New York, 18 December 2009: On the occasion of International Migrants Day, winners of the very first 'Plural +' Youth Video Award have been announced during an award ceremony organized by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization for Migration.

The Plural + Award, which supports youth-led media productions on issues of Migration, Identity and Diversity, was launched world-wide in 2009 in partnership with a range of institutions including the Anna Lindh Foundation, UNICEF, BaKaForum and the Centre for Migration Studies.

Speaking in New York, Marc Scheuer, Director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations said:

“Plural + illustrates how young people around the world are leading the way in using media creatively to build bridges across cultures. Working with partners such as the Anna Lindh Foundation allows us to significantly extend the reach to youth communities across the Mediterranean region."

In the framework of the Plural + Award, a special prize was given by the Anna Lindh Foundation for the youth video production 'The Story Behind just Another Nationality' by Jane Johannes, an interactive documentary about cultural diversity on the streets of Amsterdam.

Paul Walton, Communication Manager of the Anna Lindh Foundation, presenting the Award at the ceremony in New York commented:

"Around the Mediterranean, our cities have always been spaces of diversity, and the recent increase in this phenomenon has created important social and cultural challenges as well as new opportunities for intercultural dialogue. The videos show-cased by the Plural + Award winners provide a unique insight into our multi-cultural communities through the creative vision of its young people.”

The winner of the Anna Lindh Plural + Prize will be invited to present her winning work at a major forum for intercultural dialogue which will take place in Barcelona from the 4th to 7th of March 2010 and will bring together over 500 civil society groups and non-governmental organizations from across the 43 National Civil Society Networks of the Anna Lindh Foundation.