2025 EmpowerEU Awards' shortlisted organisations announced

2025 EmpowerEU Awards' shortlisted organisations announced

The EmpowerEU Awards honour and celebrate the organisations, networks and projects that improve the lives of EU citizens in the UK, build bridges between our communities and bring young people together across borders.

Following the success of the inaugural awards in 2024, this year's nominations once again demonstrated the dedication and hard work that communities and organisations are putting into building stronger EU-UK relations. We received an impressive number of high-quality applications from across the UK, reflecting the diversity and vibrancy of grassroots initiatives and networks.

This year's shortlist recognises outstanding contributions in three categories:

1. Inspiring European Connections:

· Centrala: a vibrant arts and community organisation based in Birmingham connecting Central and Eastern European communities with wider UK audiences and amplifying the voices of EU citizens.

· CONNECTS-UK is led by EU nationals working in British universities, with the aim of building meaningful professional and intercultural connections between EU and UK researchers.

· Scottish Advisory Forum on Europe (SAFE): a broad civil society coalition, dedicated to sustaining Scotland's connections with Europe and ensuring that citizens' voices are heard in the EU-UK relationship.

2. Youth Champions

· Erasmus Student Network UK supports EU and international students in the UK, and advocates for accessible opportunities for student mobility through the Embrace Erasmus+ campaign.

· UCL European and International Social and Political Studies Society is a student-led hub for intercultural learning and exchange, offering students the chance to explore European politics and culture while building friendships across national lines.

· Youth For Inclusive Europe: a youth-led organisation creating spaces for young Europeans to connect, advocate and influence debates about identity, rights and inclusion.

3. Community Champions

· Europia: a well-established community organisation serving EU nationals across Greater Manchester.

· Liverpool European Partnership brings together EU citizens and allies to celebrate European identity and address challenges facing local communities.

· New Europeans UK: a grassroots organisation dedicated to ensuring EU citizens feel a sense of belonging in the UK; they embed their work in local neighbourhoods while connecting it to national advocacy.

Each of these organisations demonstrates what it means to empower people through collaboration, cultural exchange, and civic participation while strengthening ties between communities. We look forward to celebrating the amazing work that takes place across the UK at the Awards ceremony on the 20th November in London. The awards ceremony will be held at the GLA with Debbie Weekes Bernard, London's Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice providing the welcome address.