# Lexington hosts Freedom Prize voting event for high school students  
**Published:** 2026-04-16T19:28:19.000Z  
**Source:** [LFUCG General News](https://www.lexingtonky.gov/news/lexington-normandy-connection-leads-freedom-prize-opportunity-local-high-school-students)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/lexington-hosts-freedom-prize-voting-event-for-high-school-students

LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the first time, Lexington will host a [Normandy Freedom Prize Voting Event](https://www.lexingtonky.gov/news/lexington-normandy-connection-leads-freedom-prize-opportunity-local-high-school-students), giving local high school students the opportunity to participate in an international civic engagement program rooted in World War II history.

The voting event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon on April 21 at Tates Creek High School. Three Lexington students will be selected to fly to Normandy with World War II veterans for D-Day commemorations and the Freedom Prize award ceremony in June 2026.

[The Freedom Prize](https://prixliberte.normandie.fr/en), known internationally as Prix Liberté Normandie, was established in 2019 by the Region of Normandy to honor values instilled by [the June 6, 1944, D-Day landings](https://www.dday.org/learn/). The prize encourages young people ages 15-25 from around the world to learn, debate and engage in public life. [Each February, an international youth panel selects three prize nominees](https://www.normandie.fr/le-prix-liberte-freedom-prize), with online voting open through the end of April. The 2026 Freedom Prize winner will be announced at a ceremony on June 4.

Lexington is only the second U.S. city to host Freedom Prize programming. [Its long-standing Sister Cities relationship with Deauville, France, made it a natural partner](https://www.lexingtonsistercities.com/our-sister-cities/deauville-france). [Lexington and Deauville have been Sister Cities since 1957](https://www.lexingtonky.gov/government/boards-commissions/sister-cities-program-commission), one of the earliest partnerships following [President Dwight D. Eisenhower's establishment of the Sister Cities program in 1956](https://www.visitlex.com/international-visitors/). Both cities share a deep connection to the thoroughbred racing industry.

The connection between Lexington and Normandy extends beyond the Sister Cities program. [The 1944 D-Day invasion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings) launched the liberation of Western Europe and has become a shared touchstone of historical memory for both communities. [The D-Day Transmitters initiative, created by Sister Cities volunteer Fanny Hubart-Salmon, engages with libraries, museums, educators and think tanks in both Kentucky and Normandy to promote collaborative research projects and educational workshops](https://www.lexingtonky.gov/news/lexington-deauville-youth-share-their-discoveries-world-world-ii-exhibit-lexington-history-museum).

The [Normandy Legacy flight, started by Delta Air Lines and the Best Defense Foundation in 2022, lands at the Deauville-Normandie Airport each June](https://www.lexingtonky.gov/news/lexington-normandy-connection-leads-freedom-prize-opportunity-local-high-school-students). This June, three young Kentuckians will join the program alongside American youth delegates from other U.S. cities.

## Sources

- [LFUCG General News](https://www.lexingtonky.gov/news/lexington-normandy-connection-leads-freedom-prize-opportunity-local-high-school-students)
- [Prix Liberté Official Website](https://prixliberte.normandie.fr/en)
- [National D-Day Memorial - Learn About D-Day](https://www.dday.org/learn/)
- [Région Normandie - Le Prix Liberté](https://www.normandie.fr/le-prix-liberte-freedom-prize)
- [Lexington Sister Cities - Deauville, France](https://www.lexingtonsistercities.com/our-sister-cities/deauville-france)
- [City of Lexington - Sister Cities Program Commission](https://www.lexingtonky.gov/government/boards-commissions/sister-cities-program-commission)
- [Visit Lexington - International Visitors](https://www.visitlex.com/international-visitors/)

---

This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from LFUCG General News, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.lexingtonky.gov/news/lexington-normandy-connection-leads-freedom-prize-opportunity-local-high-school-students.