Celebrating young people using tech to support climate action
The BT Young Pioneer Award shines a light on innovation and creativity and uncovers amazing tech ideas that are borne out of issues that young people care about. It is s part of BT Skills for Tomorrow initiative, a completely free programme which aims to help 10 million people make the most of life in the digital world.
And this year, as we start to come out of the COVID 19 pandemic, we need to turn our minds and actions towards tackling another major challenge we all face, the damaging effects of climate change.
This year we want to use this award to find a new generation of tech entrepreneurs and inventors who are putting their brilliant minds to new tech solutions that can support climate action. For example, helping us to reduce CO2 emissions or environmental waste from our day to day lives, at school or at work. Take a look at previous entries that have focused on Environmental Sustainability for inspiration.
What’s in it for you?
- The winner of the BT Young Pioneer Award will receive up to £10,000 in funding to develop their idea or to cover the costs of new tech kit.
- Access to BT experts with relevant skills who will volunteer their time to help bring the idea to life.
- COP 26, the United Nations climate conference, is taking place in Glasgow this November with governments and climate leaders such as Greta Thunberg involved. We want to showcase the winner’s idea as part of activities surrounding the conference.
- Please note there are terms and conditions relating to this prize.
Who is the award open to?
The BT Young Pioneer Award is open to anyone between the ages of 9 to 18. An individual or group (5 people max) can enter, and you must have a base within in the UK. It’s free to enter. Finalists will need to show:
- How an ingenious tech idea is supporting climate action
- How they are meeting or solving a clearly identified need or a solution to an environmental problem
- How their project differs from tech solutions already available
- How they intend to develop or grow their project
Some simple steps we can all take to support climate action
BT is a founding partner of the global ‘Count us In’ initiative, a place where everyone can get practical advice on how they can take action to support our planet. One simple example of how you can make a difference is by moving to a renewable energy tariff. BT itself has done this, as we are using 100% renewable electricity worldwide to power our networks and operations.
