Contest Rules of the Altiero Spinelli Prize for Outreach
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2017 Contest Altiero Spinelli Prize for Outreach: Spreading Knowledge about Europe Rules of the Contest EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Directorate C - Innovation, International Cooperation and Sport Unit C3: International Cooperation Contact: [email protected] European Commission B-1049 Brussels © European Union, 2017 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Altiero Spinelli Prize for Outreach: Spreading Knowledge about Europe Rules of the Contest Procedure No: EAC/20/2017 Table of Contents 1. Rationale ........................................................................................................ 5 2. Objectives - Expected results ............................................................................ 6 3. Award criteria ................................................................................................. 7 4. Evaluation procedure ....................................................................................... 8 5. Eligibility criteria ............................................................................................. 9 6. Deadlines and admissibility of proposals ............................................................. 9 7. Amounts for the prize ..................................................................................... 10 8. Payment Arrangements ................................................................................... 10 9. Documents .................................................................................................... 10 10. Publicity — Promoting the prize — Visibility of EU funding................................. 10 11. Exclusion criteria ......................................................................................... 11 12. Processing of personal data .......................................................................... 12 13. Ethics ........................................................................................................ 13 14. Conflict of interest ....................................................................................... 13 15. Liability for damages.................................................................................... 13 16. Administrative and financial penalties ............................................................ 13 17. Checks, Audits and Investigations ................................................................. 14 18. Withdrawal of the prize – Recovery of undue amounts ..................................... 14 19. Applicable law and competent jurisdiction ....................................................... 14 20. Evidence upon request ................................................................................. 14 21. Cancelation/Early termination of the contest ................................................... 14 22. Contact: ..................................................................................................... 14 4 1. Rationale The European integration project has for six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights, solidarity and free movement in Europe, and has been a world example in balancing prosperity and social welfare. However, the European project is currently being challenged for what it does and also for what it is. It is criticized and weakened, from within as well as from outside. Much of the public discourse about Europe is currently framed by simplistic populist appeals to emotion and often by false information rather than evidence. Public trust in the ideal of a European Union is low. Action on many fronts is necessary to redress this "disenchantment" with the EU and to enhance the citizens' understanding and ownership of the European project. Public trust and participation need to be revived. We need to bring the EU, its benefits and its achievements closer to the citizen. We need to reconnect the European Union with its citizens, notably the youth, and to build trust in the EU's capacity to hold the promise to a better future in the making for all. This requires more than passively disseminating technical information about the EU's institutional set up. Rather, we need to speak up without hesitation about the enormous accomplishments of and benefits from the European integration process. Moreover, we need to do so in a language that the citizen can understand and relate to. There has never been a more urgent time for the EU institutions to reinforce positive messages about the EU's contributions, still without losing sight of failures, contradictions or dilemmas experienced in the European integration process. More than ever before, we need to inform the public objectively about the EU, but also to inspire the citizens and help them develop positive and constructively critical European identities and a sense of belonging to Europe. The 30th anniversary, in 2016, of the death of Altiero Spinelli1 (one of the founding fathers of the European Union) and the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome are an opportunity for action. The Commission plans to award a number of "Altiero Spinelli Prize for Outreach: Spreading Knowledge about Europe" (hereafter called "the Prizes") following an EU-wide contest2. 1 Altiero Spinelli (1907 – 1986) was an Italian politician and political theorist. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of the European Union due to his co-authorship of the Ventotene Manifesto, his founding role in the European federalist movement, his strong influence on the first few decades of post-World War II European integration and, later, his role in re-launching the integration process in the 1980s. He was the leading figure behind the European Parliament's proposal for a Treaty on a federal European Union - the so- called 'Spinelli Plan'. This was adopted in 1984 by an overwhelming majority in the Parliament and provided an important inspiration for the strengthening of the EU Treaties in the 1980s and '90s. By the time of his death, Spinelli had been a member of the European Commission for six years, a member of the European Parliament for ten years right up until his death. The main building of the European Parliament in Brussels is named after him. The 1987–1988 academic year at the College of Europe and the 2009–2010 academic year of the European College of Parma were named in his honour. Read more about Altiero Spinelli at: https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/docs/body/altiero_spinelli_en.pdf. 2 Commission Decision C(2017) 3847. 5 The "Altiero Spinelli Prize for Outreach: Spreading Knowledge about Europe" will reward outstanding contributions that effectively and objectively communicate the EU - its founding values, its history, its action, its key benefits and empowerments- to the citizens, enhance the citizens' understanding of the EU, broaden the ownership of the European project and build trust in the EU's capacity to hold the promise of a better future for all. 2. Objectives - Expected results The Prizes will encourage, reward and provide European level recognition and visibility to high quality contributions to: 1) Promoting knowledge of the EU and critical reflection on the past, present and future of the EU to non-specialist audiences and to the general public. 2) Enhancing understanding by citizens of the values, objectives, key benefits and empowerments of the European integration process, of the enormous accomplishments of the EU, of the cost of non-Europe; also of failures, contradictions and dilemmas faced in the process of European integration so far. 3) Proposing, testing and assessing innovative approaches and materials that European and national policy makers, practitioners, civil society organisations and institutions in various fields can use to better inform, educate, inspire and empower citizens to develop positive and positively critical European identities and sense of belonging. 4) Exposing anti-EU populist myths on various aspects of the European integration process, including extremist rhetoric based on nationalism, intolerance and misinformation about the legitimacy, competencies and actual work of the EU. Demystifying and setting the record straight by conveying an honest and factual truth. Prizes will be awarded to the most attractive, non-conventional, user-friendly, evidence- based, and myth-busting works that achieve the objectives set above and that are suitable for outreach to a variety of audiences. The Prizes will be awarded for outstanding works that are informed by, exploit, and effectively communicate to wider society and to ordinary citizens the findings, knowledge and insights emerging from research3 on the processes of European Integration. For example, through publications, media productions, audio-visual works, newspapers, films, documentaries, exhibitions/events, TV series, radio-programmes, work of fiction, MOOCs, 3 Relevant research includes (indicatively, but not exclusively): research done in the context of relevant European research projects or in the context of Jean Monnet Activities; comparative studies on models of integration (e.g. trade agreements, international organisations, federations) and of existing integration models (e.g. the EU, African Union, Mercosur, United States of America, Canada); research on the role of citizens and civil society organisations in the EU integration process; the life and works of Altiero Spinelli and other Founding Fathers of the European Union. 6 fact-checking initiatives or other cultural