EU Health Award 2018 open for applications

The European Commission launched the EU Health Award for 2018. Deadline for submitting applications is June 15, 2018. The EC dedicates this fourth edition to initiatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that contributed or are contributing to a higher level of public health in the European Union by working to prevent tobacco use. The winner of the competition will receive € 20,000 and the two runners-up € 15,000 and € 10,000.

The type of initiatives that could be submitted in this call, includes but is not limited to:

• Awareness and information strategies for effective community change, including school programmes and /or involvement of parents;
• Social media and networks counter-advertising campaigns to prevent smoking initiation in the concerned age group(s);
• Promoting tobacco free norms targeted at adolescents and young adults;
• Supporting the successful implementation of EU and national tobacco control legislation;
• Interventions designed to reduce the accessibility of tobacco products (cigarettes, water pipe, chewing tobacco and others) to the age groups concerned;
• Engaging with health care professionals to strengthen education/medical curricula/training aimed to reduce tobacco use initiation by the targeted group(s);
• Developing initiatives addressing social factors with the aim of discouraging tobacco consumption in the concerned aged group(s);
• Interventions demonstrating potential synergies across the prevention areas mentioned above;
• Other innovative approaches not mentioned above that successfully help reduce smoking initiation.

Initiatives must have been undertaken from January 1, 2015 until today. Applicants can act at European, national or regional level, from entities established in one of the EU Member States, Iceland, Norway and countries which have a bilateral agreement with the European Union. The EU Health Award is funded under the 3^rd Health Programme 2014-2020. 

The EU Health Award means to recognise non-governmental bodies which are achieving a positive change in their community. It will celebrate their commitment and raise awareness of the vital role non-governmental bodies play in strengthening participative democracy and active citizenship in public health. The award is set up in order to highlight and reward initiatives of international, European, national and regional non-governmental bodies which have made a significant contribution to promoting a healthier EU and higher level of public health. The specific themes of the award differs every year.