The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) announced on Thursday that nominations are now open for its Civil Society Award.
The theme for this year’s award is “mental health”, with the EESC explaining that “awards will be given to creative and innovative non-profit projects that help people with mental health conditions and create a supportive environment for their mental well-being, either individually or as a collective effort”.
Nominations will be open until 30 September, with a maximum of five winners set to be awarded a total of €50,000 for their proposed initiatives. The winners will also be invited to an award ceremony, which will take place during the EESC Civil Society week some time during the spring of 2024.
Applications can be submitted by any civil society organisation based in the EU. The award is open to individuals residing in the EU, as well as non-profit companies based or operating within the bloc.
The EESC said “the aim of the award is to raise awareness of the outstanding contribution of civil society to the creation of European identity and citizenship and to the promotion of shared values that underpin European integration”.
It hopes its award will “honour and highlight the non-governmental efforts which have been made so far to help people with mental health problems”.
The reason behind the selection of mental health as this year’s theme is, according to the EESC, that “both during and after the pandemic, Europe experienced an unprecedented increase in mental illnesses and disorders”.
“Anxiety and depression were particularly prevalent among the elderly and vulnerable groups, and especially among young people”, the EESC said, also noting that the rate of symptoms of depression more than doubled among people aged 18 to 29 in multiple European countries.
In addition, the EESC pointed out that mental health and behavioural disorders contribute directly and indirectly to around four per cent of deaths in the EU.
The Civil Society Award is awarded once per year, with previous years’ themes including youth, Ukraine, climate change, women’s empowerment, cultural heritage, and immigration.
Nominations are evaluated according to three categories: the long-term impact of the proposed initiative, the extent to which the proposed initiative actively involves participants and beneficiaries and raises awareness of the issue at hand, and the creativity and uniqueness of the proposed initiative.
Nominations can be made by filling out the application form at ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/CivilSocietyPrizeMentalHelalth