23/10/2009 13:15:33
Big Challenge Regional Event - Stirling
The big challage team hit stirling with bright orange ballon and T-shirts to match at the Tollbooth. The one day event allowed young people to find out more about the Big Challage and this year's theme...
'Many cultures, many individuals, how can you create unity in your community?'
Make the change, let the Big Challenge be your Big Chance!
During the day there were workshops to look at key issues and how we could tackle them through projects. As well as games and a chance to ask the Youth leadership Team questions about applying and getting involved.
Overall the day was a big success and we'd like to thank everyone who came along and took part. Well done to all the volunteers who helped out on the day!
20/10/2009 15:11:49
The Public Vote...
So it's that time of year again! The public vote is coming up and will launch on our website tomorrow (Wednesday 21st October) at 5pm. This will be your chance to choose which projects from our final shortlist should be given funding to make them a reality.
Please head to the homepage and then to our shortlist tab to begin voting. But remember, you can only pick one - and you only have one week to do it! By Wednesday 28th October, again at 5pm, the vote will close and we will announce the winners live on our website.
That's it for now, but check back for updates and to see what comments all our fantastic visitors have left!
The Big Challenge Blogger
20/10
05/10/2009 12:49:53
Competition Closed
Hey all you Big Challengers,
So, the competition has closed, and we're really pleased to have nearly 150 entries submitted this year. The quality has been fantastic and we're really excited about short-listing them! The Youth Leadership Team is working hard right now to select the best 30 projects to go through to our public vote stage - where our winners will be chosen! Watch this space for updates...
In other news, if you're interested in getting involved in Big Challenge why not think about volunteering with one of our winning projects from year 1 of the programme (check out some of their profiles on this website!)? Or, you could join our Youth Leadership Team for year 3 and help run Big Challenge!
To express an interest or find out more please email: bigchallenge@unltd.org.uk or phone: 02075661129.
That's all for now...
The Big Challenge Blogger
Monday 5th October
16/09/2009 10:28:55
Final countdown!..
Hey all you Big Challengers!
This is your final countdown until the Big Challenge competition closes to entries. We've had a fantastic response so far, with some great project & campaign ideas submitted, but with 12 days until we shut our doors for another year there's still plenty of time for you to enter...
Is there something you've always wanted to do, but never been able to get funding for?
Does your community lack facilities or activities for young people?
Do you want the chance to win a share of £65,000 and a year's support from the Big Challenge Team?
...If so then go to our 'how to apply' page and make your dreams a reality today!
Any questions, get in touch!
Email: bigchallenge@unltd.org.uk
Phone: 02075661129
The Big Challenge Blogger
16/09
29/07/2009 12:30:26
Big Challenge underway!
Hey all you Big Challengers!
As you know, year 2 is already underway and applications are flowing in - and we're open until the end of September! They can be made online through our website and in paper format; if you're struggling with your idea and want to know how best to, email us at: bigchallenge.org.uk today!
We're waiting for any and all of your exciting ideas around how to build a stronger community in your area and a stronger sense of cultural togetheness. Remember to take a look at last year's short-listed entries for some inspiration and ideas!
So what are you waiting for?
The Big Challenge Blogger
3rd August
09/07/2009 10:17:41
All systems are go!..
The Big Challenge is now LIVE! Submit your applications online.
Check out our current entries on our entries page now & leave your own thoughts / comments!
The Big Challenge Blogger
09 July
04/06/2009 13:27:54
Big Challenge 2 & our next residential!!
Hey all you Big Challengers!
This is a quick update to let everyone know that the next Big Challenge is launching at the end of June - with a further £60,000 to give away to passionate young people, from all backgrounds across the UK, with exciting project ideas!
Next weekend (12th - 14th) our new Youth Leadership Team will take part in their training residential, at which the theme for year 2 will be decided. Please head back on to our website then for more information about this year's theme and more precise details about our launch.
Last, but not least, if you would like regular updates on how year 2 progresses then please drop a short email to: bigchallenge@unltd.org.uk and we will let you know all the important dates and information you need to get involved!
Peace out (and don't forget to vote! :))
The Big Challenge Blogger
4th June
15/04/2009 15:44:40
Youth Leadership Team - be part of it!
Hello all you Big Challenge followers!
It's that time of year again. We're recruiting for our new youth leadership team: the young people who help run and coordinate the Big Challenge programme for a year. We want as many young people out there to apply as possible so that we can get the strongest possible line-up for our team.
For more details on this exciting opportunity check out our 'YLT' tab at the top of the page, for all things Youth Leadership; check out our 'Get Involved' page for more details on the opportunity itself, and to get hold of an application form. The deadline is the 1st of May, so get planning!
Good luck!
The Big Challenge Blogger
15th April
31/03/2009 13:39:23
Helping our Big Challengers
So, it's been two weeks since our residential and the 11 Big Challengers are well underway with their projects. From Scotland to the South of London; from theatre workshops to sustainable housing in the form of a 'yurt', all the excitement is being translated into some fantastic hard work on the part of our winners. They can't do it all alone though...
How can you get involved? Well, it's easy! Just email bigchallenge@unltd.org.uk and ask to work with one of our Big Challengers. All our amazing projects are looking for volunteer support, so...
Get in touch today, lend a helping hand and make a difference!
The Big Challenge Blogger
31/03
11/03/2009 14:44:27
The Winners & our second Big Challenge Residential
Hi everyone,
It's nearly time for our second residential and preparations are almost complete! We welcome our Youth Leaders and our fantastic 11 Project Winners at the weekend to join our programme staff and our external trainers. It's going to be an exciting weekend with lots of fun activities that will introduce the programme and help initiate the project support.
Also coming up soon... we will be updating our website with technology to enable all our Big Challenge winners, our Youth Leaders and our brand new Youth Researchers to blog their thoughts on their projects, support and ongoing programme work. This should be a great development in the functionality of our website, so check back soon for more info on Big Challenge project progress!
That's all for now folks!
The Big Challenge Blogger
Wed, 11th March
02/02/2009 19:24:36
Short-listing - making the grade...
Hey all you Big Challenge Blog followers! It's been a busy few weeks as we prepare for the Public Vote to decide the final Big Challenge project winner! More news on that later...
Last Saturday we held our Short-listing day in London for all 160 Big Challenge project submissions. Our Youth Leadership Team chose 32 lucky project submissions to go through to this week's public vote! It was a fantastic day where 14 young people made some tough decisions, with an extremely high standard of entry!
Scoring across entries was really strong, with feedback agonised over due to the quality of those finally not chosen. We at the Big Challenge Team would like to congratulate all those entrants and encourage everyone not successful this time round to apply again this summer.
This is an exciting time for Big Challenge - the public vote has just opened this evening and we want you to choose your favourites on our website! Head to the shortlist tab and make your choice!
Get voting people!
Over & Out!
The Big Challenge Blogger
Mon 2nd Feb.
19/01/2009 17:29:18
Hello & welcome to the Big Challenge blog!
We in the Big Challenge Team want to keep you up-to-date on all things Big Challenge related, so this blog is dedicated to all you volunteers, project-proposers, competition winners and anyone out there who’s interested in learning more about what we do!
We’ll regularly be updating you guys on the progress of this year’s challenge, any opportunities that become available and really anything to do with today’s youth that helps add to the positive image & lifestyle of young people. So check back each week for more!
This time round let’s introduce you to the team working on Big Challenge...
We’ve got Abby Kegg, our programme manager, who loves snow sports and retro 90s music; Peter Ptashko, the programme administrator, who has a passion for musicals and all things 80s; and Laura Baruch our programme coordinator who gets excited by cooking, eating and live music. And not to forget our 14-strong Youth Leadership Team who are coordinating the programme and guiding our work with young people. You can find a link to more information about them here.
The team are currently busy short-listing from the 160 brilliant applications that we received for the competition this time round.
Stay tuned for the next exciting entry, coming soon...
The Big Challenge Blogger
Tuesday 20th Jan.