One
23 November 2009
Minister Dawn Butler launches One Big Idea
“One Big Idea’ is a really great concept. There is a lot of untapped energy, enthusiasm and creativity out there and I am confident that there will not just be one, but several great ideas that come out of this competition, the challenge will be to pick the best one.
“Initiatives like this help to shine a spotlight on the young people who are full of bright ideas about how to make the world a better place; from tackling climate change to reducing crime and helping people living in developing countries. I am looking forward to meeting these young social entrepreneurs.”
Dawn Butler Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement
Do you have an idea that could improve the lives of others? Winners of the Social Enterprise Award (Social Enterprises over £1m in England), One Water is being partnered by Make Your Mark, The Co-operative Group and Enterprise Network (Specialist Schools and Academies Trust) to find talented young social entrepreneurs in the UK through a fantastic competition called One Big Idea
The One Big Idea was launched on Social Enterprise Day (19 November 2009), with an integrated campaign at www.onebigidea.org.uk . The competition aims to find the next social entrepreneur and engage people of all ages to create the next One branded ethical product to directly improve the lives of thousands of people in Malawi. The winning product will be launched in selected Co-operative food stores across the UK.
Open to young people nationwide, the competition will be judged by Duncan Bannatyne and Doug Richard amongst others. Commenting on the competition, Duncan Bannatyne said:“The One Big Idea will not only inspire a new generation of social entrepreneurs, but will also show them how they can directly make a difference to communities in Malawi.” The judging panel also includes award-winning Entrepreneur of the Year Duncan Goose, Managing Director of Global Ethics, the company behind the One product range which funds humanitarian projects in Africa, and Peter Marks, Group Chief Executive The Co-operative, the UK’s largest mutual retailer.
The Co-operative is a huge supporter of Global Ethics. As well as selling One products, the consumer-owned retailer has so far donated more than £1.3 million to support One Water projects in Africa through sales of The Co-operative’s Fairbourne Springs Mineral Water. Group Chief Executive Peter Marks said: “As a co-operative, we’re committed to supporting the positive contribution that children and young people can make to their communities and the wider world, and to tackling global poverty. The One Big Idea is a perfect vehicle for this, encouraging innovation and social enterprise among young people in an engaging and creative way.”
Scott Cain, Deputy chief executive of Enterprise UK, the organisation behind the Make Your Mark campaign said: “One Big Idea is what social enterprise is all about – turning innovative ideas into reality whilst making a tangible difference to people’s lives.
“It combines The Co-operative retail expertise, Global Ethics’ innovative product development and Enterprise UK’s network of young people with their brilliant entrepreneurial ideas.”
The One Big Idea competition has launched with an on-pack promotion on One Water bottles, featuring a communications programme to engage schools, colleges and those in the workplace. By taking part and creating the next One product participants will gain practical hands on experience of social enterprise, while learning how they can personally make a difference and help tackle development issues in Malawi.
The One Big Idea competition also includes an online people’s vote for the best idea, which will automatically be added to the shortlist for the judges.
An amazing and unique opportunity for an individual to really change lives around the world, the winner will work closely with the Global Ethics team to source their product, put their winning idea into production and produce the media campaign to support it.
To date Global Ethics, the brainchild of social entrepreneur Duncan Goose, has already raised over 3millionGBP and funded over 420 PlayPump water systems; these are children’s roundabout, which pump clear water from deep underground into storage tanks while kids have fun spinning on the Playpump merry-go-round, and over 84 HIV projects and 12 vegetable gardens.
To find out more about how to enter the competition, visit www.onebigidea.org.uk.
NOTES TO EDITOR
*Launch Date on Social Enterprise Day 19th November 2009
*Closing Date for entries 12th February 2010
About One
One is the brainchild of social entrepreneur, Duncan Goose, who was recently awarded European Entrepreneur of the Year. Duncan left his advertising role in 2004 to set up Global Ethics Ltd, an organisation whose primary remit is to raise funds by manufacturing and marketing products with all its profits going towards humanitarian projects in developing countries. Global Ethics is currently celebrating the milestone of donating £3 million to fund water projects in Africa, giving over 840,000 people access to a clean, sustainable and safe drinking water source.
About Make Your Mark
Make Your Mark is the campaign to increase entrepreneurial behavior among young people in the UK. Young people are given the chance to take part in flagship initiatives such as Make Your Mark with a Tenner, the Make Your Mark Challenge and year-round Make Your Mark Club, and have access to strong entrepreneurial role models.
It is run by Enterprise UK which gives people the skills, confidence and ambition to be enterprising. It has four programs of work promoting enterprise for now and for the future, globally and locally.
www.enterpriseuk.org/makeyourmark
About Global Entrepreneurship Week
Global Entrepreneurship Week (16-22 November 2009) is a worldwide movement of entrepreneurial people, and this year will highlight the crucial role that entrepreneurs and their ideas will play in driving economic recovery in the UK and globally.
More than 80 countries across the globe are signed up to take part, and millions of people will use the week to connect with their global counterparts, unleash their enterprising talents and turn their ideas into reality.
The week is co-founded by Make Your Mark in the UK and the Kauffman Foundation in the US supported by the Department of Business Innovation & Skills. Last year, over 3 million people from 77 countries including Brazil, the USA, Nigeria, China and Afghanistan took part in the first Global Entrepreneurship Week.
www.enterpriseuk.org/gew (UK)
Enterprise Network (SSAT)
The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) is the lead organisation delivering the DCSF contract to support the quality and quantity of enterprise education across the 5-19 age range in England.
The Government’s aim in supporting enterprise education in schools and colleges is to equip young people with the skills, attitudes and capabilities which will enable them to contribute to UK PLC in the 21st century as an employee, employer or entrepreneur in the global market.
The Enterprise Network has been created to achieve this aim by forming Enterprise Learning Partnerships (ELPs) which will cover all local authority areas in England. The ELPs comprise proactive schools, colleges and organisations who are actively involved in enterprise education. Their purpose is to develop a local strategy (adding value to other enterprise initiatives in the region) and to support through the ELP other schools and colleges in their enterprise journeys.
In addition nine SSAT regional enterprise coordinators have been appointed as a further key point of contact and advice for schools and colleges - one in each of the Government regions.
The Enterprise Village is the online component of the Enterprise Network. It provides free access to resources, information, professional development and support for enterprise education in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Via the website, the person with responsibility for enterprise within a school or college can access free the University of Warwick’s CEIs Enterprise Education Quality Framework. The quality framework will help schools and colleges form their thinking around enterprise and provide key actions to move enterprise to the next stage, based upon their individual context and need.
Visit www.enterprisevillage.org.uk for further details and information on your regional enterprise coordinator and local enterprise learning partnership.