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OSCE announces winners of video contest on civil society

VIENNA 6 November 2009
(OSCE/Susanna Lööf)Greek Ambassador Mara Marinaki hands certificate to Kaarmanbek Kuluev of Kyrgyzstan, a winner in an OSCE video competition. Behind them are OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut and German Ambassador Heiner Horsten. Vienna, 5 November 2009. (OSCE/Susanna Lööf) Photo details

VIENNA, 5 November 2009 – The winners of a video contest highlighting civil society in action, launched by the OSCE to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, were announced at the OSCE Permanent Council today.

The contest was initiated and financed by the Permanent Mission of Germany to the OSCE, with the support of the Greek OSCE Chairmanship. The winners received a trip to Vienna to the OSCE.

“The events of 1989 represented a true people’s revolution - the Berlin Wall was only torn down because people believed they could make a difference,” said Heiner Horsten, German Ambassador to the OSCE. “This video contest aims to highlight the importance of civic participation and we are pleased to be able to bring the winners here to Vienna to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall at the OSCE.”

Ambassador Mara Marinaki of Greece, who chairs the OSCE Permanent Council, said:
“From its very start the OSCE has made clear that comprehensive security must be built around the ‘inherent dignity of the individual’, and the Greek OSCE Chairmanship continues to emphasize the key role a vibrant civil society plays in working towards stability, prosperity and democracy in our region.”

The winners - Oxana Andriuc and Victoria Kriukova (Seeing with eyes closed), Ani Harutyunyan (Just because), Ignacy Kołaczyński (Civil society - Where does it begin? Polish examples), Kaarmanbek Kuluev (Don Quixote of Bishkek) and Ulan Shamshet (Kaznet Freedom Civic Initiative in Kazakhstan) – were welcomed by Ambassador Horsten at the Permanent Council and the videos were shown as part of a special exhibition at the OSCE commemorating the Fall of the Wall anniversary.

The winners will also attend a special anniversary event tomorrow with former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Dimitris Droutsas, Greece's Alternate Foreign Minister and Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, and Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger.