Young Ambassador

Lions Young Ambassador of the 21st Century European Award

2011 is the fourth year of the competition in Europe and following successful events in Cannes,

Tampere and Bologna, we hope that Maastricht will beat all records for numbers of entrants.

This is a competition for young people between the ages of 15 and 19 who are doing service

work in their local community.  Each multiple district has the opportunity of entering one

candidate and the three winners will receive valuable bursaries of 3,500, 1000 and 500 euros

to spend on their chosen projects.  If you wish, your candidate can be hosted by local Lions

or Leos families, so no accommodation will need to be booked.  This should help in keeping

costs down.

We invite all members of Europa Forum to make an entry and ask for your support to make

this competition a success and to show our commitment and support for young people,

the future of Lions.

You can download an Application Form and Club Officers' Guides – see below - and these

will tell you everything you need to know about the competition.   If you require further

information, please contact Jane Armitage, Chairman of the European Committee on

Dit emailadres is beveiligd tegen spambots, u heeft javascript nodig om het te kunnen bekijken

1. Introduction

The aim of the scheme, which operates within the Europa Forum, is to recognise,

encourage and support young people who are actively involved in the welfare of the

community.

2. Selection Process

• Candidates are required to be selected by a Lions, Leo or Lioness club to participate in this competition and the sponsoring club will be responsible
  
• for supporting the candidate through the competition.  Expenses incurred can correctly be drawn from the club’s Charity account
• The scheme is open to male and female candidates within the following age limits:  To be eligible, candidates must have reached their 15^th birthday, but not their 19^th birthday, on or before 30^th June in the year in which Europa Forum is to be held.
• Members of Leo and Lioness clubs are eligible to put themselves forward for selection as a candidate, provided that they are not sponsored by their own club and are within the age range specified.
• If appropriate, candidates will progress through the various levels of the competition (Club, Zone, Region and District) up to their country’s overall Final, with one winner from each country progressing to the European Final to be held at Europa Forum.
• Each club wishing to participate should appoint a club officer to promote the competition and look for suitable candidates, who are likely to be found at schools, churches and youth groups including scouts, guides, cadets and others.

3. Important Note – the winners’ prizes

Winners of the European competition are required to spend their bursaries on their project, rather than on themselves.  It is suggested that countries adopt this same principle when choosing their own candidates.

4. Suggested Timetable

Countries can apply to the European Chairman for a detailed explanation of how the competition is organised in MD105 if this would be helpful.  Email Dit emailadres is beveiligd tegen spambots, u heeft javascript nodig om het te kunnen bekijken for this information. Each country’s finals can, however, be organised to be convenient for its own participating clubs, providing information about candidates is ready to be sent to the European chairman of the competition by the end of August, or at least 8 weeks prior to Europa Forum.  Each member of Forum is entitled to enter one candidate.

5.  Judging the competition

The same rules apply at club, zone, region and district, the country’s finals and at Europa Forum.

• Candidates are judged by three non-Lions, male and female, from education, youth/community service and industry/commerce. If possible, change one of the judges each year, with judges progressing to be lead judge/chairman in their final third year.
• Provide the judges with copies of the candidates’ application forms, bursary, letter of support and a copy of this Information sheet and brief them on the method of interview and presentations and their role in identifying the winner.
• No candidate may be related to any member of the judging panel.
• Provide the judges with marking sheets containing the criteria for the categories they will be judging as follows:

• 50% of the marks for the extent of the candidate’s involvement in community service.
• 15% of the marks for personality and leadership qualities.
• 15% of the marks for proposed use of the bursary.
• 10% of the marks for the ability to speak for up to 3 minutes about service activities
• 10% of the marks for the interview process.

Candidates may if they wish display photographs and illustrations of their work, but no electronic presentations may be used.  Candidates may choose to have an interpreter if they wish.  This would perhaps be a local club member.

• The judges can then ask each candidate a number of questions for clarification on their presentation and the information contained on their application form.  It is suggested that the presentation and interview should last a maximum of 20 minutes.
• A marking sheet needs to be completed for each candidate and the winner identified.
• Prizes at Club, Zone, Region and District competitions are at the discretion of the organising Lions.
• The winning candidate of each competition proceeds to the next level as follows:  Winner of Club Competition → Zone Competition → Region Competition → District Competition → their country’s final.  If there is only one candidate at any level, this candidate will be deemed the winner of that level.

6.  Europa Forum – preparation

• The country’s winning candidate should complete an application form to be sent to the European Chairman by the end of August, or at least 8 weeks before commencement of Europa Forum.  For the bursary estimate, candidates need to anticipate winning the first prize of 3,500 euros when they prepare their figures.  This bursary section of the form needs to be counter-signed by the candidate’s sponsoring club.
• The expenses for the candidate to attend Europa Forum will be paid for by the entering country, to include travelling arrangements and subsistence allowance.  The Host country of the Forum may be able to arrange accommodation for the candidate with a local Lions or Leos family to keep expenses down.  The sponsoring club should organise an escort for the candidate.

7.  Europa Forum – the European Final

• The European Final will be organised by the European Committee, which will comprise representatives from the Europa Forum host countries from the past year, current year and two forthcoming years, plus two invited additional members from participating countries.  The Committee Chairman is appointed by the European Council at Europa Forum and will be in office for 3 years or longer if invited by the committee.
• One finalist may be entered from each participating country.
• The judging of the competition is as previously described.
• The Young Ambassador European Committee Chairman will liaise with the Europa Forum Host Committee to ensure that all arrangements are made for the competition and the event is publicised in the Forum timetable.  The Host Committee is responsible for providing the bursaries.
• The winning candidate will make a presentation to the European Council.  A trophy and bursary cheque will be presented to the winner and bursary cheques and commemorative gifts presented to the second and third prize winners.  All European finalists will receive a Certificate of Participation.

Applicationform