Youth Innovation in Drug and Addiction Prevention

The Pompidou Group believes that meaningful youth participation improves the chances of successful drug and addiction prevention for reducing drug-related harm and creating healthier citizens and communities across Europe. Since its launch in 2004, the Pompidou Group Prevention Prize has been awarded every two years to innovative projects led by young people for young people. The Prize seeks to recognise outstanding drug and addiction prevention projects that involve young people in the development, implementation and decision-making processes.

The Pompidou Group Prevention Prize 2025 is now officially launched. The deadline for applications is 30 May 2025. The award ceremony will take place during the 19th Pompidou Group Ministerial Conference in Rome in November 2025.

 The application process

To be considered for the Prize, projects must be innovative, focused on quality drug and addiction prevention and fully involve young people (aged under 25). They should be currently running or recently finished.

Projects from all 41 Pompidou Group member states and 46 Council of Europe member states, as well as members of the Group's Mediterranean network for co-operation on drugs and addictions (MedNET), are eligible for submission.

The application procedure:

• Download the electronic application form.
• Fill in the application form in English or French, the official languages of the Council of Europe.
• Before 30 May 2025, send the application form and the additional documents (described in your application form) by e-mail to: pompidou.preventionprize@coe.int.

Details of the application process, including eligibility and award criteria, can be found in the Concept, rules and procedures document. For any questions, please consult the FAQ section or contact the secretariat: pompidou.preventionprize@coe.int.

  The Jury

Following a widely publicised call for applications, entries are evaluated by a jury of seven young people aged between 18 and 25 from Pompidou Group member states. The jurors are selected by the Pompidou Group based on their experience of youth participation in drug and addiction prevention. They set the rules and procedures for the Prize and sift through the submitted projects, selecting the ones which, in their view, have been most successful at involving young people in quality prevention.

 The Award

Every year, up to three projects are presented with the Prize at the award ceremony. Each prize-winner receives a trophy, a diploma and a monetary award. Previous winners say that the Prize has brought greater recognition for their work and has been invaluable in helping them to secure funding.

In 2021, the award ceremony took place in Paris at the Pompidou Centre on 28 October, using the occasion of the Pompidou Group's 50th anniversary celebration.

53 applications from 28 countries were received by the deadline of 15 January 2021. The next step involved evaluation of the entries by the jury consisting of seven young people, who selected those projects which, in their opinion, have been most successful at involving young people in quality drug prevention. The projects awarded in 2021 are S.A.M.E.N. (Together) project in Belgium, TripApp in Poland and Operation Snowball in Lithuania.

 Watch video introduction of the 2021 jury