MTV and Ashoka GenV Invite Young People to Submit Ideas for the Environment

"MTV Switch, MTV Networks International's global climate change campaign, and Ashoka GenV are inviting young people to submit their creative ideas for improving the environment through the "Dream It. Do It" challenge.

Applicants will be eligible for seed funding awards of up to $1,000 each to make their ideas a reality. Up to twenty-five grants will be awarded through the challenge. The best projects may also be featured in a half-hour MTV documentary scheduled for Earth Day 2009. In addition, the Lemelson Foundation will award five project leaders a trip to Boston, Massachusetts, to take part in a roundtable discussion on climate change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The challenge is open to all youth between the ages of 12 and 20 in North America and Europe and 12 and 24 everywhere else. Each participant will be required to submit an action plan showing what activities will be carried out and how the grant will be spent. Each participant will need to form a team with at least two other youth to qualify for funding.

Ideas and action plans may be submitted in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French. Because project ideas are evaluated and grants are awarded on an ongoing basis, applicants are advised not to wait until the December 31, 2008, deadline to submit their ideas.

Visit the program's Web site for entry guidelines."