PARIS.- The seven photography festivals (Paris, Berlin, Bratislava, Luxembourg, Moscow, Rome and Vienna), consolidated within the European Month of Photography, have decided to create with Alcatel, the official partner, the "Alcatel Prize for the European Month of Photography", which will be awarded on October 31, 2006 at the "Maison Européenne de la Photographie" in Paris.

The goal of this initiative is to promote contemporary European photography, every two years. The jury, composed of international personalities from the European art world, will name the winner among seven artists (from each country), chosen by the managers of the seven photo festivals. The winner will receive a 10,000 euro prize.

The traveling exhibition "Transformations 1: contemporary European photography" will gather works from the seven nominated artists and will put a special emphasis on the winner. Presented in each of the seven capitals between Fall 2006 and Spring 2007, the exhibition will be in Paris, at the "Maison Européenne de la Photographie", from November 1 to December 31, 2006.

With so much of its business focused on broadband and multimedia, Alcatel chose photography as the theme of its cultural sponsoring activities. As a strong supporter of photography, Alcatel’s goal is to promote cultural diversity and exchange, particularly in the arts, which create a vital link between the different communities in countries where Alcatel has a strong local presence. Free of linguistic or cultural barriers, photography speaks instantly to each person. Current technical advances in photography make this art form a privileged means of expression. Each day, multimedia content is exchanged on the Internet and over mobile phones thanks to Alcatel’s fixed and mobile infrastructures and software.