.

The Mobile Climate Museum (Mobili Klimato muziejaus paroda) was set up in May 2022 with the aim of getting people to adopt a climate-friendly lifestyle. It consists of four mobile marine containers representing four themes:

• Climate change – causes and impact
• The EU green deal
• Sustainable farming and healthy food
• Practical tips on cutting consumption

The European Correspondent, founded in 2022, brings together more than 140 young journalists from across Europe with the aim of creating European journalism. They email a daily newsletter, covering a different region each day, with the most relevant European news. They also investigate how big issues play out in different European countries.

National winners

The Spain 2023 jury selected the Get Real Now! podcast as the national representative.

“Get Real Now! is an independent European podcast project, which aims to facilitate an intercultural dialogue between its audiences. In each episode, a common topic is chosen and discussed in the participating countries in seven different languages. Then, every few months, all the hosts of the podcast get together to record an episode in English, where they exchange their views and discuss the ideas of the participants. In addition, all ideas from the episodes are shared and discussed in the podcast’s online community.

This project aims to address an issue that affects local communities, which often do not have adequate access to impartial information that is useful to citizens. Neutral information, but not only from a local or national point of view, but also from a more international and intercultural perspective that broadens their horizons.

The primary objective of this project is to promote intercultural communication by raising international awareness of neglected political issues in society, (European) citizenship and democracy, environment, migration, equality and human rights. All this from a perspective and in a format that is particularly attractive to the younger generation.

Discover the winners of the European Charlemagne Youth Prize 2022

European Charlemagne Youth Prize

The prize, jointly awarded by the European Parliament and the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation, is open to initiatives by young people aged 16-30 involved in projects that promote European and international understanding. Since 2008, 5,000 projects have competed for the prize.

More information: European Parliament