Europol has won the 2026 European Ombudsman Award for Good Administration for a game designed to help children learn how to be safe online.

By encouraging players to deal with different types of cybercrime such as fraud, identity theft, and online grooming, the ‘Cyber Defenders’ game on Roblox aims to increase young people's digital resilience.  

“I congratulate Europol for this initiative to keep young people safe online. The Cyber Defenders game is an excellent example of innovative thinking by an EU institution, and it is even more special for benefiting our youngest citizens,” said European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho.

Speaking about the overall quality of the 48 projects submitted for the Award of Good Administration, the Ombudswoman added:

“This year’s nominations highlighted the quality of the work of the EU institutions with projects clearly driven by dedication and a strong commitment to public service and good administration.” 

The winners were announced by the Ombudswoman during a ceremony in Brussels on 30 June with Tony Murphy, the President of the European Court of Auditors, as the keynote speaker.

The Award recognises actions by the EU public administration that have a visible and positive impact on the lives of citizens. Alongside the overall winner, prizes in four categories were awarded as well as a public vote winner.

List of the category award winners

European Climate Pact: Citizens Driving Europe’s Climate Action (European Commission)
Excellence in citizen/civil society participation

DiscoverEU Inclusion Action – Opening Europe to all young people (European Commission)
Excellence in diversity and inclusion

Cyber Defenders: Building digital resilience through a Roblox game (Europol)
Excellence in technological innovation and the use of AI

EU Law Tracker: following the legislative process (European Commission, European Parliament, Council of EU)
Excellence in open administration

Winner of the public vote

European Climate Pact: Citizens Driving Europe’s Climate Action