• Who Should Enter
• Competition Guidelines
• Assessment Criteria
• Competition Deadlines, Procedures, and Rules
• Disclaimer—Compliance with Legal Restrictions

Who Should Enter

If you are a teacher, principal, parent, student, or other innovator with a project, a program, or a new learning experience that can advance empathy in education, we are looking for you.

• Connect to a global online community that supports the impact you are making on the ground.
• Gain visibility with our community and recognition as a new best practice in education. Contribute to your community and become part of a movement to activate empathy!
• Gain funding for your initiative.
• A chance to win:
  1. One of five exclusive consultation sessions with an Ashoka fellow, including experts from the empathy leadership team (if you enter before February 23, 2012).
  2. More than $110,000 in cash and in-kind prizes from Ashoka’s Changemakers, Mattel, 1440 Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Donor’s Choose and Townsend Press. For more information, please see the Prizes page.

• Take a look at this video, or review these step-by-step instructions.
• Read through these tips about how to make your entry stand out.
• Read all the fine print below to learn more about how you can win.

Competition Guidelines

The competition is open to all individuals, organizations, and collaborations from all countries.

• Reflect the theme of the competition: Activating Empathy: Transforming Schools to Teach What Matters.
• Identify solutions that enable children to be effective citizens, leaders, and changemakers by equipping them with the skills to understand the perspectives of others.
• Indicate growth beyond the conceptual stage and have demonstrated impact and sustainability.
  • While we support new ideas at every stage and encourage their entry, the judges are better able to evaluate programs that are beyond the conceptual stage and have demonstrated proof of impact.

Please complete the entry form in its entirety and submit by March 30, 2012.

Assessment Criteria

Winners of the Activating Empathy: Transforming Schools to Teach What Matters competition will be those that best meet the following criteria:

• This is the knock-out test. The best entries describe a systemic or disruptive innovation with the potential to ensure that children master empathy, enabling them to be effective citizens, leaders, and trailblazers.
• Judges will be looking for the best ideas, programs, and learning models from around the world that advance empathy in education. These initiatives might include encouraging social and emotional development; unlocking new ways of viewing problems; championing children as real-world problem solvers rather than simply bystanders; or other transformative approaches that you have developed. Learn more about "advancing empathy" here

• The competition is looking for breakthrough innovations that envision how schools can integrate empathy learning into their curricula and culture. Innovations at any stage of development are welcome.
• The most successful entries will embed metrics for impact in the design, even if at this stage they are only in the design or prototype phase.
• Priority will be placed on solutions within or in partnership with a school, school district, or other education network.

• Judges will be looking for a clear “road map” for increasing impact and creating lasting change.
• Entries should describe not only how they currently finance their work, but also how they plan to finance in the future. They should also have a realistic time frame for implementation.

Competition Deadlines, Procedures, and Rules

Online competition submissions are accepted until March 30, 2012. At any time before this deadline, competition participants are encouraged to revise their entries based on questions and insights that they receive in the Changemakers discussion. Participation in the discussion enhances an entrant’s prospects in the competition, and provides the Changemakers community and judges an opportunity to understand the entrant’s project more completely.

*Finalists that are eligible for the People's Choice Award will be announced on May 29

• Entry Stage, January 19 – March 30, 2012: Entries can be submitted until 5PM EDT on the day of the deadline, and throughout this stage anyone can participate in an online review discussion with the entrants.
  • Early Entry Deadline, February 23, 2012: Entries received by 5PM EDT on the day of the deadline are eligible for the Early Entry prize.
  • Entry Deadline, March 30, 2012, 5PM EDT.
• Online Review and Finalist Selection, January 19 – March 30, 2012: Online review and discussion continues. Simultaneously, a team of Ashoka staff and evaluators nominate the best and most innovative entries as finalists.
• Winners Announced, June 12, 2012: The competition winners—the People's Choice winner selected by the Changemakers online community, the two Judges' Awards selected by the panel of judges, and the winners of the "special focus" prizes—will be announced on this day. For more information, please see the Prizes page.

Disclaimer—Compliance with Legal Restrictions

Ashoka complies fully with all U.S. laws and regulations, including Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations, export control, and anti-money laundering laws. Any grants will be awarded subject to compliance with such laws. Ashoka will not make any grant if it finds that to do so would be unlawful. This may prohibit awards in certain countries and/or to certain individuals or entities. All recipients will comply with these laws to the extent they are applicable to such recipients. No recipient will take any action that would cause Ashoka to violate any laws. Additionally, Ashoka will not make any grant to a company involved in the promotion of tobacco use.