OREANDA-NEWS. On 22 April 2008 was announced, that this is the fifth year that the APA - Austria Presse Agentur in conjunction with the Bank Austria – UniCredit Group 2008 is offering the journalist prize "Writing for CEE“. Journalists from the Central and Eastern European States (CEE) and South Eastern Europe are invited to run for the award that comes with 5,000 Euro. The aim of the award is to promote journalistic debate on the issues of European integration.

The organisers are keen to emphasis that this is not an EU-award, but "a Europe award with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe and South Eastern Europe", explains Ildiko Fьredi-Kolarik, Head of CEE-communication at the Bank Austria – UniCredit Group. The award focuses on the coalescence between East and West, on healing the painful aftermath of the Iron Curtain, adds chairman of the jury Ambros Kindel (Head of APA-foreign policy)

The journalists have to submit their articles until the 31st of July 2008, which were published between the 1st of August 2007 and the 31st of July 2008. Transcripts of Radio-, TV- and o-line articles are also welcome. The winner will be announced and revealed at the end of 2008 at a gala event in Vienna.

Some of the members of the international jury are the former advisor to ex Czech president Vaclav Havel, Jiri Pehe, the Slovak publicist Michael Berko, the Slovenian writer Joze Hudecek, the Polish journalist Igor Janke, the Hungarian radio journalist Julia Varadi, the head of CEE communication at the Bank Austria, Ildiko Fьredi-Kolarik, and the head of foreign policy at the APA, Ambros Kindel.

In 2007 the Austrian journalist Martin Leidenfrost was awarded the price ”Writing for CEE“ for his feature-like cycle "The world behind Vienna". Second place went to Ana-Maria Luca from Romania for her report on emigrants forced to leave their children behind in their homeland, and – for the second time in a row – to the Bulgarian journalist Janina Dragostinova.

The submission requires the article in its original language, a translation into English and the author’s CV.