CHANGEit Awards » Resources

5 books to help you change the world

CHANGEit — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:32:23 +0000

We know there are a lot of people out there who want to change the world, but the prospect of taking on big issues can get a bit overwhelming. These 5 books are filled with loads of fun and easy ways you can do small things to change the world in a big way. What are you waiting for?

Change the world for a fiver (We are what we do)

365 ways to change the world (Michael Norton)

The Everyday Activist: Everything You Need to Know to Get Off Your Backside and Make a Difference (Michael Norton)

Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways to Make the World a Nicer Place (Danny Wallace)

1001 Ways You Can Save the Planet: Practical Ideas to Heal and Change the World (Joanna Yarrow)

Enterprise + Internships = Enternships

CHANGEit — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:16:50 +0000

It really is incredible what young people are capable of. And though in this recession nearly 45% of those made unemployed are under the age of 25, there are still so many opportunities available!

Rajeeb Dey was a finalist in the 2004 Spotlight awards (the awards Common Purpose and Deutsche Bank ran just before we started CHANGEit in 2008). Later, he went on to found ESSA, the English Secondary Students’ Association, an organisation that works to give young people a voice. And more recently, he’s been working on Enternships.com, fantastic new way of connecting new enterprising organisations, with bright young talent.

Enternships.com gives students and graduates the opportunity to build employability skills by working with the world’s most cutting edge entrepreneurs and start-ups. Every corporate values entrepreneurial work experience on candidates CVs, while some of the most talented and creative minds have ultimately chosen the entrepreneurial route. Whether you want to learn how to be the next Steve Jobs or Richard Branson, or simply have a CV that stands out from the rest – check out Enternships. You never know what opportunities might be available!

Just goes to show you how young people can make a difference, Raj has been doing it for years, and you can do it too (perhaps with a bit of help from ESSA, Enternships or CHANGEit!)

Essa ‘Manifesto for Change’ Video Competition

CHANGEit — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:52:26 +0000

Supported by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), the English Secondary Students’ Association (ESSA) is going to make a students’ Manifesto for Education which it can present to policy-makers to influence the future development of education policy in England.

To gain students’ views ESSA is holding a competition for students to produce short videos in which they outline their suggestions for constructive changes to the education system. The winning entries will be featured on national television later this year, thanks to the collaboration with media sponsor Channel 4.

Young people aged 11-19 will be enabled to submit their videos for change under any one of five categories. The category titles have been left open to interpretation enabling young people to express their views on any related subject.

The categories are:
• Teaching & Learning
• Where we learn
• Enjoying Education
• Student Voice and Leadership
• Future of Education

ESSA is a national organisation run by and for young people aged 11-19. It seeks to ensure that young people have the skills and confidence they need to speak out about educational issues affecting them.

To find out more about the video competition and manifesto go to studentvoice.tv

Or contact Julia Wilson at video@studentvoice.co.uk

Are you campaigning? Get involved!

admin — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:54:44 +0000

There is all kinds of support out there for campaigners just like you! CHANGEit has already selected the finalists for this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get the word about your campaign out!

Just last week our finalists met with the team at Junction49.co.uk, a website designed for 16-25 year olds to share their ideas and campaigns to get support and followers. Terrific resources so check it out! www.junction49.co.uk

The CHANGEit team also met Battlefront Campaigner Tom, who’s working on a Random Acts of Kindness campaign and formed ‘The Do-Gooder Army’. Tom and other Battlefront campaigners will be featured in a new Channel 4 show…but they’re looking for more campaigners! So get on line and ‘Muck In‘ with Battlefront to see if you can share your campaign on TV. Even if you don’t have a campaign…you can still vote for your favourites!

Short on ideas?

CHANGEit — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:53:28 +0000

CHANGEit Innovation awards are all about great ideas. We know that in order to create change and take action, you have to have the idea first. But brainstorming creative ways to tackle an issue or problem isn’t always easy. But help is at hand!

The North East Business & Innovation Centre has a division called Big Ideas. They’ve developed a Big Idea Generator to help you think up new ideas! Just type in your question or problem, and it’ll ask you a whole variety of weird questions to help you think about all the aspects of your issue. You never know what ideas it’ll help you come up with.

When you have your great idea, submit it for an Innovation award and you could win the training and funding to get your big idea off the ground. Go ahead…get generating!

What will help you CHANGEit?

CHANGEit — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:05:35 +0000

Campaigning isn’t always an easy task. You have to be committed to your cause and have lots of friends to help. Sometimes there are also lots of things you need to know…how to work with the media, how to fundraise, what marketing tactics will work best – it can all get quite confusing!

CHANGEit is here to help though. We’ve put together a bunch of resources and tips to help you with your campaigning. But we know we can do more.

We want to hear from you! What would help you CHANGEit? Leave us a comment below or send us an email at changeit@commonpurpose.org.uk. We’ll gather all your thoughts and do what we can to help!