e-Skills Week 2012 Project Passion Competition
If you have a question not addressed by the FAQ sheet, please do not hesitate to contact us:
@eskillsweek
http://www.facebook.com/eSkillsWeek
Email: Natalia.kurop@digitaleurope.org
Tel: +32 487 340 571
Skype: natalia.kurop
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are e-Skills?
We use the term e-Skills to refer to the vast array of competencies, knowledge and abilities that people can acquire to learn, communicate and work within the field of technology. These skills can range from programming and social media to hardware skills in routing and switching, and beyond.
2. How has the crisis affected the technology sector in Europe?
Technology remains a catalyst for growth, innovation and competitiveness. In spite of the crisis, the technology sector has continued to grow at a rate of 3% over the last year in Europe. Businesses are reporting difficulties in recruiting and retaining ICT skilled staff. Fewer people are leaving education with the necessary e-Skills, and more and more people are retiring. This is creating an e-Skills gap at a critical time for Europe when, as a region, we must remain competitive and attractive.
3. What is e-Skills Week?
European e-Skills Week 2012 is a pan-European campaign, organised by the Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry, to raise awareness of the continuing need for e-Skills in Europe amongst young people, people currently working in ICT, businesses, educators, and policy makers. We work closely with national bodies across Europe, and partners from within the technology and media sectors: Microsoft, Google, Nokia TBWA and Euronews are backing the campaign.
4. What is Project Passion?
Project Passion is a pan-European competition organised by e-Skills Week to find, support and reward young creative talent.
5. What are the prizes?
o Top cash prize of 2.150 euros and a paid internship/shadowing opportunity of up to six months with a global company
o Runner up cash prize of 1.000 euros
o Paid internships / job shadowing with globally renowned companies
o Goodies worth thousands of euros, including Kinect/Xbox, Nokia Lumia
o Travel and accommodation covered for winners and runners’ up to attend the e-Skills Week Closing Event in Copenhagen
All finalists will have their work displayed at the e-Skills Week website http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu and at the Closing Event on 30 March 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
6. Why is e-Skills Week running the Project Passion competition?
We want to engage directly with young people. The competition is designed to give young people a voice to tell their peers about e-Skills, and to involve them directly in the campaign itself. The idea is that they participate in the campaign goals, and that their work is recognised and endorsed at the highest levels.
7. Who are the judges?
We have very distinguished judges assessing your work:
Academic panel
Nils Olaya Fonstad, Associate Director at eLab, INSEAD
Professor Jean-Pierre Beaudoin, Associate professor, Celsa - Paris Sorbonne
Dr Shakuntala Banaji, Lecturer London School of Economics
Industry Panel
Jean Marie Dru, Chairman TBWA Worldwide (Jury President)
Philippe Cayla, President of Euronews Development
Sylvie Laffarge, Director Citizenship, Microsoft
Pekka Isosomppi, Director Corporate Relations and Responsibility, Nokia
8. Who is eligible to participate?
The competition is open to any young person resident in a CIP country between the ages of 16 -26.
CIP countries are: EU members, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Israel. Please find a full country list below.
9. What do participants have to do?
We want you to create your own campaign promoting e-Skills
You will need to draw up a plan, think about your objectives, and create content that will interest and excite other people, and post your campaign online
Fill in the entry form online here: http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu/projectpassion
10. Define “campaign”
A campaign is a plan that must be divided into three parts:
o A set of goals or objectives – what do you want to do?
o A strategy – what plans can you create to meet your goals?
o Actions – what concrete things will you deliver as part of your plan?
11. Can my campaign be about a subject that I choose?
Yes, you can decide what your campaign messages will be, but you must choose one of three categories outlined as a theme (outlined below) and clearly link your messages to this.
12. What are the categories?
o e-Skills and me: explain to an uninitiated audience what e-Skills are and how these skills can be developed by young people who are starting to think about their career options.
Focus on exploring the diverse options that e-skills open and define e-Skills in simple and easy to understand terms.
Demonstrate how people can practise e-Skills and use them in daily lives, in their search for a job and how they have successfully helped someone get a job.
o e-Skills and the future: explore the different entrepreneurial doors that can be opened through e-Skills. Use inspirational figures if you like, to demonstrate the blue sky world of digital jobs that await young people.
o 3.creative e-Skills: explore all the creative avenues that e-Skills opens, from art to literature online, storytelling to imagery - how e-skills inspires careers and job opportunities in creative domains.
13. What format can my campaign take?
This is up to you. You can blog, create a page on Facebook, write something such as an article, direct a short film, design a poster campaign, compose a song – whatever you think will work best and reach others easily. Once you have created your content, you will need to upload it to a digital platform of your choice so that we can see it and judge it. Again, it’s up to you – you can use Soundcloud, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr … you can post your content on whatever platform you like. Just fill in the entry form so that we can connect with your ideas. (Here is the entry form link again: http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu/projectpassion )
Note: if you want to produce something in print format, you will need to submit it digitally for judging.
14. Are there any rules about videos or music?
Keep them short.
o Videos should be a maximum of 3 minutes
o Songs should be a maximum of 4 minutes
15. I am not a native English speaker – can I produce my entry in my own language?
Yes, do create entries in your own language. But we will need to have an English translation so that our judges can understand what you are communicating to your audience.
16. Do you have any tips or advice?
Your entries will be judged by some of the major players in business and media. Be creative, innovative, disruptive. As you create your content, think about what kind of messages and media will work best for your audience. Have a think about what goes viral. Think deeply about what your goals are and how you will achieve them. Brainstorm, talk, try different approaches. Have fun.
17. How do I submit my entry?
Just fill in this form http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu/projectpassion. The deadline is midnight 4 March 2012.
18. Can I work in a group with other people?
Yes you can work in groups, but you will have to decide amongst you how to share the prizes should you win. Project Passion does NOT provide multiples of the prizes for each of the group who participated in the project. There is one first prize per category and one runners up prize per category.
19. How will I find out if I win?
You will be notified by email in the first instance. Winners names will also be published on the official e-Skills website.
20. What if I can’t make it to Copenhagen?
That’s OK. We would love to invite you to Copenhagen, but if it’s not possible we will arrange for your prizes to be sent to you.
21. What will happen to my work after the competition?
Your work will remain on the e-Skills website and related portals until the end of 2012 when a new e-Skills strategy will be announced, and a review of all our existing materials will be undertaken. If specifically requested your content can be removed from the site at the conclusion of the e-Skills Week 2012.
22. If I am from outside the EU am I eligible to enter Project Passion?
If you are a citizen of the following countries you are eligible to enter:
EU members, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Israel:
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Albania
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
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Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Montenegro
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Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain Sweden
Turkey
UK
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