Brussels, 11th February 2005
Nine children have been awarded for their designs for a flag for planet Earth as part of the Earth & Space Week opening ceremony on 11 February 2005, in Brussels. The flag design aimed to capture the “motto” of Earth & Space Week: Celebrating our planet, while reaching for the stars. The contest was open to children aged 5 to 19 from the European Union, Norway and Switzerland.
The winning children received fabric flags printed with their own designs from Prince Philippe of Belgium, European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen, and the European Space Agency Director Volker Liebig in front of an audience of astronauts, dignitaries and other senior officials.
The children's work was judged by an expert team of teachers from all over Europe, with the final selection of winners and runners-up being made by a Grand Jury including Jack Metthey, Transport Director at the DG Research of the European Commission, Frank de Winne, European Astronaut, Jan De Craemer, from the Flemish-speaking Ministry of Education of Belgium, and Etienne Gilliard from the French-speaking Ministry of Education of Belgium.
The winners
Category 1 – age 5 to 9 years
1st prize winner – Marios, Dimitrios, Spiridon, Olga & Spiridon from Greece, all aged 9
years
The Grand Jury selected this work as the winner as it showed a great deal of creativity and dedication.
“It has a very festive feel. Despite the dark background, it is very bright and positive, and puts
humans at the centre of space exploration – it shows space is about people, and not just about
satellites.”
2nd prize winner – Gregor from Austria, aged 9 years
The runner up was selected because “it is a very human, fun and positive image. The figures look
cheerful and the design itself communicates a strong feeling of a flag.”
3rd prize winner – Marilyn from Malta, aged 9 years
The Grand Jury chose Marilyn's work as a runner-up, “it illustrates the Earth reaching out into
space, and embracing diversity.”
Category 2 – age 10 to 14 years old
1st prize winner – Fotiadis from Greece, aged 12 years
“This design is very positive and reminiscent of Europe, which prompted the Grand Jury to select
it as a runner-up. It conveys optimism. The Earth immediately attracts attention and it has very nice
use of colour.”
2nd prize winner – George from Greece, aged 12 years
The Grand Jury felt this picture was “very attractive with a dream-like feeling in it, setting it
apart from other bolder designs. The tree itself is a symbol of life, with Earth being the trunk. The
Earth then "grows" up to reach the planets and the sun.”
3rd prize winner – Kamil from Poland, aged 13 years
The excellent technical skill of this young artist caught the eye of the Grand Jury. “Although not
a typical flag design, the image was very colourful and illustrated diversity, while showing some of the
ways in which we use space research in every day life.”
Category 3 – age 15 to 19 years old
1st prize winner – Christina from Greece, aged 17
The Grand Jury selected this image as the winner because “it has a universal message and has a
strong living element at the centre. It illustrates the roots of civilisation and European culture,
placing it within the context of Earth and Space.”
2nd prize winner – Maria from Greece, aged 17
The Grand Jury commented that this design “is very bold and simple, and looks distinctly
flag-like. The main form of the drawing looks like an eye, with the world being the pupil in the eye.
Europe is well illustrated, and is the centre of the eye, looking out into space.”
3rd prize winner – Artur from Poland, aged 15
This image was “more subtle and attractive, but had less flag-like qualities than the other
winners.” The Grand Jury felt it was a “beautiful image executed with good technique. The
prominence of the human face in the image illustrates how important humanity is in space
research.”
The flags
The 9 winning designs will be exhibited in the “Gallery area” of the Earth & Space Expo
throughout the Week. Prince Philippe, Günter Verheugen and Jean-Jacques Dordain also received the 3
first-prize winning flags for display in their offices.
The nine winning flags are available in the audiovisual library of the ESW website:
http://europa.eu.int/co
mm/space/esw/pressroom/library/article_1565_en.htm
About Earth & Space Week
Earth & Space Week (Brussels, 12-20 February 2005) is a European Commission and European Space
Agency (ESA) joint initiative showing how Earth Observation (EO) and Space Activities improve quality of
life on our planet. The center-piece of the Week is a nine-day interactive public Exposition, the Earth
& Space Expo. Aimed at raising interest and awareness in Earth and Space, more than 3,000 m2 of
exhibition area at Autoworld, Brussels, will offer a fascinating voyage for over 1500 visitors expected
each day. The Expo is free to the public and suitable for all ages.
For more information on the Earth & Space Week competition
Contact Alexa Joyce at alexa.joyce@eun.org or by calling + 32 2 750 7554 or +32 485 440 661 (mobile).
Item source: IP/05/166 Date: 11/02/2005
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Entries made to the competition are available
in the gallery section on the Earth and Space Week Competition website at
www.esw.eun.org
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