Young people aged between 13 to 19 have been encouraged to apply for a portion of a ‘major new educational fund’ worth €45,000’ ahead of its deadline on Friday, November 10.
The Bright Future Prize and aims to ‘empower teens with dreams of making a difference in their communities and create positive change’.
Applicants are asked to propose a project or a cause close to their heart and outline how they will use the funding to help make their chosen community better, brighter and stronger. The prize is funded by Arachas’s international partner - Ardonagh Group, whose charity, ACT (Ardonagh Community Trust ), hosts the prize. Ardonagh Group is one of the world’s leading independent brokers with 10,000 employees and is led by Irishman David Ross.
Candidates are required firstly to describe a little bit about themselves, outline their project and finally share how they will use the funding to make their idea a reality. The categories for entries are;
Your Community: Making a difference to the people around you
Your Planet: Protecting the environment and taking a stand against climate change
Your Passion: Sharing your love for music, the arts or sport with more people
Your Vision: Driving positive change through entrepreneurship or innovation
Commenting on the awards, Sarah James, Project Manger ACT, said: “The Bright Future Prize has already given €68,000 to young people, whose winning ideas have ranged from designs for a self-build wind turbine kit, martial arts for elderly people and a video game to support teenagers’ mental health.
“By providing funding, the business hopes to help young Irish people realise the power of their dreams and their ability to create positive change. Last year, one of the Irish teenagers who won was Sara O’Beirne from Leitrim. She is passionate about renewable energy and designed an eco-turbine blade made from wood. Over the past two years, Sara has been designing and testing her innovative self-build wooden wind turbine kit.”
Thanks to funding from the Bright Future Prize, Sara has been able to take her design to the next stage, purchasing the machinery to build her wind turbine. Sara initially plans to sell her blades locally, but ultimately, she wants to take them across the world, particularly in Africa where affordable, renewable, and reliable energy is so important to establish.
Applications can be made online at www.ardonaghtrust.org/bright-future until Friday, November 10.
