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Ockenden International has simultaneously launched a call for entries to its $75,000 International Prize and a new £10,000 Prize for work with refugees and displaced people in the UK.
Both Prizes recognize and reward innovative work that delivers evidential self-reliance to displaced people.
The annual Ockenden Prizes honour projects that help people through self-reliance, the hallmark of Ockenden International since its inception as the Ockenden Venture more than 60 years ago.
Submissions for the $75,000 International Prize must be from international organizations or registered UK charities, which can elect to nominate a project by a partner or affiliate organization based abroad. There are no geographical limits on the locations of submitted projects but the judges will be looking for work initiated no earlier than May 2010 and for evidence of properly-measured and evaluated outcomes.
Submissions for the inaugural £10,000 UK Prize are sought from UK-registered charities with proven projects among refugee or displaced people anywhere in the United Kingdom. The initiative must have started no sooner than May 2010 and evidence of properly measured and evaluated outcomes will be required by the judges.
The UK Prize may be given in the name of an individual who has carried out inspirational work but the cash will go to his/her charity to help with the continuation of the winning cause.
Objectives of the Prizes include highlighting the challenges faced by displaced people, raising awareness of their range of needs, and providing reward and recognition for those giving outstanding support.
More information about The Prizes and the Online Entry Form are available on Ockenden International’s new website www.ockendenprizes.org and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ockenden-International-Prizes/320672714728739?ref=tn_tnmn
The winner and shortlisted contenders for the International Prize and the winner of the UK Prize will be honoured at a ceremony at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, in February 2014.
In addition to the cash prizes of $75,000 and £10,000 for the winning entries, Ockenden International this year introduces prizes of $10,000 for each of the two runners up in the International Prize to cover the cost of travel and accommodation, especially for the project field-workers who are encouraged to attend.
Additional forms of support and recognition for worthy projects identified by the judges will also be considered. These underscore Ockenden’s focus on reinforcing the work of others helping refugees and the displaced, rather than directly running programmes itself.
The inaugural International Prize of $75,000 was won in February 2013 by India’s Centre for Development (CfD) in partnership with the UK charity, ChildReach International for their established programme, the Piplaj Advocacy Project, which has empowered a deeply-impoverished community in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. CfD is using the Prize to fund a three-year education project for vulnerable children living in the slums of Ganeshnagar in Piplaj.
Contact for media queries: enquiries@ockendenprizes.org
