Crisis, climate change: capturing European identity in a photo (16 images)
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In case you missed the Assembly of European Regions' first 'Snapshot: Europe' photo exhibition in Brussels between September and October 2009, here's a recap of what ordinary citizens photographed to depict today's environmental Europe on the move and with an identity
The winning photo in the 'Europe on the move. Migration, integration, stereotypes' section: an administrative office for naturalisation
From the same section: a two-part series of immigrant portraits in the Parisian metro...
... and Parisian window reflections
Paris features in another shot by a Polish photographer, ‘Steel Dreams’. ‘People from Europe want to migrate to big cities,’ he explains. ‘A lot are looking for a special place from their dreams. This is the European dream.’
Bucharest, January 2009. Most of the big global companies have offices in the Pipera region
The Romanian employees are contrasted with a three-part series of young Latvians affected the crisis. 'In 2007, Latvia had the fastest growing economy in Europe, and is now in the deepest economic crisis since independence in 1991'
'Young Latvians find themselves in a situation where they cannot pay back their loans and mortgages. The crisis affects everyone but the poorer people in the countryside are most vulnerable'
'The animosity against current political elite is rising. Many choose to leave for a better life abroad’
The 'Europe on the move' section ends on a note of positivity, with these young Bosnians standing together over their city. Bosnia is a potential EU candidate country
Two Girls Kissing Tito is the winning image for 'European identity? Values, diversity and cultural dialogue'. 'The leadership and charisma of the former Yugoslav leader is still alive at the Vevcani Mask festival in Struga, Macedonia,' the photographer explains
More festival images from the section included this humorous sight from Russia
The international Surva festival in the city of Pernik, Bulgaria
In a different kind of festivity, a young Pole is captured in front of huge posters commemorating the Warsaw riots of '68
Winner of the final section in the competition: 'Europe tomorrow: sustainable development, ecology, environment'. 'The High Tratas Park used to be full of green trees and was very popular with tourists because of its untouched look. In November 2004 a strong windstorm destroyed this symbol of Slovak pride. This picture, taken in June 2008, shows the impact of the catastrophe. It just cannot be erased or returned,' explains the photographer
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The second Ukrainian image in this slideshow depicts a cat with a high level of radioactivity in the Ukrainian town of Chernobyl. '23 years after the disaster at the nuclear power station, the territory remains unsuitable for human habitation'
The series ends on another postive note with this tale from Hamburg. 'It was forbidden to swim in the Elbe for years because of all the pollution produced by the industry and the containerships; the harbour of Hamburg is the largest in Germany and one of the largest in Europe. Technology and the will to keep the environment clean has meant we can swim in the Elbe again. Sustainable development is possible'