Vote for this young Maltese man to represent the EU in Oslo

Malta stands the chance of having a young representative form part of an official EU delegation attending the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo next month. Twenty-three year-old Larkin Zahra was one of 5,397 young Europeans who participated in the EU’s Nobel Peace Prize contest and is currently competing against 15 other contestants after his entry was shortlisted for a Facebook vote by the public.

The public can cast their vote until Sunday at midnight by following a link on the Facebook page of the European Parliament Information Office in Malta.

Mr Zahra said, “Having the opportunity to go to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of more than 500 million Europeans is a once in a lifetime experience! I would like to thank my fellow Maltese for the immense support I have received so far. I truly hope we can keep up the momentum to succeed in having a Maltese representative receiving this prestigious prize!”

Last month the Nobel Prize Committee awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union for having contribution to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe for more than six decades.

The European Commission formally accepted the Nobel Prize money on behalf of the EU and indicated that it intends to allocate the prize money, about €930,000, to children affected by war and conflicts across the world.

As a result, the EU, in partnership with the European Youth Forum, launched a drawing and writing contest for 8- to 24-year olds. “Peace, Europe, Future: What does Peace in Europe mean to you?” was the question that was put to children and young people from the EU and acceding or candidate countries. Children aged eight to 12 were asked to express their answer in a drawing, and young people aged 13 to 24 in a short text of maximum 120 characters, in any of the 23 EU official languages.

Mr Zahra’s entry reads, “My grandparents would have said ‘a dream.’ My parents would have said ‘a process.’ I say that it’s my everyday reality!”

His was one of 5,397 entries: 1,173 drawings in group 8-12, 1,870 texts in group 13-17 and 2,354 texts in group 18-24.

The European Youth Forum pre-selected the 16 best entries for each age group (8-12, 13-17, and 18-24), and a jury will select three of the final winners (one per age group) who will win the trip to Oslo. The fourth winner, also from the 18-24 category, will be selected through the Facebook vote.

The winner of the Facebook vote will join the three other winners for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on 10 December, and together with the nine runners-up, he or she will also be invited to Strasbourg for a special event around the Nobel Prize on 12 December. The names of the winners will be announced during the week starting 3 December, and they will attend the official ceremony on 10 December as well as the Nobel Peace Prize concert on 11 December.

The public is urged to vote for the Maltese contestant through the Facebook page of the European Parliament Information Office in Malta: https://www.facebook.com/ParlamentEwropew ^[1].