Brussels, 18/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 17 February, the European Commission launched the first European journalism competition ever in the field of health - a competition for journalists of the written press and electronic press. The award will be one of the pillars of the recently launched “Europe for Patients” campaign. According to a Commission press release, it will help to reward and promote quality health journalism from one end of Europe to the other, on one hand, and to stimulate and fuel the debate on European health questions and more particularly on initiatives under the “Europe for Patients” campaign, on the other. Articles published in the written or electronic press between 2 July 2008, the date of the first initiative of the campaign and the 5 June 2009, the deadline for participation, will be taken into consideration. Journalists are invited to submit their articles using an online formula available on the “Europe for Patients” internet site. For more information on the rules and conditions of the competition, see the same site. After a selection procedure, 27 finalists will be invited to Brussels in autumn 2009 for a seminar on the theme of health in Europe intended for the media, and for a prestigious prize-giving ceremony, under the auspices of European Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou. The first prize will be €5,000, the 2nd €3,000 and the third €2,000.
All those interested may consult the website of the “Europe for Patients” campaign: http: //ec.europa.eu/health-eu/europe_for_patients/index_en.htm (O.J./transl.jl)