The prize-giving ceremony

Present at the event Francesco Florenzano, President of UNIEDA, Andrea Ciantar, project coordinator, Albano Bragagni, mayor of Pieve Santo Stefano and Angela Miniati of the Italian agency for Life Long Learning; the anchorman of the event was Marco Camaiti of the Fondazione Archivio Diaristico Nazionale. Attending the Awards also all the project coordinators who contributed to the achievement and success of European Memories: for VIDA (Associação Desenvolvimento Activo Valorização and Intergeracional) Paulo Tomás Neves, for EIC (European Information Centre - Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria) Vanya Ivanova and Violeta Stoycheva, for DPU (Danmarks Paedogogisk Universitetsskole - Århus Universitet, Danmark) Marcella Milana and Mads Haugsted, for FDC (Fundació Desenvolupamente Community España) Gianni Orsini, for Social Label (Sozial, label ev, Germany) Herbert Spindler and Claudio Cassetti, for ADN (  Fondazione Archivio Diaristico Nazionale, Italia) Silvia Bragagni and Natalia Cangi.
After a brief presentation of the project and its achievements ample space was given to the winning stories.
 

Among the more than four hundred stories selected by the jury, composed of members of the participating countries, three winners received awards, one for each area of the project.
 In the category "Another Europe is Possible (under costruction)" the winning entry was "The Darkness was gone" by Nikolay Tsonev.  Part of the motivation of the European Jury follows:“The video, which tells the story of a small Bulgarian village electrification, was shown in the original language accompanied by subtitles in English to facilitate public understanding… This is an emotional story that illustrates how the individual and the community are connected in a joint effort to replace the dim glow of the gas lamp with the bright light of the electric bulb in a small Bulgarian mountain village… It reminds us that many of the achievements of modern civilization which we take for granted are the result of the common efforts of men and women, who worked together to improve the environment we live in today…”

The second winner was the story "Nicht so bose" by Leif Draeby for the theme "Pathways through Europe (through its diversities)”; the author read an extract from the intense story in the original language, accompanied by the projection of the translation of the story in English and Italian. Part of the motivation of the European Jury follows: “This story, thus, has certainly been chosen because it touches a historical period which is at the base of the birth of Europe and because of the author’s narrative talent. But the reason is also perhaps linked to that final image, to that sense of shame never again forgotten…”

The third winners was "A Story of A Life Between two colors" by Jose Prieto award in the theme " Experiences of feeling part of Europe". This story as well was read in the original version by the outhor. Part of the motivation of the European Jury follows: “We find ourselves in Franco’s Spain. A man and a woman love each other and want to have a family together. But this project wavers when the woman, of a communist family whose father has been killed by Franco’s soldiers, discovers that the man she loves belongs, along with his family, to precisely the opposite faction – her own family’s most hated enemies. But their love is stronger than hate, and their plans for their future life together are destined to go forward…”

After the presentation of stories, each winner received a parchment  as a symbol of his personal contribution to the creation of a European consciousness, which, starting from the individual’s story takes an collective significance.

Attending the Awards also some authors of the seven stories of the Special Awards winners: Margrit Pawloff, Dorothea Petersen and Afonso de Albuquerque Pereira da Costa Ferreira.

Dora Lisa Mercurio

(Photo by Antonio Tiso and Ilenia Piccioni)