On May 2nd, the awards ceremony of the 7th "Write me a poem” contest organised by Europe-Direct in Saint-Hubert, Belgium, awarded the 10-12 year old authors of 50 poems selected from the initial 500 submitted.

Based on the theme “You, my elder”, this year Europe Direct hoped to sensitize children to the theme of active ageing and intergenerational solidarity.

The Jury, composed of Liliane Balfroid, initiator of the famous Balfroid dictation contest; the young Belgian writer Amandine Fairon; Thérèse Mahy, Province Deputy, and Vinciane George, Head of the Citizen Development Department, announced the winners in front of the 50 children who were accompanied by their parents or teachers.

Mme. Balfroid took the opportunity to stress the importance of spelling before the awards ceremony was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of three seniors who performed an impromptu parody of the event, handing out "You, my child" prizes to everyone's delight. A unanimous vote invited the surprise guests to stay for the prize-giving awards.

The winning prize went to the Champlon Ardenne School. The 19 children from the class will be accompanied by 9 elders for their prize excursion to Mini-Europe and the Atomium on the 1st of June. The second prize consists of a day out to the Fourneau St Michel museums, where the children will be able to learn about the trades of yesteryear.

After the awards ceremony, all 50 poets left lauded with little gifts to take home with them.

The winning poems and pictures of the ceremony are available here.