Deadline: May 20, 2016
The European Citizenship Awards 2016 are a joint initiative between Volonteurope and European Civic Forum, two European networks which promote active citizenship and recognition of the importance of social justice to the cohesion of communities across Europe.
The Awards celebrate the democratic and civic engagement of individuals, organisations, citizens’ groups, media platforms and social enterprises, recognising innovative initiatives and contributions which give real substance to European values , create ownership of public space and improve the lives of our communities in terms of democracy, social justice and universal access to rights. The Awards Ceremony will take place on September 12, 2016 at the City Hall in London.
Award Categories
The European Citizenship Awards 2016 will be awarded in the following four categories:
- Campaign of the Year: Rewarding awareness-raising or advocacy campaigns organised by both informal and formal groups of citizens, including NGOs, with a real and proven impact on community life or public action, and a high potential for driving transformative change;
- Social Enterprise of the Year: Rewarding businesses founded on the basis of social goals, which are written into the enterprise’s business vision and mission, the pursuit of which brings in positive social change in communities;
- Volunteer of the Year: Rewarding individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to democratic life and to the development of a community or cause, be it through a volunteering role in an NGO or in another form of an organisation or community association (including informal groups); and
- Media Initiative of the Year: Rewarding professional media and media-based collaborative initiatives which give citizens effective tools to engage and bring about positive change in their communities; successful media initiatives will have used different tools for engagement and enhanced citizens’ participation, fostered an informed citizenry and enabled the development of a common civic space.
Benefits
- Organizers will cover the travel and accommodation costs of the winners.
- In addition, the Award winners will be given the opportunity to present their initiatives, projects and achievements during the World Forum for Democracy, taking place from November 7-9, 2016 in Strasbourg.
- The winners may also be invited for interviews with various European media, thus offering them further opportunities to celebrate their achievements and promote their outstanding work, ensuring that the values upon which the European project has been founded are upheld and respected across the continent.
Eligibility
- In order to be eligible, the nominations must be made for contributions made, operations, activities and/or volunteering which took place between January 1, 2015 and 30 days prior to the launch date of the open call for nominations (18 April 2016).
- Nominations will be accepted from all current member states of the Council of Europe, which respect and promote the values expressed in the European Treaty and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;
- All applications will benefit from equal treatment regardless of age, gender, religion or nationality, and will be considered against three criteria: impact, innovative character, European values promoted;
- Activities carried out for the purpose of promoting a political mandate are not eligible for nominations.
Application Process
Fill in the online application form.
For more information, contact [email protected] or visit European Citizenship Awards.
