Brussels, 07/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on Monday 7 February, the European Commission awarded 27 prizes for the annual Juvenes Translatores competition. Around 3,000 17-year-old secondary school students took part in the competition. The Commission was delighted to announce that this figure is a new record in the history of the competition. The number of participants grew by 25% compared to last year and the number of schools putting forward candidates is at an all-time high (more than 1,600, as opposed to 1,430 during previous competitions). Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: “The record numbers involved highlight a strong commitment to language learning and I hope this will inspire other schools. Language learning opens doors and helps boost young people's development and employability”. The competition was run for the first time in 2007 as a pilot project to give young people a taste of what it is like to be a translator and to raise the profile of the translation profession and of language learning in schools. (I.L./transl.fl)