Contacts In Washington: Vesna Kostic (+1 202) 473-9277, vkostic@worldbank.org Steven Jouy (+1 202) 473-4215, sjouy@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, May 7, 2007 — The World Bank has selected 20 finalists who will compete for small grants for innovative youth projects in Europe and Central Asia (ECA). The grants, which range from EUR 5,000 to EUR 10,000, will finance projects addressing pertinent issues faced by youth in the ECA region, such as youth citizenship and employment. The winners of the ECA Youth Conference Innovation Grants Competition and Showcase will be announced at a major youth conference in Rome on May 24, 2007. The grants competition is organized in association with the Europe and Central Asia Youth Conference 2007, taking place in Rome, Italy on May 21 - 25. The competition aims at identifying and supporting innovative, small-scale, and cutting-edge projects that are developed and implemented by young people. The finalists were selected from among 129 eligible entries, representing a wide range of ECA countries, including Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Tajikistan, Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Serbia, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, and Moldova. All finalists will present their projects to a competition jury and to youth conference participants. In parallel, past winners of the World Bank Development Marketplaces for Europe and Central Asia, whose projects fall under one or both competition themes, will showcase their project results, share their experiences, and demonstrate the impact small grants can have on youth-focused projects. The Competition is organized by the World Bank’s Children and Youth Team for the ECA Region, in collaboration with Nokia, the World Bank Small Grants Program (SDV), and the World Bank ECA External Affairs department. Financing for the grants competition is provided by the Small Grants Program (US$50,000) and Nokia (US$130,000). The grants competition was open to registered youth NGOs, and private sector or government institutions represented by young people and working in partnership with a registered NGO from the ECA region. Competition rules also stipulated that staff implementing the projects must be aged between 15 and 24. Of all eligible projects, 62 targeted issues of youth transition to citizenship, 54 dealt with topics related to youth employment, while 13 entries targeted both themes.
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