YOUTH PROJECT COMPETITION

 

YOUTH PROJECT COMPETITION

 

FOCUSING ON DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING AND RECOGNITION OF RISKS ARISING THROUGH DIFFERENT INFORMATION FLOWS

1. Organizer: OPEN SPACE Foundation, with the support of the British Council in Bulgaria.

2. Objectives of the competition:

The main objective of the competition is to stimulate young people aged 15 to 24 to develop and implement projects that benefit the local community, focusing on the following areas:

  • A proposal for improving critical thinking, including in terms of Internet safety.
  • Informing the community about a specific problem presented online and proposing its solution.
  • Conducting a campaign or event, including by promoting the results of an experiment.

3. Participants:

  • Teams consisting of young people aged 15 to 24 can participate in the competition.
  • The number of participants in each team is at least 2 people.

4. Eligible projects:

The competition accepts projects that clearly fall into one of the following categories:

  • Projects to improve critical thinking and Internet safety such as:
  • Creating resources to promote safe Internet practices and counter fake news, disinformation and propaganda (e.g. protecting personal data, exposing fake job advertisements, online fraud and risks, addressing topics such as human trafficking for labor or sexual exploitation, reporting abuse or fraud on the Internet, etc.).
  • Developing information materials or conducting workshops to enhance critical thinking when working with online information.
  • Initiating school or community initiatives to raise awareness about fake news, propaganda, various risks in the online space, including ways to “fish” young people into exploitation schemes, and ways to oppose and counter (e.g. creating videos, podcasts or other multimedia materials that show the risks on the Internet and offer solutions in accessible language.
  • Projects for conducting and promoting an experiment/campaign/event in a “live” and in-person format:
  • Projects involving conducting a scientific experiment of public importance and presenting its results to the community (e.g., researching misconceptions, false beliefs, deceptive messages, propaganda and users’ reactions to such messages).
  • Organizing and conducting information campaigns on topics important to the community (e.g., critical thinking, fact-checking, changing attitudes).
  • Initiating and implementing events that have a positive impact on the local community, for example, volunteer actions or cultural events that familiarize the community with the risks of the Internet.

5. Evaluation criteria:

Projects will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Relevance, or the extent to which the project is aimed at solving a real problem or improving the critical thinking of a given group of people.
  • Originality and innovation of the approach.
  • Practicality or feasibility of the proposed idea within the available resources and time.
  • Clarity and specificity of the project’s goals and objectives.
  • Detailed and clear description of the methods used to achieve the goals (i.e. HOW will you achieve them?).
  • Clearly formulated expected results.
  • Potential impact of the project on one or more groups (indicate who they are: young people / adults / risk groups).
  • Quality of the project’s presentation (written description, presentation, short video, etc.).

6. Awards and Funding:

  • Twelve (12) of the best projects will receive funding of up to 300 BGN (three hundred BGN) each to implement their idea.
  • The winning teams will be announced on June 17, 2025, on the OPEN SPACE Foundation website

7. Deadline and method of application:

  • The deadline for submitting projects is June 05, 2025
  • Projects must be submitted in writing (format: PDF) by filling out an application form (download the form), which contains the following information:
  • Project name.
  • Team information (names of students, class, school).
  • Team contact person
  • Description of the problem that the project aims to solve.
  • Project goals and objectives.
  • Description of the proposed activities and methods for their implementation.
  • Expected results.
  • Project budget (if funding is needed).
  • Appendices (if any – sketches, prototypes, multimedia materials, etc.).

 

We realize that you are probably applying for the first time. To make the process easier for you, we suggest that you go through the following steps:

I.  Form a team and plan your project.
II. Participate in the so-called Elevator pitch – a meeting with experts who will help you clearly and precisely formulate your idea to present it in the competition. The meeting will be online from May 18 to 21, 2025.

To participate in the meeting, you need to register here: https://forms.gle/QJDhQqTwnH7M6tdg9

Participating in the meeting is not a guarantee that the project idea will be approved, but it is certain that you will learn how to present your idea briefly and clearly, so as to grab attention and present the most essential and important things in your plan.

III.  Download and fill out the application form (dowload the file ) and submit it as an attachment in .pdf format via online application

 

8. Evaluation and ranking:

  • Submitted projects will be evaluated by a committee composed of representatives of the OPEN SPACE Foundation, the British Council in Bulgaria and external experts.
  • The committee will review and evaluate the projects according to the criteria specified in section 5.
  • Announcement of selected projects: June 17, 2025
  • The decisions of the committee are final and cannot be appealed.

9. Implementation of the awarded projects:

  • The awarded teams will receive funding after signing a contract.
  • The organizer will monitor the implementation of the projects and will be able to provide consulting support if necessary.
  • The implementation of the projects must be completed by September 17, 2025.
  • After the completion of the projects, the teams must submit a report on the results achieved and the funds spent – deadline is September 30, 2025.

10. Final provisions:

  • The organizer reserves the right to make changes to the regulations if necessary, notifying the participants in a timely manner.
  • Participation in the competition means acceptance of these regulations.
  • For additional questions and information, participants can contact the project team by sending their questions to the email: info@openspacebg.com
  • Your questions will be published on the OPEN SPACE Foundation website

 

DOCUMENTS:

– download APPLICATION FORM  here

–  Application Registration

 

The project is implemented with the support of the British Council in Bulgaria

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