Deadline: 15-Jul-21
Despite the difficult circumstances, do you not let yourself be held back from standing up for your heart project and from continuing to network with others? Did you leave your comfort zone to make the interests of young people heard? With your youth initiative, you are – literally – United In the distance? Then apply now with your project for the Youth Democracy Prize 2021.
The Youth Democracy Award is a competition run by the Federal Agency for Civic Education and is planned and organized by a youth jury. Since 2008, they have been awarding particularly committed young people with prize money of up to 3,000 euros. The youth jury consists of volunteers made up of school and university students and apprentices between the ages of 16 and 25.
The Youth Democracy Award is the right place for you if you have the courage to overcome obstacles, go against conventions and create something new with your project. In addition, the following points are important to us:
- You are carrying out your project completely independently.
- Within your project, everyone is allowed to have a say.
- Your project addresses many different people (with different life experiences and realities).
- Your project is creative and implements new ideas and approaches.
- Your project can achieve a lot with little resources. You care about the environment and your fellow human beings.
- Your project inspires others to become active or to reflect and has an impact beyond the duration of the project.
Eligibility Criteria
Your project must meet the following points:
- Your project is by young people for young people. You are between 14 and 27 years old. You work on the idea of your project yourself and implement it on your own. However, you can also receive support, e.g. from teachers, as long as the initiative is yours alone.
- The activities of your project and the project promoters respect democratic principles.
- They are looking for projects from all over Europe.
- They are looking for innovative projects that deal with the topic of democracy and issues that move you and your environment. By democracy they do not only mean elections and structures, but also the commitment to an open society and the inclusion of young people’s interests.
- All kinds of projects are conceivable – e.g. a (digital) youth encounter the creation of a video clip, a school project, (intergenerational) neighbourhood help or something completely different. There are no limits to your imagination, they like to be surprised!
- The time frame of your project can range from one day to a few months to a few years. Completed projects must not date back more than one year.
- A non-profit background is required. Projects that are exclusively funded by and implemented through the Federal Agency for Civic Education cannot be considered.
Evaluation Criteria
- Incomplete applications will be excluded, which means that every item in the application form must be processed.
- The award winners will be chosen solely on the basis of the application form. Any additional material submitted cannot be considered for reasons of fairness.
- Applications that deviate greatly from the specifications (word count) will not be considered.
- Project applications must be submitted in German or English and via the online form or e-mail.
- The selection will be made by a youth jury. Projects involving individual jury members will not be evaluated by the respective jury members.
For more information, visit https://www.bpb.de/veranstaltungen/format/wettbewerb/332670/jugenddemokratiepreis-2021