European Citizen's Prize

The Italian ceremony for the winners of the 2018 European Citizen’s Prize will be held in Villa Salviati on the 21^st of September, hosted by the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU).

The ceremony, which is co-organised by the HAEU and the European Parliament in Italy, will see the four Italian winners of the Citizen’s Prize honoured. The national ceremonies will be followed by another ceremony in Brussels in October, where all 50 winners from across the EU will be honoured in an event organized by the European Parliament.

Since its foundation in 2008, the Citizen’s Prize is awarded by the European Parliament each year to individuals, groups and organisations across the EU. Winners are those who have contributed to cross-border cooperation within the EU, or have facilitated understanding and integration between member states and citizens, in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

The four Italian winners this year are:

• The Fondazione Bresciana Assistenza Psicodisabili, an organisation which provides rehabilitative care to children with autism in the Lombardy region. The Foundation provides 90 children from the age of 2 with educational projects, rehabilitative treatments based on recent scientific research, and support to the families free of charge.
• Don Virginio Colmegna, a priest from Milan who has undertaken extensive charity work for almost 50 years. He has previously worked as the Director of Caritas Ambrosiana, the President of the Solidarity Agency, and the President of the charity Angelo Abriani, amongst other charity roles.
• Antonio Silvio Calo, a high school teacher from Treviso who has hosted six refugees from Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria in his home since 2015. Mr Calo has also inspired his local community to create a training and integration programme for young refugees, to ease their transition into European life. 
• Dr. Paola Scagnelli, the Director of the Department of Radiology at Lodi’s Maggiore Hospital. Dr Scagnelli volunteers in Tanzania in her spare time, providing basic medical care to children with albinism, who suffer severe discrimination and the risk of violence from the community. She also fundraises and raises awareness for the cause  when in Italy.

The award ceremony will take place from 10.30 to 1.30 on September the 21^st at Salviati. The HAEU has been hosting the ceremony since 2013 as part of an effort to foster links between EU institutions and the Archive’s host country and city. Also in attendance will be the winners of last year’s HAEU competition for highschool students from Florence  on ‘The Future of Europe’. The event will be held in Italian, and you can register to attend here.