The Prize intends to encourage projects on expression, creativity and communication among and with disabled people; it prefers the language of visual communication In its first three years it proposed the theme “Abilities”, which in 2009 and 2010 has been developed by the Advertising the Publishing Sections of Graphics of the Liceo Artistico “ Scuola del Libro” of Urbino, respectively with printed posters, and with the cover for the “Eleanor” book. In 2011 pupils from the Animation Section of the same school have entered the competition with story boards.

Supported by the del Liceo Artistico “ Scuola del Libro” of Urbino, by the Urbino local authority and by private sponsor, the Prize has moved forward by opening to all the Art secondary schools in the Marche Region. “Interaction” has been the theme of this second group of three years. Disabilities in various shapes limit people’s possibilities of interaction, both with other people and, more broadly, with society and with many elements of the world and of life. Several Art schools from the Region have taken part, among which the Art schools Apolloni of Fano, Cantalamessa of Macerata, Licini of Porto San Giorgio, Mannucci of Fabriano, Mannucci of JESI, Mengaroni of Pesaro and Preziotti of Fermo

In these years many pieces of works have been submitted to the competition, as individual or group, or class works. The works show a great variety of expressive techniques, i.e. videos, works with paper, installations, sculpture of various materials, jewelry, prints on material, and graphic design done with various techniques, as water colour, oil, acrylic, engraving, and photography.

Every year an exhibition of all submitted works has been set up in the halls of the “Collegio Raffaello” in Urbino, curated by Nunzia Invernizzi.

From the 28 October to 10 November 2014 in the “Sale del Castellare” of the Ducal Palace in Urbino the retrospective exhibition of the first six years of activity of the Prize has been held, curated by Nunzia Invernizzi, Artistic Director of the Prize, and by prof. Andrea Passanisi and Loretta Vandi from the Liceo Artistico “Scuola del Libro” in Urbino. Pier Paolo Ceccarini and Flavio Urbinati have contributed with video installations in the shape of video-mapping.

In 2015 the Art schools of the Marche Region still participate in the competition, and in 2017 the Prize becomes interregional with a new participant, the Liceo Artistico Bellisario from Pescara (Abruzzo).

The theme of the research concentrates on “Accessibility”, with reference to the world of work and of services; in 2017, in the ninth year of the Prize, the theme is “Friendship”.

The same year 2015 is the first year of a parallel Prize, at the level of tertiary education, among institutions such as Accademie di Belle Arti, ISIA, and university degrees in Art; from the beginning this prize has been open to students from Italian and British institutions.

The first theme of the Prize for tertiary education was “Overcoming barriers. Beyond disabilities”

This theme wants to highlight the difficulties which disabled persons encounter in communication, social life, job inclusion, movements within the house and outdoor; but it also wants to suggest research into intuitions and suggestions geared at favouring the social inclusion of disabled people and their families.

The Prize pivots around the celebration of 3 December as the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilties; the prize giving event has so far taken place at the “Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche” of Urbino; every year an exhibition of all works submitted is set up in York, UK, the first two years in the New School House Gallery , and in 2017 and 2018 in York St John University.

In these nine years winners in the Secondary Art Schools Competition have received prizes in cash, or as internships of one month each at firms in the art and design sector. Winners in the tertiary education competition have enjoyed one week of hospitality in the halls of residence of the university of Urbino (if from British institutions) or of York St John (if from Italian insitutions); and also prizes in cash or as art books, offered respectively by the Urbino and the Urbania local authority.

The Associazione Premio Eleanor Worthington carries out a vision of disability consistent with the one proposed by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Italy approved in 2009; therefore disability is not defined only in terms of impairments, but takes into account also the barriers against a full and effective participation in society on the basis of equality with anybody else. The Convention itself also requires sensitization about the problems of disabilities starting with schools children; it also requires to provide a positive view of disabled persons, and of their potential.

2018 marks the tenth year of the Prize for Art Secondary Schools; more regions are taking part, with the addition of Abruzzo, Umbria, and Trentino Alto Adige; the new Art schools taking part are “Montauti” of Teramo; “Bernardino di Betto” of Perugia and “Metelli” of Terni; and also “Vittoria” in Trento. Also in 2018 another Art school from the Marche Region has taken part, i.e the “Mannucci” of Ancona.

The exhibition for the tenth anniversary, set up in the Halls of the Collegio Raffaello in Urbino, is partitioned into two main areas; in one of these the Liceo Artistico “Scuola del Libro” of Urbino has shown all the works by its own participants to the Prize in 2018, and a retrospective exhibition of works by its own participants.

The Prize is turning towards “Universal Accessibility”, trying to make works of art accessible to people with various kinds of disabilities