As delivered by Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Chair of the Ministers Deputies, dear Andrius,

Excellencies,

Dear friends,

It is a great pleasure to join you for the presentation of the prizes for our “Human Rights, Camera, Action!” competition.

I begin by associating myself fully with what the Lithuanian Ambassador has just said about our very worthy winners.

Dear Tsitsia, and dear Amelia –

Dear Albrecht and dear Artemij –

And, in absentia, dear Ibrahim –

Congratulations to all of you for your very fine and diverse entries in this competition.

“Human Rights, Camera, Action!” is one of the ways in which we are celebrating the Council of Europe’s 75th anniversary –

And it is part of the Council of Europe Days Visibility Project –

A project that uses a wide variety of ideas and initiatives to engage with people across Europe –

And tell the Council of Europe’s story.

So that citizens from all our 46 member states can hear and see what the Council of Europe is doing to protect and promote the rights that belong to them – to each and every one of us.

But this competition is maybe a bit different.

It is not just about us passing on our perspective – that we so often do.

No, it is about asking young people across Europe to share theirs –

To use creativity as a way of showing what human rights really mean to them, here and now –

So that we, in turn, can be inspired to better protect those rights, together.

Looking at the prize-winning entries –

And so many other entries –

It is clear that this competition has very much achieved its purpose.

Your work has identified timeless themes –

The rights to liberty and privacy, and freedom of expression, assembly and association, and so on –

And set these in the context of our modern age –

Of the world that we actually live in and in which young people not only have a vital stake –

But must also have chances to voice their opinions and views.

As you know, the Council of Europe has long worked with youth, for youth, in the quest for a better future.

We have a unique and long-standing co-management system that brings the voice of youth into our decision-making –

And we are in the process of enhancing it by embedding a youth perspective also in our intergovernmental deliberations.

Among the many tools that we have developed to support young people are those to promote quality education including history and democratic citizenship –

And to promote internet literacy and counter hate speech online and offline –

The World Forum for Democracy is a further example of our determination to put young people at the centre of our thinking.

This year it asks how we can transcend the divides in our democracies –

And I hope that our competition winners – and all of you – will point out ways to do that.

Dear friends,

There is no doubt that we live in troubled times.

And there are extreme populists, extreme nationalists and hate movements out there that want to undermine our human rights –

And they try to harness people’s worries and insecurities about the cost of living, the movement of people, and the rise of new technology, among so many factors.

But human rights are central to the solutions we need.

Communicating that, achieving that, and sustaining that will only be possible with the contribution and commitment of young Europeans.

Our prize winners truly show those qualities in abundance.

Congratulations – again!

And enjoy your time in Strasbourg –

And I thank you again for inspiring us!