Young person sought to attend World Economic Forum

The British Council are looking for potential Changemakers – that is, young people who are forward-looking and original thinkers, yet who can and do put their ideas into practice. They are confident, assertive and articulate. Most importantly, they are connected within their community: they see themselves as a part of a larger network (or several) and they want to have a part in shaping these networks.

60 young people from across the globe who are accepted on to the Changemakers programme will attend a forum in Guildford, England. The sixty young people will then nominate a group of six of their peers to travel on to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

Candidates will be between 16 and 19 years old on 31 December 2008. They have to be reasonably fluent in English, as this is the language of the Guildford forum. They have to be able to attend the forum from 17-23 January 2009 and, if elected by the entire group of participants, to represent them at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland from 27 January to 1 February. (They also have to be available on the days in between.)

Please note that we are not looking primarily for candidates from debating teams and model UNs. We want a living, breathing, diverse group of people from all walks of life who consider themselves hands-on activists.

Becoming a Changemaker takes longer than one or two weeks: applicants have to be prepared to commit to Global Changemakers for three to five years – but in return, the British Council commits to the Changemakers.

The engagement may take a number of forms: for instance, taking part in regional or global Think Tanks, participating in awareness raising campaigns and developing and running community projects on their return home. These projects will be supported by the Global Changemakers team, by British Council offices and by partner organisations.

Deadline

The deadline for completed applications is tight. It is Friday 3rd October 2008. British Council will meet all expenses for the successful candidate.

For further details about the event and the application process please contact Brian Wilson at the British Council on 028 9024 8220 ext 272 or brian.wilson@britishcouncil.org.