Today, the EU perspective is open to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Young people aged 15–25 from across Europe were asked to submit an article or blog on what today’s European Union of 28 Member States can learn from its past to help improve its future, as well as to reflect on what an enlarged EU means to them.
Over 450 entries were sent from the 28 EU Member States and from 7 candidates and potential candidates in Southeast Europe. The participants were judged, inter alia, on the clarity of their argumentation, the quality of their writing and on the originality of their ideas.
Juries from each participating country selected one entry from each age group (15–18 year olds and 19–25 year olds) for further evaluation by a European jury, consisting of:
- Jacki Davis, Managing Director at Meade Davis Communications and launch editor of European Voice;
- Claus Giering, Head of Unit for Communication at the European Commission´s Directorate-General for Enlargement;
- Domagoj Kovacic, Executive Director of the South East European Youth Network;
- Jacques Rupnik, Professor at Sciences Po Paris.
The European Jury commented on the winning entries as follows:
Winner for the 15-18 age category: Jan Getek from Poland
This entry was chosen by the jury members for its excellent balance of personal experience of EU enlargement, backed up with strong arguments and facts and supported by a high standard of writing. The jury was pleased to note the overall high standard and maturity of entries for this age category.
Winner for the 19-25 age category: Anastasia Liopetriti from Cyprus
The jury decided that this was a well-written piece which captured the EU´s principles and values and was embellished with personal points such as a bus journey. In particular, the jury enjoyed the description of borders, both imagined borders of the mind and physical borders, and of the process of breaking them down, and felt that the author illustrated this well.
