Baza natječaja

The European Parliament - 'why should I care?'

The European Policy Centre (EPC) is calling for entries to its competition, ‘The European Parliament: Why should I care?’.

Young citizens from EU member states and Croatia are invited to express in an innovative and convincing manner why the European Parliament is important to them, and why there is a need to vote in the next EP elections. They can write, sing, paint, dance, film or use any other creative ways to present their opinions to us by 28 March 2013.

Twenty winning participants will be awarded a trip to Brussels, where they will have the chance to present their successful entries, learn more about the EU institutions, and exchange ideas with EU decision makers and like-minded young Europeans.

More information about the competition and how to apply can be found on the EPC website or our Facebook page.

Please read bellow the published competition call.

Have you ever wanted to express YOUR passionate opinion about the significance of the European Parliament to the lives of EU citizens? Have you ever itched to participate in a pan-European initiative alongside other young and like-minded individuals? Have you ever dreamt of MAKING A DIFFERENCE in the European integration project?

NOW is your chance to get your 'creative juices' going and tell us in an innovative and convincing manner why the European Parliament matters to you and why there is a need to vote in the 2014 European parliamentary elections.

It is in your power to SHAPE your future so GET INVOLVED! Your contribution MATTERS and could win you the trip of a lifetime to Brussels! Are you IN???

Eligibility

Age 16-30
Citizens of the EU and Croatia
Individual or collective entries

Guidelines

Submissions must be in English or include an English translation.

Format examples for the competition entry:

•writing (such as an essay, story, newspaper/magazine, poem, article/report, blog, etc.) - word limitation: 3–3000 words;
•other art form (like painting, drawing, comics, caricature, photography, short theatre piece, etc.);
•audio-visual techniques (for instance, a video, short movie, game, song, etc.) - length limitation: 1-120 minutes;
•website, applications for social media or communication technologies (for example, Smartphone application, Facebook apps, etc.);
•visual documentation from a public event which you organised exclusively as your entry to the competition and consider a good example for future events (such as artistic performance, workshop, debate, etc.);
•or whatever else might come to your mind.
Participants need to provide a short description of their entry and to suggest three ways in which their submission can be disseminated to raise awareness about the role of the European Parliament. (see Enrolment form).

Deadlines

28 March 2013

Submissions can be made either electronically or by mail (date of stamp no later than 28 March):

•E-mail to ep.competition@epc.eu
If your file(s) exceed the average attachment size, you can upload your entry to a publicly accessible storage and send us a link for download.
Make sure that your entry can be opened using standard or freely accessible programmes.
•Postal address:
"EP Competition"
European Policy Centre
Résidence Palace
155 rue de la Loi
B-1040 Brussels
Belgium
Prize

An all-expenses-covered, once-in-a-lifetime trip to Brussels for 20 winners to present their entries, exchange ideas with decision makers and like-minded young Europeans, and see the EP at work.

Evaluation Criteria:

Relevance (35%)

•evidence of good understanding of the European Parliament’s role in the EU’s institutional architecture;
•quality of the message conveyed and relevance to the terms of competition;
•ability to transmit the message clearly on why the European Parliament matters to you and why you plan to vote in the 2014 parliamentary elections.
Outreach (35%)

•capacity to raise awareness and understanding about the politics, policies and values of the European Parliament;
•ability to promote active involvement in activities concerning the European Parliament;
•potential impact, feasibility, ingenuity, and cost effectiveness of your dissemination strategy.
Creativity and Originality (20%)

• evidence of critical and creative thinking;
•originality of the message and form chosen to channel the idea.
Clarity of expression (10%)

Restrictions

One entry per individual or group.
The entry needs to be original, that is, it should not have been previously submitted to another competition.

Materials

Enrolment Form (122 kb)
EPC COMPETITION (368 kb)