15/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - At the theatre of Namur in the evening of 14 November, the European Commissioner for Culture, Viviane Reding handed over the European Patronage Award to France's oldest wine co-operative, the "Cave Viticole de Ribeauville", which, to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1995, created the Association "L'Art au-dela du Regard". The aim of the Association is to facilitate access for visually-impaired people to art, nature and culture. It has set up different projects to help these people, the most ambitious of which to date being an multi-sensorial exhibition for sighted and blind children at the zoological museum of Strasbourg. Organised by Cerec (Comité européen pour le rapprochement de l'économie et de la culture) in partnership with the Financial Times, the "Financial times/Cerec Award" aims to reward a company located in Europe which has provided exemplary support to a cultural programme of international dimension. The prize that Ms. Reding handed over is a sculpture made by the Belgian artist Christian Claus.