What Europeans have in common

The winners of the European Young Journalist Award 2009 gathered in Berlin to celebrate their success in one of the largest pan-European competitions of its kind. During the final convention, they discussed the EU enlargement and the question of European identity.

The competition entitled was organized by the European Commission's Directorate General for Enlargement, in co-operation with the European Youth Press, an umbrella association of young journalists in Europe, and Café Babel, a multilingual European current affairs magazine.

The 34 national winners, aged 17-35, were invited to a trip to Berlin. By bringing the winners to the German capital, the organisers wanted to underline the concrete impact of the European integration process. The year 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the iron curtain as well as the 5th anniversary of the accession to the EU of eight Central and Eastern European Countries, as well as Malta and Cyprus.

The winners` programme included a tour of historical Berlin, and they also had the chance to visit newspapers, radio and TV channels.

At the end of their four day trip, the national winners met journalists, diplomats and political experts at a conference, where they debated on the future of enlargement of the European Union. They shared the view that in the past twenty years, EU enlargement has contributed to reuniting Europe after a long period of division resulting from World War II and the ensuing Cold War. They agreed that in times of increasing global risks, the European Union needs to position itself as a strategic community, which is sustainable and stable in the long term. Only in this way, the EU will be able to tackle the financial crisis, climate change, energy and security risks and other global challenges. As Miss Ljubica Gojgić, journalist of B92 radio and TV station in Belgrade said “The EU enlargement is the most wonderful project. Let us just not stop it, and keep on going.”

A central topic in the debate was the question of European identity. “The borders of Europe will not be visible on a geographical map, but in the perception of people”, said Professor Werner Weidenfeld, Director of the Center for Applied Policy Research (C•A•P) at the University of Munich.”

Many participants attributed a key role to the media in overcoming misunderstandings and eradicating fears connected to future enlargement. ”The next generation of people will be able to create a new identity cleaned up from past divisions and angers. If you are open and aware of the differences within the Union of countries, then you can make a good journalistic product. Europe is not only about creating a big bunch of consumers, but about respecting views, cultures and bringing the European Union to an understandable level for ordinary people” said the Belgian EYJA winner, Nico Schoofs.

Gisela Gauggel-Robinson, Head of Communication Unit at the Directorate General for Enlargement, was pleased with the interest the young journalists showed in European politics. "As expected, views about the benefits and challenges of EU enlargement were far from unanimous. But as organisers of the competition, we welcome the commitment and interest these young journalists have shown, and hope the competition will continue to stimulate informed debate next year."