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The award

The first edition of the Award 'Another Europe is Possible' is concluded on October 2009.

There were a lot of stories that have have participated, then the stories have been selected from workgroup for each partner of the project ,following two criteria:

- The thematic signicance.

- The narrative quality.

The winners have partecipated to the final event that have took place in Rome on 22 and 23 January 2010 .

See the winners Another Europe is possible Award

Stories of a Possible Europe! 

 

The European Memories project is pleased to invite all European citizens, men and women of every age and cultural origin, to participate in the autobiographical contest “Stories of a Possible Europe!”

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Through this initiative we wish to bring to light the thousands of experiences and faces that make up our Europe.

 

Stories of the past and present, therefore, but also dreams, desires and utopian fantasies that can help us to imagine and bring into being another possible Europe.

 

Who and how

All European citizens, men and women of every age and cultural origin, are invited to take part in the contest;

It is possible to participate as an individual, a group, a community or an organization;

It is possible to participate both with autobiographical works, by narrating one’s experience in the first person, and with biographical works, by recounting the stories of others;

Participants may submit more than one story – one for each thematic area; it is, however, possible to place more stories in the digital archive beyond those which have been submitted for the award.

 

Different narrative formats and modes may be used: written text, photo narrations, video and audio narrations, other forms of expression (comic strips, poetry, theatre, etc.);

 

In addition to personal stories (autobiographical and biographical), research and studies may also be submitted, realized through qualitative methodologies (interviews and life stories), as well as research carried out in European memory archives;

 

Contest Themes

 

 

You may tell your stories by following the suggestions we have made for each thematic area, or recount your stories and experiences in any way you wish (we remember that you may participate in the competition in all three sections, with a story for each).

 

Another Europe is possible : work in progress

 

Experiences of social commitment in Europe

 

Recount your experiences towards another possible Europe, within the different spheres in which social commitment for human rights and democracy is manifested: solidarity and communitarian economy, intercultural dialogue, labour, minorities, housing, health, public assets, fight against poverty, education and training for all, participation, etc. These can be personal or collective experiences, already completed or still ongoing, experiences which have been successful or which have not achieved the expected results… but experiences from which we can nevertheless learn something: different ways of working together, new ways of living, new visions of the world …more opportunities for making a personal contribution to a different possible world.

 

Experiences of intercultural dialogue

 

The contest wants to give particular visibility to experiences of intercultural dialogue in Europe, defined as the encounter of culture, religions and in general as visions of an inclusive world including the dialogue between men and women. The narrations you will be submitting will contribute to gathering proposals and “good practices” which will be presented to European Institutions, as concrete suggestions for actions to be carried out for the reinforcement of intercultural dialogue (action carried out through the Stories of a Possible Europe project). We thus invite you to recount:

 

  • personal experiences of intercultural dialogue (meeting the ‘other’, in everyday life, in the different contexts and situations where intercultural conflict arises and the need to overcome it is manifested...)
  • experiences of projects and collective social action in the promotion of intercultural dialogue in Europe
  • experiences and the role of women in promoting intercultural dialogue in Europe.

 

Typologies and methods of narration

 

• Works submitted for the contest will fall under two sections, according to the different methodologies of narration used for to realize the story:

 

  1. Narrations;
  2. Studies and Research.

 

1 - Narrations. Works participating in the Narrations section category can be developed through different forms of expressions which may also be combined in order to achieve more effective communication:

 

  • Autobiographical and biographical writings - texts, both in the form of writings about oneself, or stories of others;
  • Photo-narrations - photographic reportage, which may be accompanied by texts;
  • Video-narrations – reportage, interviews and oral narration.
  • Audio-narrations – audio-stories told through the use of reports, interviews and oral narrations.
  • Other forms of expression - poetry, novel, fiction, photo stories, comic strips, or other artistic forms of narration.

 

2 – Studies and researches. This section will include investigative works on the contest themes developed through qualitative methodologies (interviews, life stories, etc.), including studies and research carried out in memory archives and through oral sources. Through this approach, we want to stimulate groups of European citizens to carry out studies and research in the European archives of autobiographical documents.

 

Working languages

 

Stories can be submitted in the following languages: English, Spanish, Catalan, German, French, Danish, Bulgarian, Italian and Portuguese.

 

How to submit works

 

In order to participate in the 2009-2010 edition of the Contest, works must be submitted by 30 October 2009. Works submitted after this date may participate in the edition of the following year.

 

Works may be submitted in the following ways:

 

  • Through the portal of the project, www.europeanmemories.eu, by registering with the site, filling in the work description form and uploading the stories (enter and send/modify).
  • By mail, addressed to the different national Award Offices, with the participation form and the work description form attached (both of which can be downloaded from the site or requested from the contest office). When stories are sent by mail, the material must, nevertheless, be furnished in a digital version as well, in CD-rom or on another support
  • By e-mail, addressed to stories@europeanmemories.eu, with the participation form and the work description form attached (both of which can be downloaded from the site or requested to the Awards Offices).

 

All the works will be published with the “Creative commons, no derivative works” license; such license permits reproduction, distribution, communication to the public, display in public, representation, carrying out and acting out of the work.

 

The license is applied under the following conditions:

 

  • Attribution- anyone who utilizes the work must indicate its origin in the ways indicated by the author or the person who released the work under the licence.
  • Non Commercial. The work cannot be used for commercial purposes.
  • Non derived. The work cannot be altered or transformed nor can it be utilized to create another..

 

Address of the award offices “Narrating Europe”:

 

ITALY: UNIEDA, Unione Italiana di Educazione degli Adulti, via Quattro Novembre 157, 00187, Roma, Italia stories@europeanmemories.eu

 

GERMANY: sozial.label e.v, H. Spindler, Sundgauer Str. 39 b - 14169 Berlinfax: 030 - 83 22 93 51 spindler@soziallabel.de

 

PORTUGAL: VIDA, G. Orsini, Av. das Cruzes 718 - 4535-011 Lourosal vida@viver.org

 

Participation is free

 

 

Methodologies of narration and Formats

 

The formats follow a criteria of "effective communication". The indications of "maximum length" are not compulsory. More important in this regard is the participants' evaluation of the balance between effective communication and completeness of the narration.

 

A) Autobiographical and biographical writings Methodology. The stories told here will be based above all on autobiographical sources; therefore, they will be autobiographical writings or life stories, told by one or more narrators, individuals or communities. Text length: a maximum of 15.000 characters including spaces is advised, which corresponds to about 5 pages (Times New Roman 12, interspaces 1,5) Digital formats: preferably PDF, otherwise ODF (Open Document Format, used by Open Office), and Microsoft Word. Maximum File Size: 10MB

 

B) Photo Stories Methodology. In this form of expression, the connection between photo and text is very important. it can be useful to include - if one wishes - autobiographical passages, or literary or poetic texts or whatever else may enrich the narration accompanying the photos and deepen understanding of the experience told. Number of Photos: a maximum of 5 photographs is advised. Digital formats: preferably PDF, otherwise ODF (Open Document Format, used by Open Office) and other formats generated by Open Office formats (such as Impress), Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power Point. Maximum File Size: 15MB

 

C) Video Stories Methodology. The vast range of technical possibilities now available in the audiovisual field allows participants in this category to use different techniques, while maintaining the narrative style. These techniques can range from a documentary style by using interviews, visual documents and archive footage, to simpler video interviews. Video length: a maximum of 10 minutes is advised. Digital format: preferably Flash (Flv), otherwise it will be possible to upload the video on you tube and link it to the project website.Maximum File Size: 150MB (it will be possible to load longer videos on request).

 

D) Audio Stories Methodology. The sources to be utilized in this category include interviews and oral narrations, which can be edited together, using audio editing programs which today are easy to access. These narrations are conceived for diffusion by radio, which in many countries still remains the main means of communication. Audio Story Length: a maximum of 10 minutes is advised. Digital format: preferably MP3 format, Real Player format. Maximum File Size: 15MB.

 

E ) Other Forms of Expression. Methodology: Other forms of expression may include: poetry, narrative, fiction, picture-story, comic strip or other artistic narrative forms. They can be works produced by the protagonists themselves , or by others. In this narrative category the stories are told through other kinds of artistic languages even if they are based on interviews, oral narrations, autobiographical documentation and general information. Digital format and works dimension: for works dealing with texts, images and video, reference can be made to the respective suitable formats shown in the various categories above.

 

F) Studies and Research (Autobiographies and diaries from the European Archives) Methodology. This section will include investigative works on the contest themes developed through qualitative methodologies (interviews, life stories, etc.), including studies and research carried out in memory archives and through oral sources. Through this approach, we want to stimulate groups of European citizens to carry out studies and research in the European archives of autobiographical documents. . Text length: a maximum of 45.000 characters, spaces included, is advised, corresponding to about 15 pages (Times New Roman 12, interspaces 1,5). Digital format: preferably PDF, otherwise ODF (Open Document Format, used by Open Office), Microsoft Word. Maximum File Size: 15 MBIt is possible in this kind of work to use different narrative means (text, photos, video, audio) in order to render the research work more expressive and communicative.