So many amazing teens submit their ideas for social impact to theΒ Diamond Challenge each year. We want to see them all succeed.Β From additional challenges to camps, here are some opportunities combining design thinking and compassion to help teens make a positive mark on the world.
Peace First is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping young people around the world to become powerful peacemakers by: Investing in their ideas, providing them with tools and skills, connecting them with other awesome young people around the world, sharing their stories and impact with the world.Β Building upon the success of our two decades of working with young people in all 50 states and 82 countries, the Peace First Challenge is a call to action for young people around the world to identify an injustice they care about and solve it using the tools of compassion, courage, and collaborative leadership. In choosing to act, young people will unleash their entrepreneurial spirits to create, share, and produce powerful solutions to the biggest problems in their communities.
- Who can participate: The Challenge will be open to young people under the age of 25, anywhere in the world, with a particular focus on those between the ages of 13 and 18.
- Awards: By accepting the Peace First Challenge, participants will receive tools, resources, trained digital mentors, and access to mini-grants of up to $250.
WatsonΒ Institute
Watson Institute is a revolutionary new model of higher education for next-generation innovators and social entrepreneurs. They protect the courage of the next generation so they can pioneer their education, trailblaze lives as innovators, and contribute to solving the toughest challenges facing the world. Watson Scholars receive weekly mentorship and coaching sessions, free international legal support (through a partnership withΒ Thomson Reuters), training in the hard skills and frameworks to take their ideas to the next level, and a community of peers that will last far beyond Watson.Β Watson Instituteβs Basecamp program is a no-cost bootcamp for prospective Watson Scholars to experience elements of the Watson curriculum and put into practice the mindset of being a social entrepreneur.
- Who can participate: young, impact-driven social innovators β high school senior, community college, gap-year, or university students
- Application Process: Deadlines in fall and winter. Visit the Basecamp page to learn more.
Youth Venture invests in young peopleβs journey to leave a positive mark on their school, college, home, and career. They create a collaborative environment that fosters empathy, respect, and wellbeing, and inspires children and adolescents to identify problems, invent their own solutions, and take action to implement them. They do so by engaging influencers in a young personβs community (called the βecosystemβ) — educators, parents, companies, universities, non-profit organizations, and government leaders — to realize their own capacity for changemaking and support youth on their journey.Β They tailor programs to fit the culture and needs of each partner in the ecosystem. Key offerings include:
- The Co-Creation Journey: a series of experiential workshops and gatherings designed to transform the culture of a school district, university, or organization. Engaging educators, parents, and professionals in a process of self-discovery, reflection, and problem-solving, enabling partners to realize their capacity for empathy and social impact.
- Storytelling: Storytelling is a platform that fosters empathy, social-emotional development, community building, and workforce skills development through the process of self-expression. They enable schools, youth-serving organizations, or companies to master communication skills by offering them a vehicle to narrate their passion and drive for change.
- Social Innovation Tools: the Dream It! Do It! Challenge is a series of facilitated engagements that guide young people to launch their own social ventures. Youth Venture shares this methodology with partner schools and organizations.
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About Horn Entrepreneurship
Horn EntrepreneurshipΒ serves as the University of Delawareβs creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement. Built and actively supported by successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders, Horn Entrepreneurship empowers aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs as they pursue new ideas for a better world.
Follow Horn EntrepreneurshipΒ @udhornΒ and check out our entrepreneurship competition for high school studentsΒ @diamondchalleng.