Applications are closed

Applicants will be notified of their status the week of October 20, 2019.

About the Prize

The Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award was established by Cisco and Global Citizen to recognize and lift up a young person positively impacting the world, as a way to demonstrate the impact that young people are having on achieving the Global Goals, and to accelerate global problem solving.

Selected via an application process, the Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award honors an individual aged 18-30 who has contributed meaningfully towards the goal of ending global poverty. The award includes a $250,000 prize paid to the organization to which the individual contributes.

Criteria

Judging is based on 5 equally-weighted criteria:

IMPACT

Demonstrated track-record of measurable impact at scale over last 3-5 years advancing one or more of the Global Goals.

VISION

Compelling vision and concrete plans for how to extend this work in the next 3-5 years, including how the prize will advance efforts.

CATALYST

Inspires other young people to have an impact on achieving one or more of the Global Goals.

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

Demonstrates the values and embodies the spirit of a Global Citizen and a Global Problem Solver.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

Innovates with technology or Internet-based communications to improve efficiency, reach, and magnify impact.

Eligibility

You must be 18-30 years old as of award ceremony in December 2019, and be able to travel to award ceremony to accept prize.

For a period of three years, you must be willing to do media interviews and appearances, and grant rights to GC and Cisco to use name, likeness and related content in GC or Cisco marketing campaigns and on GC or Cisco owned-platforms, such as cisco.com, globalcitizen.org and social platforms.

You must accept the terms and conditions as listed here.

You must not be a citizen of a country or entity subject to financial or other sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) or other government entity of the United States of America that may restrict the transfer of the Prize.

You must not be an employee of Global Citizen or Cisco.

You must not be any organizations who have previously received prize funding or direct grant funding from Cisco or the Cisco Foundation.

Prize

The winner will receive:

USD $250,000 awarded to a person or specific people on behalf of an organization that is judged to best fit selection criteria.

An all-inclusive round-trip to award ceremony in December for themselves and a guest.

Networking and development opportunities to support their work.

2018 Winner

Wawira Njiru

Food for Education

Wawira is the Founder and Executive Director of Food for Education, an organization working with vulnerable children in Kenyan public schools to improve their lives by providing subsidised, nutritious school lunches. Food for Education has provided over 400,000 school meals, contributing to improved nutrition status, school attendance and performance.

Her ambition, simplicity of mission, and proof of impact earned Njiru the first-ever Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award, awarded at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, presented and hosted by the Motsepe Foundation, in December 2018.

About the Partnership

Logo for Cisco on page.png

Cisco and Global Citizen are united in their belief that young people around the world are leading the way to create and implement solutions to achieve the Global Goals, and to accelerate global problem solving.

Learn More

Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Global Citizen?

We are an advocacy organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty by 2030. We do this by encouraging people to learn and take action on our platform; those actions apply pressure on world leaders to make commitments around the issues associated with extreme poverty: gender equality, food security, education, the environment, global health, citizenship, and sanitation.

What is the judging process?

Candidates will be judged against criteria by a group of Global Citizen, Cisco, and independent experts.

15 semi-finalists will be selected and notified the week of October 20, 2019 to submit 3 letters of recommendation. (Once you apply for the Prize, you should have your letters of recommendation ready for submission.) Supplemental information might also be requested of semi-finalists.

If selected as one of the 15 finalists, you will be judged by a panel of representatives from Global Citizen, Cisco, esteemed social enterprises, youth leaders, UN Agencies, businesses and other leaders in the international development field.

From the 15 semi-finalists, 5 finalists will be selected and notified around November 1, 2019. The 5 finalists will move forward to a public vote and final round of judging.

The 5 finalists will then be flown to the award ceremony in December where the winner will be announced.

What does the judging criterion “Global Citizenship” mean? What does “Global Problem Solver” mean?

Please reference the Global Citizen Manifesto for our definition of a Global Citizen. We are looking for a young person who is making extraordinary progress towards one or more of the Global Goals.

Global Problem Solvers innovate as technologists, think as entrepreneurs, and act as social change agents to solve global problems like poverty, inequality, hunger, and more.

What does the Criterion “Technology Innovation” mean?

We are looking for organizations that use an IT-based solution to improve efficiency, reach, and magnify impact. A qualifying IT-based solution is one that produces greater impact, at a lower cost, higher quality, with stronger outcomes – and also enables specific metrics for social outcome to be gathered and reported.

Do I have to be the founder/CEO of the organization to be eligible?

No. We are looking for a transformative leader who is having an impact, and so your title doesn’t matter to us. In your application, you will be asked for the title of your role in the organization to help us understand how you are having an impact.

Do you accept people from any country?

We accept applications from all over the world, with the exception countries and entities subject to financial or other sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) or other government entity of the United States of America that may restrict the transfer of the Prize money.

Do you only accept non-profits?

No. We accept applications from any individual who is doing impactful work and who has a registered legal entity such as non-profit, for-profit, B-corp, social enterprise, etc.

Is this prize for individuals as well as organizations?

The Prize will be awarded to an individual, but the money will be allocated to their nominated organization that the individual works for.

I have a lot of great ideas, but am just starting out. Am I eligible for the Prize?

We are glad you are passionate about making a difference in the global community. However, this prize is for individuals who have demonstrated impact over the last 3-5 years so the Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award may not be right for you.

What is needed for the application?

The application consists of four parts: (1) Personal and Organization Information, (2) Pitch / About Your Work (4) Description of how your work aligns with the Judging Criteria (4) Supplemental Organizational Details.

For the first part, you will be required to submit basic information about you and your organization and a scanned copy of your passport.

For the second part, you must explain why you deserve this award and provide us with a 2-3 minute video of your pitch. You will also be required to answer 4 short answer questions about your work.

For the third part, you will describe in 250 words or less, how you have achieved each one of the Prize’s criteria.

And for the fourth part, you will submit proof of your organization’s registration details including the certificate of registration, incorporation or tax exemption and other supplemental information.

When does the application open? When does it close?

Applications opens for submission on September 10, 2019 9:00 AM EDT and close on October 6, 2019 at 11:59 PM EDT.

When will I find out if I have been selected?

The 15 semi-finalists will be notified the week of October 20, 2019.

The 5 finalists will be notified on or around November 1, 2019.

What documents are required if I am a semi-finalist? Should I prepare them now?

If you are selected as one of the 15 semi-finalists you will be contacted the week of October 20 to submit 3 letters of recommendation:

3 Letters of endorsement / recommendation:

  • A Colleague
  • A Funder or Operational Partner
  • Person you’ve impacted

Once you apply for the Prize, you should have your letters of recommendation ready for submission. Supplemental information might also be requested of semi-finalists. Semi-finalists who are contacted and cannot provide letters of recommendation and supplemental information by the deadline may be removed from further consideration.

If selected as a semi-finalist, you will be provided with instructions on how to submit your letters of recommendation and supplemental information.

If I’m selected as a semi-finalist, who should provide the letter/video of endorsement?

You should provide a letter (or video) of endorsement from each one of the following:

  • A Colleague
  • A Funder or Operational Partner
  • A person you’ve impacted

Letters should have an official letterhead and original signature. Videos should be no more than 3 minutes long.

Endorsements don’t need to be new / given specifically for this prize, but we do ask that they are less than six months old.

I know I can’t attend the award ceremony in December. Can I still apply?

Attendance to the Prize Ceremony by the 5 Finalists is mandatory. Applicants who cannot attend the Prize Ceremony are not eligible.

Can I nominate someone for this Prize?

No, applicants must apply for the Prize themselves.

Can I apply in a language other than English?

Unfortunately, at this time we are only able to accept applications in English.

You are welcome to draft your application in another language and send us a translation. We are judging you on the criteria, not your expression.

What happens to my application materials after I submit?

All application submissions will be reviewed against Award criteria.

If I am selected as the winner, do I have to spend the Prize money in a certain way?

No. Award money is unconditional. However, we do ask applicants for an idea of how they plan to use the money and require the winner to provide quarterly written updates on their organization’s progress for a period of 3 years.

How do I make and send my video? Can I still apply if I cannot create a video?

Your application must include a 2-3 minute video of your pitch, convincing us why you should be awarded this prize. Once you have filmed your video, you must provide a link, either from an online drive such as Google or Dropbox, or from an online video platform such as YouTube.

Applications without a video pitch will not be accepted.

Can I change my application after I submit it?

No, all applications are considered final.

I’m having trouble submitting my application, what can I do?

Please email youthprize@globalpovertyproject.com.

Where can I ask questions not covered here?

If you have any questions that are not answered on the award’s information page or in these FAQs, please email youthprize@globalpovertyproject.com . Regretfully we will only be able to respond to questions not answered here.

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