Best Content for KidsEuropean Award

Adults, young people and children (born no earlier than 31.12.1996) can compete for the award by entering into one of the four competition categories.

• Category 1 is for adults who DO NOT create online content for a living or do not have a budget or income to employ professional help to do so. (For example, teachers, social workers or related professions.)
• Category 2 is for adults who DO create online content for a living or have a budget or income to employ professional help to do so. (For example, companies running virtual worlds, portals for kids, but also museums with budgets etc.)
• Category 3 is for children or young people who submit online content as individuals or teams of up to 3 youngsters.
• Category 4 is for children or young people who submit online content as part of a formal group such as a school class or youth group. (Although an adult/teacher may give very light supervision within the general context of classroom-based activities, it is expected that the content be genuinely produced by the kids themselves.)

 

Any form of online content can be submitted, including websites, blogs, games, apps, educational content, videos and other multi-media content. However, it must meet the following requirements to be eligible:

• Content published online for 4-12-year-old children.
• Content addressing anyone up to the age of 18 – for Categories 3 and 4 only.
• Content that is online at the time it is entered into the competition.
• Content in one of the national languages of the country in which it is submitted.

 

The European Award for Best Content for Kids aims to highlight existing quality content for 4-12-year-old children as well as to encourage the production of new content that will offer young people original online opportunities to learn, play, discover and invent. It aims to stimulate their imagination, foster a deeper social and cultural understanding and a greater sense of self, community and place as well as enhance their participation in society.

 

It is not easy to define what ‘quality online content' for children means. However, groups of experts working together with the European Commission on this issue have agreed that certain elements, reflected in the evaluation criteria for this competition, should be taken into consideration.
Online content catering to the needs and interests of children should benefit them in some way (e.g. by educating, informing, stretching and stimulating imagination or enabling new possibilities). Such content should also be attractive, easy to use, reliable, safe and, if relevant, separate advertising or commercial communication from the rest of the content.
Please consult the criteria for the award for more detailed information.

 

National winners of the previous edition (European Award for Best Children’s Online Content 2010-2011) may not enter the 2013-2014 European Award for Best Content for Kids, unless there has been a significant amount of new content added (e.g. if the website or a new version of the content has been launched since the last competition). Content that was nominated but did not win the national finals in the 2010-2011 competition may enter the 2013-2014 competition.

 

The European Award for Best Content for Kids is open for online content catering to the needs and interests of children between 4 and 12 years old (entries from professional / non-professional adults) or young people up to 18 years (entries from young people). Online content only catering for children under 4 years thus cannot enter the competition, though if your online content also addresses children older than that you may participate.

 

Yes, one of the objectives of the competition is to encourage the production of quality online content. So as long as the content is online at the time it is submitted for the competition, it is eligible. We especially encourage young people, school classes and youth groups to create enriching content in order to participate in the competition.

 

The opening and closing dates of the competition depend on which of the national competitions you will participate in. Please consult the information for your country.

 

National awards are presented by the national organisers. No cash prizes will be given in the European round of the competitions. The European Award is an invitation and travel to the official award ceremony in Brussels on 11 February 2014. More details will follow nearer this date.
Please consult the information for your country for further details.

 

The competition is open only to individuals or teams of individuals (e.g. a school class). Individuals wishing to participate in the competition must submit their entry in their national competition via the online platform. For details on how to take part in your country, please consult the information specific to your country.

 

A list of criteria will guide the national organisers and the national juries in judging the entries. The same set of criteria will guide the European jury in reviewing the national first prize winners and selecting the European winners. The detailed criteria are available How can I register for the competition?

There is no need to register, just be sure to complete the entry form with your correct details. For more information on participating see Get involved.

 

When you submit your entry you will declare that it is original and does not, in any way, infringe on copyright. The European Commission and European Schoolnet, the data controller, shall not be involved in disputes between persons claiming copyright on content. However, the European selection criteria make it clear that infringements on third party rights are not acceptable, including sampling of music that is not in the public domain or for which the necessary rights have not been acquired according to the rules of participation in this competition.
The European Commission and European Schoolnet reserve the right to exclude any entries from selection in the European Award competition if it comes to their knowledge that there are copyright infringements or if the content does not comply to national legislation. Please consult the information provided about entry submissions in your country.

 

No, the European Award is not a label. The winners of the national competitions and the European winners will be permitted to refer to/use the award logo after signature of an agreement with the European Commission. Winning the competition, whether at national or European level, is of course recognition of the quality of your content.

 

The European Commission will promote the names of all the national and European winners on its website.
European-level online voting conducted on the competition portal will provide further promotion for national winning entries.

 

If your content is among the national winners and thus nominated for the European-level competition, you will receive feedback from the European jury on the content you submitted.
Feedback from the organisers or the jury in national competitions will depend on national organisers. Please consult the information specific to your country.

 

If your content is selected among the national winners and thus nominated to go on to the European Award, you will receive feedback from the European jury on the content you submitted, giving you the possibility to improve it for the future.

 

All participants should be aware that, when signing up to the competition, they also agree to a disclaimer ensuring that awarded content and the way it is provided to the target group will continue to adhere to the competition criteria for a period of two years after the European Award has been received.

 

National competition organisers will announce the results of the national competition before the end of November 2013, once the jury has selected the winners.
If your content receives a national award, it will go on to compete in the European Award. WInners of the European Award will be informed of the results in January 2014 by the European Commission or the national competition organisers.

 

Yes, national juries will be appointed to evaluate the content submitted to the national competitions.
Please consult the information for your country.

 

Yes. A European jury will evaluate the entries that are selected to participate in the European Award. Their work will start once all national first prize winners have been selected, in November or December 2013.

 

The national competition organisers are free to decide how many awards they will give in this competition. Please consult the information specific to your country.
Only the first prize winner in each of the four categories from each country shall go on to compete in the European Award. For more information on the categories please see the Get involved section.
The European Commission will award prizes to the three best submissions in each of the four categories (1st, 2nd, 3rd place).

 

The first prize winner in each category from each country shall go on to compete in the European Award.

 

If the content is changed to such an extent that it no longer complies to the criteria according to which it was awarded, the competition organisers will first take steps to notify the organisation/person having submitted the entry in order to rectify the situation. If appropriate action is not taken, the competition organisers may announce that the entry has been disqualified. The European Commission reserves the right to take away the European Award if a submission is found to no longer comply to the criteria according to which it was awarded.

 

Country participation in the European Award is not compulsory. For the 2010-2011 award, 14 European countries took part; in 2013-2014 27 countries are participating, so this is already a big step forward.
The countries not taking part in the competition may be struggling to find resources or partnerships to promote the competition. If you would like to have your country participate in the next round, please send an email to positivecontentaward@eun.org. We will put you in contact with your national Safer Internet Centre so that it is aware of your interest in contributing to quality content in the future.

 

Contact the competition organisers by email at positivecontentaward@eun.org
If necessary, your email will be forwarded on to the relevant point of contact in your country.