Unloc & Verizon Business scoop impressive awards at the Better Society Awards 2024
13 June 2024
We’re thrilled to reveal that we and Verizon Business won two awards at The Better Society Awards 2024!
We are delighted to announce that in partnership with One Young World and supported by The Ellis Campbell Foundation, we are launching our all new Seed2030 Micro Grants!
Following the amazing One Young World Summit 2023 which took place in Belfast last month, Seed2030 will provide ten young leaders with grants worth up to £1,000 to test and develop their campaign or project ideas and start their own social enterprise.
Both One Young World and Unloc recognise that in order to incubate the next generation of young leaders, and widen access to changemaking, more needs to be done to provide funding and support to those young people with enormous potential but limited social capital.
Both organisations are committed to creating a better world and more opportunities for young people, by working together, we’re opening doors for disadvantaged young people in the region and helping them to activate their ambitions.
.
.
The Seed2030 project will give 10 young people, aged 14 – 25, living in Northern Ireland, the opportunity to apply for £1000 to develop or test their community project idea or start up business that aims to advance on one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Alongside the funding, the 10 young people will gain the opportunity to take part in a 2 day, 1 night immersive leadership bootcamp in Belfast helping them to progress their own leadership skills and the progress of their project, campaign or venture.
Following the bootcamp, grantees are connected with a mentor from the One Young World ambassador community; these mentors will support the grantee for 6 months as they get their project off the ground. Furthermore, the young people will also receive ongoing support from Unloc to develop their project or business idea.
Seed2030 has also been shaped and championed by local young people from Northern Ireland, Aimee Clint from the Education Authority and Nicole Parkinson-Kelly, a previous member of the Northern Ireland Youth Forum.This expert local knowledge combined with the expertise of Unloc staff to develop young changemakers has created a project that will have enormous impact in Northern Ireland, both on the young people themselves and their local communities.
Our steering group, composed of members from the Unloc team, the One Young World Team, the Northern Ireland Education Authority and local young people will continue to ensure the project is having a positive impact.
Of the 10 young people, those aged 18+ will also get the chance to apply for a scholarship to the One Young World Summit 2024 in Montreal, with the four young people leading the most impactful Seed2030 projects supported to attend, continuing and extending the Belfast summit legacy.
Partnered with crucial resources, training and mentorship throughout, the Seed2030 funding grant will provide a stepping stone for young people in Northern Ireland to drive social change and emerge as leaders in their local communities.
.
Unloc’s Managing Director Hayden Taylor said:
“I am beyond excited that the Seed2030 project is launching – putting micro grants, mentorship, training and support directly into the hands of talented young people in Northern Ireland with projects, campaigns and business ideas that will help advance one of the 17 Global Goals.
This project is particularly special as it brings together the expertise of Unloc and One Young World as champions of young changemakers with our steering group of young people from Northern Ireland who are helping shape the project’s direction. With the support of the Ellis Campbell Foundation, and the backing of our local partners at the NI Education Authority, we are building an exciting pipeline of opportunities developing young people as changemakers”
Ella Robertson McKay, Managing Director of One Young World said:
“Young World Summit in Belfast earlier this year, we are delighted to launch the Seed2030 project with Unloc to ensure young leaders across Northern Ireland have the tools to catalyse social change. It was clear from the Summit in Belfast that the next generation of young leaders in Northern Ireland have enormous potential and ambition to accelerate social change in their local communities, but more needs to be done to provide funding and support to turn this potential into reality, and we’re proud to play a role in doing this through Seed2030”.
Nicole Parkinson-Kelly, One Young World Ambassador & Previous Vice-Chair of the Northern Ireland Youth Forum said:
“I’m really excited to be a part of launching Seed2030 to give young people across NI the opportunity to make their innovative business ideas and community projects a reality. This really makes entrepreneurship more accessible, creating safe learning environments to take risks with meaningful support through mentorship to help young people prepare for their next steps after seed funding. Northern Ireland has lots of young talent and potential to invest in so I’m delighted that One Young World, a global organisation who supports changemakers, sees this and is creating opportunities for our leaders of tomorrow in partnership with Unloc.”
Katie Williamson, Unloc’s Programme Manager said:
“Seed2030 is such an exciting opportunity for the young people of Northern Ireland and I am delighted to be a part of it! The multi layers of support will enable young people to tap into their changemaker journey and drive social change on issues that they are passionate about.”
.
.
About Unloc
.
Unloc is a leading UK-based social enterprise, founded by One Young World Ambassadors, inspiring and supporting young people to become changemakers. Founded by award winning young leaders Hayden Taylor & Ben Dowling, we develop the leadership potential of young people from over 500 schools and colleges in the UK, and through our partnerships across Europe.
We have been bringing innovative education programmes to life for over 8 years; helping bring business closer to young talent whilst empowering young people, developing their leadership skills and building their opportunity pipeline.
Last year, Unloc’s programmes reached over 15,000 young people in-person, and countless thousands more through our pan-European partnerships.
.
About One Young World
.
One Young World is the global community for young leaders. Its mission is to create a fair, sustainable future for all, by developing young leaders who are taking action to solve the world’s big challenges. It builds young leaders’ expertise, elevates their profiles and inspires them to increase their impact.
One Young World offers an unrivalled platform to affect change at a global level. With a network of more than 13,700 Ambassadors, innovative initiatives led by the One Young World community have directly impacted 41.56 million people globally since 2010. For every $1 invested, One Young World Ambassadors deliver $16 of social value.
Its annual Summit brings together the brightest young leaders from every country and sector who are working to accelerate social impact across the globe. Delegates from 190+ countries are counselled by influential political, business and humanitarian leaders such as President Mary Robinson, Dr Jane Goodall, and Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, amongst many other global figures.
To date, Summits have taken place in Belfast (2023), London (2010), Zurich (2011), Pittsburgh (2012), Johannesburg (2013), Dublin (2014), Bangkok (2015), Ottawa (2016), Bogota (2017), The Hague (2018), London (2019), Munich (2021), Manchester (2022) and Belfast (2023). The next Summit will take place in Montréal in 2024.
.
About the Ellis Campbell Foundation
.
The Ellis Campbell Foundation, a charity based in Hampshire, was established in 1990 by Michael Campbell, representing the fourth generation of the family’s property investment office, the Ellis Campbell Group. Since that time the Foundation has supported a diverse range of organisations in Hampshire, Perthshire and London with grants totalling over £3.7m.
The Foundation has supported many wonderful organisations in Hampshire over the years and continues to support Treloar School through a sports fund, and Alton College through engineering scholarships. Most of the Hampshire grants are now run through the Doris Campbell Memorial Fund managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation.
Following a strategic review, the Foundation is now focussed on building Youth Power and Leadership with some fantastic partners in the UK and is proud to be supporting many transformational projects.
Applied for the Young Entrepreneurs Challenge 2023 yet? Our Europe-wide competition in partnership with Verizon Business aims to discover the best of up and coming new business talent, and is officially open for applications!
Now in its fifth year, the dynamic competition uncovering new business minds is open for young people across Europe aged between 16-25 years old.
With a focus on technology, digital, sustainability and the environment, entrants will submit their tech-led start-up business concept online.
Five finalists will be chosen from the entries, and they’ll go head to head pitching their business idea, concept or start-up to a panel of expert judges at the Grand Final in the Spring.
The winner will claim a £10,000 (€11,000) Grand Prize, mentorship, and a technology package to launch their business.
In addition, they will also receive a ticket to attend the Global One Young World Summit in Belfast in October 2023.
“It’s hard to believe we’re now in our fifth year of the competition,” said Hayden Taylor, Managing Director of Unloc ”Year upon year we’ve seen the sheer quality and standard of entries from budding young entrepreneurs rise. Last year’s competition in particular attracted some truly outstanding young people, with amazing leadership and business skills, an exceptionally high standard.”
“We were absolutely blown away and had a really difficult time choosing an overall winner. I know we, and our partners Verizon are looking forward to seeing what talent from across Europe the competition attracts this year.”
To enter, entrants are asked to record a 60-90 second video, as well as completing an online application form outlining their business idea.
Applications will be judged based on their viability, technology innovation and sustainability.
The finalists will then compete head-to-head in a Grand Finale held in February 2023, pitching their business concept live to a panel of expert judges and invited guests representing both the worlds of business and education.
Winner of the Young Entrepreneur Challenge 2022 Nick Cotter
Nick Cotter of Cotter Agritech was crowned the winner of the 2022 Verizon/Unloc Young Entrepreneurs Challenge. Nick’s company, based in Limerick, Ireland, have a vision to dramatically reduce chemical use in agriculture while improving productivity and profitability.
Nick and his Brother Jack developed a system that uses advanced algorithms to enable livestock farmers to identify and target animals that need treatment with anti-parasitic drugs without blanket treating the entire flock or herd.
Nick’s triumphant victory won €11,000 for Cotter Agritech, funding, a business mentor package and entry to the 2022 One Young World Global Summit.
Nick said: “Enter, because the sooner you find out whether it’s a good or bad idea, the sooner you find the right idea, and the sooner you can have an impact and achieve your ambitions. It’s just a fabulous experience to be a part of.“
“Startups go through 6-7 life and death moments every year, and some even every month, so awards like this are of huge value in terms of being undeniable achievements that you can’t deny from yourself, and you can look at them and they will give you the confidence to go with the idea, and keep moving forward.”
“We have invested in the production of video testimonials with test farmers who used the solution in 2021, so the funding has been of huge immediate value in kickstarting our launch and accelerating uptake and adoption, and we’re very grateful to Unloc and Verizon for their support.”
Click here to read Nick’s full interview.
Click here to read more information about entering or apply!
About Unloc
Unloc was founded in 2013 by award-winning young leaders Hayden Taylor and Ben Dowling. The organisation’s mission is to empower young people to be innovative changemakers who seek to build stronger communities and sustainable businesses.
The organisation is focused on developing young people’s skills, enhancing their potential and boosting their determination to succeed. Unloc works towards achieving its mission by delivering inspiring educational programmes, including on entrepreneurship and self-employment, in our network of 100+ schools and colleges in the UK and beyond.
To find out more about Unloc and all our latest news visit: unloc.org.uk/news
About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $128.3 billion in 2020.
The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.
We’re thrilled to reveal that we and Verizon Business won two awards at The Better Society Awards 2024!
Last Thursday industry professionals from across the country gathered at Verizon’s slick London Hub in at MidCity Place, Holborn, for a Changemaker Moments event on Manufacturing.
During the February half-term and Easter holidays this year, 53 young people, in Year 11 and 12, from across Portsmouth participated in our ‘Portsmouth Inspires’ Programme, funded by NCS.
. We’re looking for a passionate & creative young person aged 16-25 in the Portsmouth or London areas to become our first official social media
We’re thrilled to reveal that we and Verizon Business won two awards at The Better Society Awards 2024!
Last Thursday industry professionals from across the country gathered at Verizon’s slick London Hub in at MidCity Place, Holborn, for a Changemaker Moments event on Manufacturing.
During the February half-term and Easter holidays this year, 53 young people, in Year 11 and 12, from across Portsmouth participated in our ‘Portsmouth Inspires’ Programme, funded by NCS.
Unloc,
Portsmouth Guildhall,
Guildhall Square,
Portsmouth,
PO1 2AB
©2021 Unloc. All Rights Reserved | Policies & Procedures | Terms & Conditions