Brussels, 13/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 13 November, the European Commission awarded its “Golden Stars of active European citizenship” to 12 civic participation projects during a ceremony held in Brussels. The event also marked the official inauguration of the “Europe for Citizens Forum 2008” which will allow discussion on civic participation and its impact on Europe.
The Golden Stars are the official annual recognition of projects funded under the Europe for Citizens programme, which aims at engaging citizens in the construction of Europe. For the year 2008 alone, the programme plans to involve close to one million direct participants, giving them a chance to discover cultural differences and similarities with citizens from other places in Europe. In more than 1,200 exchanges, people from almost 4,000 towns across Europe will meet and discuss how common European values affect their everyday lives. The Forum was inaugurated by Ján Figel, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth; Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French State Secretary for European Affairs; Marek Mora; Deputy Vice-Prime Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic; and Hannu Takkula, MEP and Chair of the Golden Stars selection jury. Plenary sessions and workshops during the Europe for Citizens Forum on November 14 will provide insight into the different forms of civic engagement and the tools to actively exercise it. Projects awarded with the Golden Stars and the details of the ceremony and forum are available on: http: //ec.europa.eu/citizenship. (I.L./transl.jl)