ZAGREB, 26 Nov 2021 - The NeuroSplit student association for neuroscience is this year's winner of the European Citizen's Prize for its achievements in popularising science, it was said at a ceremony in Zagreb on Friday.

Representatives of the association, founded in 2015 at the Split School of Medicine and awarded for the success of its project "With One Dream United", a series of events designed to popularise science, workshops, humanitarian campaigns and lectures, were presented with the prize by Croatian members of the European Parliament Tomislav Sokol and Sunčana Glavak.

"We are young professionals and what we have in common is a desire to work for the benefit of our community. We have many ideas and plans which will hopefully receive broad support," said Miro Vuković on behalf of the NeuroSplit association.

He said that the results of the "With One Dream United" project were beyond expectations, citing in that context the organisation of a conference called Nobel Days and an international congress on practical skills for students.

At the Nobel Days conference four Nobel Prize winners spoke about their discoveries and life to university and secondary school students from all over Croatia, and the congress on practical skills for students included workshops offering students from the field of biomedicine skills for their future careers.

Sokol said the European Citizen's Prize going to medical students in the current time of the pandemic was an appropriate coincidence.

"We are in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis and this prize sends a message about the importance of investing in science and in professionals," he said,

"Our main priority must be for EU citizens to not be divided into first and second-class citizens and for health care in all EU countries to be equal," said the MEP, noting that projects like the one launched by NeuroSplit could help the national health system raise its quality and be more competitive at EU level.

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February 16, 2021 – The Boranka afforestation campaign, an initiative for afforestation of burned areas, has won the European Citizens' Prize for 2020, a recognition awarded by the European Parliament for promoting European values and unity.

Since 2018, when the Croatian Scout Association started implementing it, the Boranka afforestation campaign has gathered more than 7,000 volunteers who have planted more than 85,000 new trees in the burned areas of Dalmatia. That is why Boranka has become the largest volunteer afforestation action in the whole of Europe, but also the most awarded non-profit campaign ever.

As the European Parliament office in Croatia reports, Dan Špicer, the Croatian Scout Association's business director and the Boranka campaign's main coordinator, pointed out that the European Citizens' Prize is a great honor and a great recognition.

"Our Boranka campaign showed how love for nature and the homeland could unite the whole of Croatia, but also be a great example to other European countries of how to treat the environment and the community responsibly. The Croatian Scout Association continues efforts to preserve nature in the future, and such awards are just an additional motivation for us to involve even more citizens and return the greenery to the black fires," said Špicer.

Source: Boranka

The Croatian Scout Association is the heir to the centuries-old tradition of the scout movement in Croatia. Besides, it is the largest organization for children and youth in the country.

The European Citizens' Prize has been awarded since 2008 to individuals and organizations for initiatives that strengthen the European spirit of solidarity, creativity, and motivation. It is also awarded for initiatives that specifically express the values contained in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Citizens and associations can apply for this award independently, and European Parliament members can also nominate candidates. In each Member State, the national jury selects the finalists. An Award Committee, chaired by the President of the European Parliament, chooses the final winners.

Previous winners in Croatia are: Martina Čuljak with the Help Balkans project, the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS), the humanitarian association Fr. Mladen Hrkać, which helps people with health problems and their families who come to Zagreb for treatment, the Transplant association that promotes organ donation and transplantation, and Tvrtko Baron, the director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Southeast Europe.

For more news from Croatia, check out the TCN lifestyle section.