02.07.2010

The Berlin Wall represented one of the most tragic symbols of the Cold War; the world since its fall has undergone so many fundamental changes that it is today almost unrecognizable when compared with twenty years ago: Thanks to modern technologies, barriers to human interaction have disappeared. Therefore, the contest took place under the symbolic slogan “Granits.Bolshe.net” (No.More.Borders.net).

At the awards ceremony were European diplomats, representatives from the academic world, journalists expert on European themes, famous bloggers, and of course the contest participants. Opening the ceremony, head of the EU Delegation in Russia Fernando Valenzuela emphasized the importance of the development of new media: “This contest was thought up with the aim of bringing attention to relations between Europe and Russia, and Russia’s place within Europe, and also to arouse further interest of the Russian online community in European themes and Europe in general.”

During the ceremony seven prizes were awarded. And the laureates of the contest were to be awarded most generously: The gold winners won a five-day trip to Brussels; the silver winners got the chance to spend a weekend in Berlin; and the bronze winners will undergo training at RIA Novosti. The winner of the prize for the readers’ choice award received one of the very latest communicators.

In her speech, Natalia Loseva, director of Internet projects at RIA Novosti, noted that the results of the contest demonstrated how bloggers and online journalists are very open to dialog, and how they observe the lives of its generation with great interest - analyzing and reflecting upon events in both Russia and Europe.

In closing the ceremony, head of the EU Delegation in Russia Fernando Valenzuela thanked all the participants, the contest partners, and R.I.M. Porter Novelli, expressing his hope for a repeat in the near future of such interesting and contemporary projects as No More Borders.net.

Coveted prize

Speech by the Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Russia, Fernando M. Valenzuela

1 place in the category "Blogger" - Anna Kuzmina