Think.Act.Change
The European People's Party and its Group in the Committee of the Regions have shortlisted ten films from the entries to its 60 second film competition Change begins at home in time for the European Commission's Green Week 2009. The judges, including Isidoro Gottardo President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions, have expressed their initial pleasure by the quality and originality of the entries, which come from all over Europe. "At a time when we all need to rethink our actions and find ways to better respect the environment, these young people have demonstrated creative and innovative thinking, which could offer help us all in our fight against climate change" he said.
The EPP believes that it is important to give young people the chance to show policy makers what they think about the European Union and its policies. Following its successful photography competition dedicated to intercultural dialogue last year, the Group in the Committee of the Regions sought to step up the challenge. Given that a new international climate agreement is due to be finalised at the Copenhagen conference in December this year, climate change was the obvious choice for the focus of this competition. Moreover, during the European Year of Creativity and Innovation what better way for young people to express their ideas than the medium of film?
The shortlist is made up of ten young film-makers between the ages of 19 and 27 and representing eight different EU Member States. Their entries can be viewed at the specially designed website www.eppcompetition.eu. The esteemed jury members tasked with selecting three winners are Isidoro Gottardo, President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions; Luc Vandeputte, Deputy Secretary General of the EPP; Eija-Riitta Korhola MEP, Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety; Matthias Reute, Director General of DG TREN in the European Commission and Maebh McMahon, Europocket TV. The official screening of the winning films will take place in the European Parliament in October, as part of the European Week of Regions and Cities. DVDs of the winning films will also be available on request.
Note for editors
The EPP Group is the largest political group in the Committee of the Regions, which is a consultative body to the European Union. It was created in 1994 to give representatives of local government a say over the content of EU legislation.
For more information, please contact:
Kathryn Owens
+32 2 282 2400
www.eppcompetition.eu