On 09 May 2018, the delegation of the European Union (EU) to the Togolese Republic celebrated the Europe Day in Togo. This celebration took place at a cocktail party held at 18:00 at the Sarakawa Hotel in Lomé.

the Europe Day was instituted in 1985 to commemorate the founding text of the European Union namely: the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950. The Europe Day is also celebrated in the Member States of the European Union because it represents the symbol of peace between France and Germany.

The ceremony was marked by the speeches of the officials present and in particular those of the Ambassador, Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Togo and the Minister of Planning representing the government.

On the occasion of this Europe Day, a competition was organized for the selection of the best photo of the projects implemented by the European Union in Togo. Twelve (12) photos were exhibited and put to the vote of the participants.

The results of the photo contest votes were announced following the opening speeches of the ceremony. They were supported by the award winners followed by a cocktail party.

The first prize of the photo competition was awarded to the City Council of Aného with the project “Extension of Public Non-Collective Sanitation Service in Aného” (ESPANCA). The project won an all-terrain motorcycle materialized by the delivery of a symbolic key by the Minister of Public Service. Entitled “The joy of having toilets at school”, the winning photograph is a black-and-white photograph depicting new toilets of four manual hunting cabins built with financial support from the EU and Yvelines Department (France). In this photo, we also see students expressing their joy by washing their hands after defecation.

The third prize of the contest went to the FETAPH (Togolese Federation of Associations of Disabled People) for the project “Promotion of the citizen and inclusive participation of disabled people in the process of national reconciliation in Togo”. FETAPH won a latest-generation laptop thanks to a photo titled “Access for people with disabilities to public buildings”. Taken in front of the city hall of Sokodé, this photo admirably illustrates the difficulties of access to public buildings by disabled people.

As for the second prize in the EU photo competition, a professional digital camera, it was won by ETD with a photo taken as part of the activities of PARDL-DD, the “Support Program for the Strengthening of Participatory Local Democracy” for Sustainable Development in the South-East of the Plateaux Region of Togo “. Called “reforestation for all and by all”, this photo depicts students from Tchankeli engaged in manual reforestation activities as part of awareness-raising activities on the impact of climate change on their environment.