The ‘Front Kontra ċ-Ċensura’ (Front Against Censorship), a project submitted by a number of Maltese youth and student organisations, is among the finalists for this year’s European Charlemagne Youth Prize.
A winner from each of the 27 Member States of the European Union has been chosen after a call made by the European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen for youths to submit projects on EU development, integration and issues linked to European identity.
The Front Kontra ċ-Ċensura, a voluntary organisation which also includes young Maltese writers and artists, is lobbying for the revision of censorship legislation in Malta. The front claims that national laws currently give institutions the authority to judge what is morally suitable for the Maltese public, and act upon that decision by censoring the diffusion of these works.
The Front Kontra ċ-Ċensura has been making its cause through a series of activities including protests held at the University of Malta and in Valletta, as well as through new media such as Facebook. The front claims that existing legal mechanisms hinder creative expression and act against European values of freedom of speech, freedom of movement and of works of art.
It is difficult, it claims, to freely exchange or share challenging creative ideas within a European environment if current national legislation allows certain infringements.
The application was received by the Office of the European Parliament in Valletta and was chosen by a jury made up of MEPs and a youth organisations’ representative. It was deemed admissible according to the rules of the competition.
A European selection committee made up of European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek and another three MEPs, along with four representatives from the Aachen-based Foundation for the International Charlemagne Prize, will choose the first three projects from among the 27 nominees at the beginning of April.
A representative of the Front Kontra ċ-Ċensura will participate in the award-giving ceremony, which will take place in Aachen, Germany, on 11 May, when the three winning projects will be announced by the EP President and a representative of the Charlemangen Prize Foundation.
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