Earth Day 2021: $200k Global Fresh Ideas Competition for Teenagers by The Earth Prize Launches

GENEVA, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A $200,000 global environmental sustainability competition for young people launches with the aim of unearthing great ideas and making them a reality.

The Earth Prize is a global initiative connecting young people with a worldwide eco-system of experts, university students, sustainability experts, and change-makers, to develop ideas into solutions that can make a genuine difference.

The prize provides bespoke sustainability education content and mentoring from university students to inform and inspire teenage students and guidance from sustainability experts, and change-makers will help young people explore and build upon their ideas while they gain vital, real-world skills. Thanks to a panel of world-renowned sustainability experts, who will adjudicate The Earth Prize, as well as a cohort of high-profile ambassadors, The Earth Prize will provide a springboard for each young innovator's game-changing ideas.

Peter McGarry, founder, The Earth Foundation

"The world needs fresh, unpolluted ideas, and young people's capacity for creativity is a huge, untapped asset. We want to help bridge the gap by supporting and inspiring students to imagine real-world solutions, then connecting them to mentors and experts to accelerate positive change."

Lesein Mutunkei, footballer, youth climate activist, 2020 eco-hero, founder of Trees4Goals 

"It doesn't matter how smart you are, or how small of an impact you may think you'll have, we can all make a difference. One of my heroes is Professor Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan professor who won the Nobel Peace Prize. She told the Story of the Hummingbird, a bird who didn't want to sit by and watch a forest burn and it's what inspired me to start Trees4Goals. We should all be part of this. We don't need to wait until we finish school, or until we're 20, or 30. The important thing is to take that first step and start making a difference."

The winning team and school will receive $100,000 and three finalist schools will receive grants of $25,000 each. The remaining $25,000 will be awarded equally to The Earth Prize Mentor of the Year and The Earth Prize Educator of the Year. The Earth Foundation Alumni Association, a community of inspirational individuals and organisations, will then be available to all participants in The Earth Prize, offering further mentorship, networking, internships, and professional placement opportunities.

Winners and runners-up will be announced on 26 March 2022.

For more information and to pre-register, visit theearthprize.org.