By Christina Fitili of Greece, 17 years old. Nine children have been awarded for their designs for a flag for planet Earth as part of the Earth & Space Week opening ceremony on 11 February 2005, in Brussels.
The flag design aimed to capture the “motto” of Earth & Space Week: Celebrating our planet, while reaching for the stars. The contest was open to children aged 5 to 19 from the European Union, Norway and Switzerland.
The winning children received fabric flags printed with their own designs from Prince Philippe of Belgium, European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen, and the European Space Agency Director Volker Liebig in front of an audience of astronauts, dignitaries and other senior officials.
The children's work was judged by an expert team of teachers from all over Europe, with the final selection of winners and runners-up being made by a Grand Jury including Jack Metthey, Transport Director at the DG Research of the European Commission, Frank de Winne, European Astronaut, Jan De Craemer, from the Flemish-speaking Ministry of Education of Belgium, and Etienne Gilliard from the French-speaking Ministry of Education of Belgium.