The leading regional prize for reporting across cultures is expanded to recognize online media in addition to television, radio and printed press.

The latest edition of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation's Journalist Award was officially launched today at the opening of the annual COPEAM Audiovisual Regional Forum taking place in Paris under the patronage of President Sarkozy and bringing together television and radio media organizations from across the Mediterranean Region.

The Award launch was among a series of initiatives announced by the Anna Lindh Foundation and its partners including the planned very first high-level meeting of TV owners in the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), as well as the upcoming launch of the first Anna Lindh Report on Intercultural Trends which has a thematic focus and public opinion survey on the role of Media in shaping mutual perceptions.

Speaking at the opening of the Forum, alongside the European Commission and the Anna Lindh Foundation, Frédéric Mitterrand, the French Minister of Culture, said: "The media play a central role in building a Union for the Mediterranean, giving a voice and a face to the people of the different communities of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East who share a common destiny".

Androulla Vassiliou, the new European Union Commissioner in charge of Education, Culture and Media, said:"We are witnessing today the extent to which the media is influencing how we see each other across the two shores of the Mediterranean and it is essential to also continue to support the capacity of people in the Region to interpret the media narrative" .

André Azoulay, President of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation, said: "The Union for the Mediterranean continues to present a historic opportunity for our common future if the civil society and public at large are engaged in its construction. In this regard, we aim to recognize those journalists who through their courage and talent are able to communicate the diversity and the complexities of our shared Mediterranean Region".

Established in 2006, the Anna Lindh Mediterranean Journalist Award is the leading regional prize for reporting across cultures and in recognition of positive media works addressing issues of cultural diversity and intercultural relations, with an internationally renowned jury and an annual ceremony hosted by the Principality of Monaco.

The competition for the 2010 edition, which will run until the 10th July 2010, is open to journalists who are nationals of one of the 43 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean and is being supported by the Anna Lindh Foundation in partnership with COPEAM, the European Commission and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.

For more information on the Anna Lindh Journalist Award 2010 click here