European Economic and Social Committee Civil Society Prize 2019

Rewarding excellence in civil society initiatives, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has launched its Civil Society Prize for 2019. This year's theme is More women in Europe's society and economy, and the prize will honour innovative initiatives and projects which aim to fight for equal opportunities for women and men and their equal treatment in all spheres of economic and social life.

The EESC Civil Society Prize is open to all civil society organisations officially registered within the European Union and acting at local, regional, national or European level. Individuals can also apply. To be eligible, initiatives or projects must have already been implemented or be still ongoing.

A total of EUR 50 000 will be awarded to a maximum of five winners. The deadline for entries is 10 a.m. on 6 September 2019, while the award ceremony will take place on 12 December 2019 in Brussels.

The EESC will this year be awarding its Civil Society Prize to outstanding projects and initiatives covering at least one of the following issues:

• fighting against or raising awareness of gender stereotypes, discriminatory social behaviour and prejudice in all spheres of economic and social life;
• raising awareness of the consequences of gender stereotypes produced by media content;
• promoting participation of women in traditionally male-dominated occupations, such as in the STEM and ICT sectors, and combating gender segregation in education;
• combating the gender pay and pension gaps;
• promoting female entrepreneurship, equality in decision-making, women's economic independence and gender-life balance;
• addressing the specific challenges facing vulnerable women such as single mothers, women with disabilities, migrants, ethnic minorities or low-skilled workers.

The full description of requirements and the online application form are available on our webpage: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/events/2019-eesc-civil-society-prize