Europen Cartoon Award 2022

Mission

Quality journalism is of vital importance to healthy democracies – and cartoonists play a crucial role in this system of checks and balances. Their creations are the hallmark of an open society. With just a single image they hold up a mirror, make change negotiable, and foster public debate.

Cartoons are an important part of an open conversation, because they help us question old ideas and introduce new ones. Yet, more than any other form of journalism, cartoons are feeling the strain of the shrinking space for freedom of expression.

The European Cartoon Award was founded by the European Press Prize and Studio Europa Maastricht in 2019 – the year in which the New York Times decided to stop running editorial cartoons altogether. Studio Europa Maastricht and the European Press Prize aim to award courage and quality in the field of cartooning and foster conversation on the topic of Europe.

To encourage cartoonists to continue their essential task, we have launched the European Cartoon Award, worth €10,000.

Eligibility

Any cartoonist that operates in or is from any of the 46 countries of the Council of Europe, with the addition of Belarus and Russia, is eligible to compete in the European Cartoon Award.

The work submitted must have a publication date between January 1, 2021, and May 9, 2022, and must have been published in European media (Council of Europe, Belarus, and Russia).

The cartoons need to be accompanied by a description in English (250 words maximum), explaining the theme of the cartoon(s), together with an assessment of its impact and reception.

NB: Cartoons published on the platform Cartoon Movement will be considered valid only if labeled “Editor’s Choice”, i.e. published on the homepage because selected by the editor-in-chief.

Submission

During the entry period for the European Cartoon Award, a button will become available on our website that brings you to our cartoon entry form. Please submit your cartoon(s) here and fill out the form.

The entry period for the 2022 edition is: May 9 to June 20.

Rules

Cartoonists can send in a maximum of three cartoons, either entered separately or in one entry if they are part of a series.

The work submitted must have a publication date between January 1, 2021, and May 9, 2022, and must have been published in European media (Council of Europe, Belarus, and Russia).

Formats

Entries should be submitted digitally by completing the form on this website. Only complete forms can be entered. Cartoons must be submitted in JPEG format.

Applicants are required to upload images with a resolution of 1080 x 1080 pixels minimum.

If your caption is in any other language than English, please submit an English translation of the caption as well.

Judging procedure

After the entries have come in, they will be evaluated by the Laureates Jury and the Panel of Judges. The two juries, the Laureates one composed of 5 nominees of the last edition, and the latter composed of the winner of the last year’s edition together with four expert journalists, cartoonists, or activists, will vote on cartoons and select a shortlist from which the Panel of Judges will select the winner.

The juries’ choices and the resulting shortlist will be published on the European Press Prize website.

The Panel of Judges makes the final selection for the winner.

The following rules ensure a fair judging process:

(I) Jury members cannot enter the contest in the year they are judging.

(II) Each jury member, whether an ordinary member or chair, has one equal vote.

(III) Judges cannot abstain from voting at any stage of the judging process.

(IV) All proceedings and deliberations of each jury are conducted in confidence.

(V) All entries are coded, with identifying information removed from the text so the work is judged anonymously. At no stage of the process – and in no discussion either in or outside the judging rooms – should jury members speculate on, or reveal, any names of participating journalists, newsrooms or publications.

(VI) If the jury members recognize they are personally involved in submitted work, through either a personal or professional relationship, they must declare their interest openly at the beginning of any discussions on the work.

(VII) The judges must select a winner and a runner-up. The award ceremony of the second edition will take place in September 2021.

Shortlist

After the Panel of Judges chooses the first preliminary shortlist, cartoonists can be contacted for additional material.

If you have any questions or want to recommend projects you have seen, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Entry Form