In this interview, Antonella Candiago (20 years old, from San Giustina, Veneto region, Italy), winner of the first prize of the photo competition 'Imagine Europe without borders', tells us more about the idea behind her photo and her views on Europe.
How did you find out about the competition and what intrigued you about the topic?
I found out about the competition through the website www.scambieuropei.info, which often lets people know about competitions being held across a range of subjects. I was very interested in your competition 'Imagine Europe without borders', because I think it addresses a very topical issue – the issue of borders – and I think it is vital that we engage in discussion and dialogue on how we can break them down. What appealed to me the most was the opportunity it presented to express our different ideas on how to overcome these barriers. It was also very nice to look at the other photos and realise how many different visions and ideas there are. I am a student of International Studies and am personally very interested in issues relating to Europe, but in particular I have been thinking about the concept of boundaries and borders for a long time and I finally found the ideal opportunity to express my thinking in this respect.
Can you tell us more about your photo? What was the idea behind it?
I believe that borders are primarily in the mind. These are the prejudices, fears and hostility that we have against something that we don’t know, that is alien to us, that looks different from us and that does not fit into what we usually consider to be "our space". Physical borders can be broken down only if we first manage to break down those mental borders and if we find the courage to view without prejudice that which appears to be far removed from our reality, but which, however, forms part of our world. When I considered how it might be possible to create a Europe without borders, I came to the conclusion that what I believe can help us rise above the borders and walls that we build between us are knowledge, culture and education. If you have knowledge, if you inform yourself, if you look at the world with curiosity from different perspectives, you cannot be afraid, you cannot hate what lies beyond the wall. It is only through information and knowledge that it is possible to enter into dialogue and contact with "the other", thereby creating a united Europe without borders. This is what my photograph is trying to get across: books, representing knowledge, form a kind of staircase enabling each of us to see over the wall, i.e. over all physical, but particularly mental barriers. The subject chosen is a child, because I believe that that is the age at which people are most free from prejudice and are curious to learn and go beyond physical and mental limits. It is by adopting this attitude that people can learn not to cut themselves off, but to turn their gaze to what lies beyond.
When I was going to take the photo, the subject was not initially meant to be the child, but another person. However, after I set up the staircase of books, the child who was there with me climbed up it of his own accord and started to climb the wall. I was struck by the scene and on impulse I took the photo. I think that that spontaneity with which he climbed can also develop among us.
What does "Europe" mean for you? Do you feel somehow "European"?
Yes, I feel European and I think that among the younger generations this identity will become increasingly stronger. Even though I am aware that European identity is currently not fully widespread and shared, I think that Europe is our future. This is something that still needs some work and that we should maintain and cultivate together. I do not see the cultural differences that constitute it as an obstacle but rather as a means of exchange and dialogue that can help create a strong and valued EU.
Antonella Candiago, together with the other winners of the competition, will be in Brussels for an award ceremony, due to take place on 7 December from 12.30 to 14.00, in the headquarters of the Committee of the Regions (rue Belliard 101, B-1040 Brussels).
The award ceremony is open to the public. If you want to register, please contact us by email.
