The European Parliament not only legislates, it also promotes ethical values. Every year it awards prizes in recognition of excellence in the fields of human rights, film, youth projects and good citizenship. These awards provide an opportunity to focus public attention on individuals and organisations who are striving to make the world we live in a little better and to encourage others to follow their example.
LUX Audience Award
With the LUX Audience Award, Parliament is teaming up with the European Film Academy to bring culture to a wider audience. Through this award, the EP has tangibly supported the distribution of European films by providing subtitles of the finalist films in 24 EU languages since 2007. The LUX Prize has earned a reputation for selecting European co-productions dealing with topical political and social issues that encourage debate on EU values.
The Parliament’s LUX European Film Prize supports the distribution of European films and encourages debate on political and social issues. All Europeans have the chance to decide, together with the vote of MEPs, who wins the LUX Audience Award.
European Parliament President David Sassoli presented the award to the winning film “Collective”, a Romanian-Luxembourg co-production, at a ceremony on 8 June in Strasbourg.
More information: European Parliament
Salvador de Madariaga European Journalism Awards
The Salvador de Madariaga European Journalism Awards ceremony was held on 22 June 2021 at the Carlos de Amberes Foundation in Madrid. The winners of the 27th edition of the Prize in the television, radio and written press categories were:
- José Ramón Patterson, former TVE Brussels correspondent in the television category for his ability to explain Europe at a crucial moment for its future.
- Carmen Vela, journalist and former correspondent in the radio category, for her extensive journalistic career which has led her to report on the European Union from the main European capitals.
- Rafael Latorre, journalist for El Mundo in the press category for “the quality of his analysis, the brilliance of his opinion pieces and the pro-European values that come through naturally in his columns and reports”.
The award recognises the work of media professionals whose work helps to shape public opinion on the EU.
More information:
European Commission Representation in Spain
Premio Carlomagno de la Juventud
The Charlemagne Prize has been awarded since 1950 for special services to European unification.
Every year, the European Parliament, together with the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation in Aachen, encourages young people from all EU Member States to submit projects run by and for young people which actively contribute to the development of Europe.
In the past, the Charlemagne Prize has been awarded to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the fathers of the European Union Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman, and Pope Francis.
The prize is Germany’s highest award for Europeanism and is intended to honour individuals, organisations or symbols of political, economic and cultural significance who have contributed to promoting the ideals of European unity.
The winners of the 2020 and 2021 editions were announced at an event in Aachen on 30 September 2021.
Winners of 2021
The 1st prize went to the Czech project “Fakescape”.
The 2nd prize (Romania) went to the project “Generation Z”.
The 3rd prize went to the Spanish project “Euroinclusión”, which won the third prize. It is a participatory and exchange programme between young people with disabilities from all countries of the European Union. Its aim is to enable people with disabilities to achieve full social, cultural and political integration in a free, united and diverse Europe.
More information: European Parliament
In addition, in order to raise the visibility of Europe’s cultural and audiovisual sectors, the European Commission supports a number of awards which aim to reward achievement, highlight excellence and raise awareness of European culture and heritage.
European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards
The European Commission and Europa Nostra announced on 25 May the winners of the European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Prizes 2021, the European Union’s award for cultural heritage funded by the Creative Europe programme. Europe’s highest honour in the field of heritage was awarded to 24 projects from 18 European countries.
Among this year’s winners were five major Spanish projects:
- conservation category: The Tower les Aigües del Besòs in Barcelona and Mas de Burot in Els Ports Natural Park, Horta de Sant Joan (Tarragona).
- Research category: ART-RISK – Artificial Intelligence Applied to the Preventive Conservation of Heritage Buildings.
- Education, Training and Awareness category: the Artisan Lime of Morón, recovery and dissemination of its knowledge and associated assets in the framework of sustainable actions in Europe; and Heritage Hubs.
- In addition, a Special Mention was awarded in the Conservation category to Three air-raid shelters in Valencia.
More information:
New Bauhaus Europe Awards
The European Commission announced on 16 September 2021 the twenty winners of the “New European Bauhaus Awards” and the “New European Bauhaus Rising Stars”.
The New European Bauhaus promotes a new way of life where sustainability meets style, thus helping to accelerate the ecological transition in various sectors of our economy, such as construction, furniture, fashion and in our societies, as well as in other areas of our daily lives.
The European New Bauhaus Awards reward good practices, examples and ideas that clearly illustrate the triad of values of the European New Bauhaus: sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness. They were awarded in ten different categories, ranging from “Construction and design techniques, materials and processes” to “Interdisciplinary educational models”. Ten prizes were also awarded to the rising stars of the New European Bauhaus, to support young talents under the age of thirty.
We highlight the Spanish winners of the New European Bauhaus awards by category:
- Jardines en el Aire (Spain) in the category “Renovated buildings with a circular spirit”.
- LA FÁBRIKA DE TODA LA VIDA (Spain) in the category “Regenerated urban and rural spaces”.
- Azotea de Xifré: Floating” Wild Garden (Spain-BCN) in the category “Preserved and transformed cultural heritage”.
- JARDÍN ULÍA(Spain) in the category “Places reinvented to meet and share”.
- APROP Ciutat Vella (Spain) in the category “Places reinvented to meet and share”.
- Degree in Design. University of Navarra (Spain) in the category “Interdisciplinary educational models”.
The Spanish prize-winners as rising stars of the New European Bauhaus :
- HABITAR EN UN PAISAJE CERRADO (Spain Santa Margarida – Mallorca) in the category “Construction and design techniques, materials and processes” Zero waste housing (Slovenia) in the category “Renewed buildings in a circular spirit”.
- NEST (Spain-BCN) in the category “Solutions for the joint evolution of the built environment and nature”
- Spaces to reconnect citizens with cities (Spain -BCN) in the category “Mobilising culture, arts and communities”.
More information: European Commission
Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize 2021:
The European Commission announced on 30 September 2021 the three winners of the 2021 Lorenzo Natali Prize for Journalism, selected by the Grand Jury from over 1,100 entries from around the world.
Grand Prize:
- Pari Saikia : “Rohingya Brides Thought They Were Fleeing Violence. Then They Met Their Grooms”.
Pari Saikia’s report on the exploitation of Rohingya refugee women reports on the factors and methods of trafficking in women in the region.
Europa Prize:
- Maria Altimira : “Abuses in the strawberry fields”.
Report exposing the labour and sexual abuses suffered by agricultural workers and attempting to show the responsibility of supervisory bodies for the abuses that occur under their watch.
Best Young Journalist Award:
- Srishti Jaswal: “The Global Hunger Index Reveals India’s Ignored Hunger Crisis” . Srishti Jaswal reveals India’s hidden hunger crisis and the underestimation of the number of reported hunger deaths.
More information: European Commission
EU Prize for Women Innovators 2021
Achieving an Equality Union that promotes gender equality in all areas of life is one of the Commission’s top priorities. The Commission is working to overcome the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs and to promote the creation of fair, inclusive and thriving innovation ecosystems in Europe.
The EU Prize for Women Innovators, first launched in 2011, honours women entrepreneurs behind ground-breaking innovations. In doing so, the EU aims to raise awareness of the need to increase the presence of women innovators and to create role models for women and girls around the world.
The prize was awarded on 25 November to the most talented female entrepreneurs from across the EU and Horizon Europe partner countries who have founded a successful company and brought innovation to the market. It is funded by Horizon Europe and managed by the European Innovation Council and the SME Executive Agency (EISMEA). The winners, chosen by a jury of independent experts, were:
- Merel Boers from the Netherlands: co-founder and CEO of NICO-LAB, a company that offers cutting-edge technology to help doctors improve emergency care.
- Mathilde Jakobsen from Denmark: co-founder and CEO of Fresh.Land, a digital platform that shortens and digitises the food supply chain, facilitating access to good quality food.
- Daphne Haim Langford from Israel: Founder and CEO of Tarsier Pharma, a company developing revolutionary medical solutions for the treatment and cure of autoimmune and inflammatory eye diseases.
More information:
Regiostars Awards 2021
The REGIOSTARS awards have become the European mark of excellence for EU-funded cohesion policy projects that demonstrate innovative and inclusive approaches to regional development.
Each year, hundreds of projects compete in five categories: “Smart Europe”, “Green Europe”, “Just Europe”, “Urban Europe” and the theme of the year. The public prize allows any citizen to participate by voting for their favourite project among all the finalists.
The European Commission announced on 2 December the winners of the 2021 edition of the REGIOSTARS awards for the best EU-wide projects in the field of cohesion policy:
- The award for “SMART Europe: increasing the competitiveness of local businesses in a digital world” went to Integration 3D metal printing.
- The award for “GREEN Europe: green and resilient communities in urban and rural environments” went to ICCARUS (Gent knapt op).
- The prize for “JUST Europe: boosting inclusion and fighting discrimination” went to TREE – Training for integrating Refugees in the Euregion,
- The award for “URBAN Europe: promoting ecological, sustainable and circular food systems in functional urban areas” went to Travelling Solidary Cannery.
- The winner of the theme of the year, “Improving Green Mobility in the Regions – European Year of Rail 2021″ was North-West Multimodal Transport Hub from the UK and Ireland.
- The public prize was awarded to BEGIN, a project bringing together cities, citizens and stakeholders by co-creating blue and green infrastructure projects in ten cities in the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, Belgium, Norway and Germany.
More information: European Commission
One of the most prestigious awards that Spain grants in order to highlight the work of European leaders is the Carlos V European Award, proposed by a jury composed of renowned personalities. The award ceremony takes place in a solemn ceremony at the Royal Monastery of Yuste, presided over by the Spanish Royal Family. The Charles V European Award represents the spirit of building a united Europe.
3.- XIV EUROPEAN CHARLES V AWARD
Since 1995, the Yuste Foundation has been organizing the Charles V European Award to recognize personalities, initiatives, institutions and projects that have stood out for their commitment to the European Union or for their contribution to the enhancement of Europe’s cultural, scientific or historical values.
The jury of the 14th edition of the Charles V European Prize decided to award the prize to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on October 14, 2021 in “recognition of her long political career in the service of Europe, having been a strong advocate of the European integration process and the important strategic role of Europe in the international concert”.
Merkel becomes the third woman to receive the Charles V European Prize after the former President of the European Parliament, Simone Veil, and the driving force behind the Erasmus program, Sofia Corradi. It is also the second time that the award has gone to a chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany after Helmut Kohl in 2006.
More information: European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation
European Innovative Teaching Awards 2021 in Spain
The European Innovative Teaching Award (EITA) was created within the framework of the new Erasmus+ 2021-2027 program to recognize outstanding teaching practices and honor the achievements of schools. It is an initiative implemented by the European Commission that highlights the value of European cooperation in the field of education, as well as the establishment of the European Education Area by 2025.
The objectives of the award are to celebrate the successes of teachers and schools and to give credit for their work, to identify and promote outstanding teaching and learning practices, to use the award as a means of mutual learning and to highlight the value of the Erasmus+ program for European collaboration of teachers and the creation of the European Education Area. Each year, the National Agencies of the Erasmus+ program will select the winners based on the theme defined by the European Commission and around 4 categories: Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education and Vocational Education and Training.
On September 16, the EITA awards were presented by the European Commission with the participation of Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.
In Spain, the National Agency SEPIE selected the winners of the first edition EITA 2021, whose projects were committed to distance and blended learning, linked to the Digital Education Action Plan and the context of COVID-19. The Erasmus+ projects awarded this year were:
- Violeta Campillo (Early Childhood Education), with the project: “Planning and integration of ICT in nursery and primary schools” of CEIP San Pablo (Murcia).
- Ana Isabel Sánchez (Primary Education), with the Erasmus+ project: “Changing methodologies and ICT towards real inclusion” from CEIP El Santo (Alcázar de San Juan, Ciudad Real).
- Victoria Cases (Secondary Education), with the Erasmus+ project: “Designing bridges between European citizens through STEAM” from IES Mestre Ramón Esteve (Catadau, Valencia).
- Alfredo Garmendia (Vocational Training), with the Erasmus+ project: “Electric Urban Mobility (EUMob)” of the San Viator Center (Sopuerta, Vizcaya).
All are examples of good practices and innovation, committed to inclusion, digitalization and sustainability, essential pillars in the new Erasmus+ 2021-2027.
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