SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD (SIA) - STUDENT COMPETITION IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

15. April 2016.

The Social Impact Award (SIA) is a competition of students’ ideas by which they wish to make a social or an environmental change in a constructive manner. The aim of the competition is to promote the knowledge and practice of social entrepreneurship among students. Social entrepreneurship is a creative and entrepreneurial activity, which is focused on social or environmental issues.

The program offers a series of free workshops to all program beneficiaries, by which they get the support for developing their ideas and acquire new skills and knowledge, as well as the opportunity to meet with the local community of social entrepreneurs. The Social Impact Award program provides an opportunity for students to compete with their ideas for one of the four (4) awards and gain additional support, start-up capital, working space and a mentoring program.

The awards are aimed at the students who want to solve some of the socio-ecological problems in an innovative way through projects, initiatives or organizations. Organizations can solve the problems related to a large number of issues, such as poverty reduction, healthcare, education, ecology, energy, information technology, human rights, social equality, etc.

The ideas can be put forward by the civil sector (a non-governmental organization, an association, an initiative, an informal group of citizens) as well as by the private sector, for instance by a public company. Those ideas may refer, for example, to a mobile kitchen for the homeless, a new concept in education, the website for encouraging your neighbors to take part in voluntary physical labor, or something completely new and different. It is important that the idea aims to solve a social or environmental problem.

Examples of the projects that have, so far, been short-listed may be viewed in the book of inspiration http://socialimpactaward.rs/knjiga-inspiracije/

The Social Impact Award 2016 competition runs until April 24, 2016. Applications may be e-mailed to socialimpactaward.rs/prijava-za-konkurs.

Prior to the opening of the competition, five (5) workshops are to be held in Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad and Kragujevac. At those workshops, all interested persons will have the opportunity to find out more about social entrepreneurship and to experience different stages of the development of a socio-entrepreneurial idea. Attendance at the workshops isn’t a prerequisite for applying, but your presence can help you to better meet the requirements of the competition.

The announcement of eight (8) teams entering the finals will be held at the Rex Cultural Center, 16, Jevrejska St, in Belgrade, on May 17, 2016.

The finalists will receive the incubation program that lasts three (3) months, and thereafter, in September, the Social Impact Award Serbia will award four (4) prizes. Three (3) prizes consist of 1,500 EUR starting capital, mentoring and a trip to the international conference in Vienna. The funds will be transferred in portions, depending on the fulfillment of the set goals. The fourth prize will be awarded through community voting, and will consist of a trip to the international conference in Vienna and mentoring.

Further information on the competition is available on socialimpactaward.rs

Source: Social Impact Award (SIA) Program in Serbia and Coordination Body