Mazda making a difference with youth award

Leverkusen, 9 December 2014. Mazda is launching the second Mazda Make Things Better Award on 14 December in Rome at the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. The €10,000 prize will go to the project proposal deemed to make the best use of modern tools of advocacy to make the world a better place. Mazda, as a leading partner of the summit, will kick off the competition during its Youth Summit workshop.

"We had to be creative over the years at Mazda to overcome various challenges, and have thus developed a spirit of challenging convention and never giving up," says Wojciech Halarewicz, Vice President Communications at Mazda Motor Europe. "And we have great respect for those who share this spirit. We established the Mazda Make Things Better Award to support young people who care for the world we live in, are willing to stand up for a cause and try to make a difference. I am therefore proud to launch the second round of the award."

The Mazda Make Things Better Award was initiated last year during Mazda's Youth Summit workshop at the 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Warsaw. The first winner was Antti Junkkari, a 24-year-old medical student whose project uses interactive radio programmes to raise awareness in Africa of the dangers of gun violence.

"My partners and I are very thankful for the prize and for the successful collaboration with Mazda," says Junkkari, who will attend this year's Youth Summit workshop as a panellist. "With Mazda's support, we have been able to push the project a sizeable step forward. I would like to wish all participants of the second Mazda Make Things Better Award the best of luck."

Individuals under the age of 30 as well as groups or non-profit organisations whose members are under 30 are eligible to participate in the competition. The prize money is to be used solely to further the winning project. Applications will be accepted at Mazda's Youth Summit workshop in Rome, with the jury presenting a shortlist by the end of January. The finalists will then have the opportunity to elaborate on their projects and submit detailed proposals in February. The winner will be announced in spring 2015.