Contest rules

Description

Young people can take part in the competition “PITCH YOUR PROJECT” until 16^th October 2022. In speed presentations, the young people will pitch their projects at the 6^th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP). The audience will then select the three winning projects, which will be awarded with 5,000 EUR, 3,000 EUR and 2,000 EUR respectively.

Eligible applicants

Eligible applicants are young people who:

are between 16 and 25 years old on 16^th October 2022
are citizen of one of the 7 Alpine countries Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia and Liechtenstein or a permanent resident of one of these states
apply as an individual or a group with a project conception. As a group they have to nominate at maximum three group leaders to present the project

Any applicant not fulfilling the eligibility criteria will not be able to participate in the application process and will not be taken into consideration in the award decision.

Application procedure

The application to the contest is open from 8^th June 2022 12:00 (CET) until 16^th October 2022 23:59 (CET). Any application after the deadline will not be taken into consideration.

The eligible candidates´ project applications have to fulfil the following application criteria:

The project addresses one of the competition topics (topics will be published with call for applications)
The project is ready for implementation.
The candidates apply as individual or as a group with up to three group leaders
The application is submitted in English
The application consists of:

a) the completed online application form
b) the project proposal (3-5 pages) including:
1. summary
2. motivation
3. objective(s)
4. relevance
5. difficulties and opportunities
6. task plan, timetable, materials required, financial and human resources

c) curriculum vitae of the participant or the group leader(s)

d) expert opinion from a project supporter (teacher, professor, youth
group leader, institution, etc.)

The following projects cannot be accepted:

projects submitted by persons working for the European institutions or within the framework of EUSALP
scientific theses and publications
projects already financed by EU funds
projects that have already received a prize awarded by a European institution
projects submitted manually or by post, incompletely or in multiple parts
projects not submitted in English.

A group application will be assessed as one single application. Groups can be composed of persons from different nationalities/residencies (from the 7 Alpine countries). Multiple registrations in terms of groups will also be forbidden, the first application as a group will be considered. In addition, individuals applying in differently composed groups will also be excluded. No one is allowed to apply more than once. The data will be checked by the project coordinator. The applicants will receive a confirmation e-mail within 48 hours through contact@eusalp-youth.eu once they have submitted their application. This confirmation e-mail will inform them about the registration of their application and the timetable for the communication of the jury decision. Additionally, they receive their project code, which is to be named in every correspondence between the project coordinator and the applicants. This code will also be used for publishing the list of the jury decision on the website www.alpine-region.eu.

Selection process

The applicants will first have to pass the eligibility criteria check as mentioned under point 2. This will be checked by the project coordinator.

If all eligibility criteria are fulfilled, the applicants will then have to fulfil the award criteria as mentioned in point 3.

To create a fair competition, the project applications will be classified into two categories: applicants at the age of 16 to 19 and applicants at the age of 20 to 25. For the classification of group applications, the average age of the group leaders at 16/10/2022 is decisive. The five pitch projects will then be selected from both categories. The best rated project applicants from each of the two age categories will have the opportunity to present their projects at the EUSALP Annual Forum 2022.

The jury´s decision is based on the criteria: relevance, feasibility and innovation potential of the project. The projects of each category will be ranked by the amount of received points. From both categories the two highest ranked project applicants get the chance to pitch their project at the 6^st Annual Forum of the EUSALP. The number of points in the third position of the ranking in both categories decides from which category the fifth applicant is selected to pitch a project.

The evaluation round starts on 18th October 2022. The five projects with the highest number of points are invited to present their project at the 6^st Annual Forum to the audience in a five-minute pitch. The European Commission and the Land Tirol will book an accommodation in the Annual forum location and refund individual travel expenses. Reimbursement can only proceed if the participants provide the original tickets and proof of payment. Participants under the age of 18 years need to be accompanied by an adult.

The pitch session will be performed in English. The finalists will receive support in preparing their pitch and learn how to create a short, appealing and informative presentation. Immediately subsequent to the pitch session the audience will vote for the projects. The three winners of the voting will receive a prize for the implementation or continuation of their project. In addition, the winners will be mentored by experts involved in the EUSALP, who will help them implement their project ideas.

The prize money is provided by the European Commission.

1^st Prize: 5,000 EUR

2^nd Prize: 3,000 EUR

3^rd Prize: 2,000 EUR

Notification of results

The final decision will be published before 31st October 2022 on www.alpine-region.eu and eusalp-youth.eu.

All applicants will be informed via e-mail about the results of the jury vote.

Evaluation Committee / Composition of the Jury

The Jury is composed of six members who carry out their duties as individuals and in accordance to their knowledge as representatives of their institutions. The members of the Jury are selected on the basis of criteria such as expertise on the Alpine Region and their belonging to institutions working on the EUSALP. Geographical balance is to be ensured. One member of the Jury will be a young person from the Alpine region.

They will be brought in contact with the members of the EUSALP Action Groups for necessary requests in the decision process.

The project coordinator is responsible for the organization of the selection process and makes the arrangements for the official announcement, the implementation of the pitch session and the award ceremony.

The project coordinator is allowed at any time to inform the Commission where, in the opinion of the Jury, any of the following is apparent: (i) contestants are estimated to have received undue assistance from experts; (ii) contestants have had undue privileged access to resources; or (iii) contestants have clearly plagiarized ideas from others. In such a case, the Commission will withdraw the project from the competition and even after the event retain the right to demand, if necessary, the return of any prize money.

The decision of the Jury is final.

Reserve list

All non-selected applicants will be placed on a reserve list in descending order of their ranking. Inclusion in the reserve list does not create any entitlement vis-à-vis the European Commission.

Withdrawal and cancellation of the participation on the Annual Forum by the selected participant

Each accommodation confirmation will be nominative and cannot be transferred to another person. The name on the confirmation cannot be changed. If a selected participant declines for whatever reasons before the project coordinator designated by the European Commission has booked the accommodation in Nice, his/her place will be given to someone else from the reserve list in descending order of the selection. If a group leader declines to travel before the project coordinator has booked the accommodation this decision will not jeopardise the whole group. The remaining group members (only designated group leaders) can still travel as foreseen. However, the person who withdrew cannot be replaced.

Once the bookings are done, any potential cancellation or modification fees will need to come from the participant’s entitlement.

Disclaimer

The European Commission and the Land Tirol will only provide for the accommodation and travel costs as explained above. Therefore, subsistence, insurance, travel supplements or any other expenses related to the trip shall be covered by the participants. Insurance coverage is not provided by the European Commission and is the sole responsibility of the selected participant. The European Commission and the project coordinator shall not be held liable for any damage caused or sustained by any of the participants in the contest, including any damage caused to third parties as a consequence of or during the implementation of the activities related to this contest. The European Commission and its project coordinator shall not be held liable for any material, nonmaterial or physical damage suffered by the participants or those accompanying them in the course of their journey to or during their stay at their destination.

Applicable Law

This contest is governed by the applicable Union law complemented, where necessary, by the law of Belgium. The General Court or, on appeal, the Court of Justice of the European Union, shall have sole jurisdiction to hear any dispute between the Union and any participant concerning the interpretation, application or validity of the rules of this contest, if such dispute cannot be settled amicably.

Data Protection

Consents and information according to 13 GDPR

Consent under data protection law

By submitting the application, you can give your express consent to the Office of the Tyrolean Government (External Relations Department, aussenbeziehungen@tirol.gv.at, +43 512 508 2342, Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz 3, 6020 Innsbruck) to process

☐ any image and sound recordings produced for the purpose of public announcement and promotion of EUSALP (e.g. in the form of an information brochure, in social media or in connection with the EUSALP website),

☐ your contact details given in the application form for information purposes regarding EUSALP.

If you do not give these consents, you can still participate in the “PITCH YOUR PROJECT” competition.

You have the right to revoke this consent at any time in writing to the Office of the Tyrolean Government, External Relations Department, Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz 3, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria or by e-mail to aussenbeziehungen@tirol.gv.at. The data processing carried out up to the time of revocation shall not be affected by the revocation.

Information on the processing of personal data (Article 13 GDPR)

For the purpose of carrying out and administering the EUSALP competition “PITCH YOUR PROJECT”, the Office of the Tyrolean Government (External Relations Department, aussenbeziehungen@tirol.gv.at, +43 512 508 2342, Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz 3, 6020 Innsbruck), as data controller, processes the personal data stated in the application form on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a (consent) and lit. f (legitimate interest) GDPR.

In connection with the organization of the EUSALP competition “PITCH YOUR PROJECT”, the responsible authority (Office of the Tyrolean Government) has a legitimate interest in the processing of personal data of participants. The “PITCH YOUR PROJECT” competition offers a platform for topics related to EUSALP to raise the awareness of the public.

The personal data provided by you will, if necessary, be transmitted to passenger transport companies and accommodation companies for organizational purposes.

If you have consented, the above personal data will be transferred for the above purposes to the following recipients: (print) media, the EUSALP website, social media and the European Commission. In the case of publication in social media, your data could be transferred to third countries in which neither the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) nor the Austrian Data Protection Act apply. In such cases, the Tyrol cannot guarantee that measures will be taken to protect your data.

The data entered in the application form will be deleted immediately after the end of the competition. If you agree to the processing of your contact data (name, postal address and e-mail address), these will be processed by the Office of the Tyrolean Government for information on current and future EUSALP projects.

If this data is not provided, participation in the competition is not possible.

The data controller of the Office of the Tyrolean Government is at your disposal by telephone at +43 512 508 1870, by e-mail (datenschutzbeauftragter@tirol.gv.at) or by postal mail (Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz 3, 6020 Innsbruck).

Among other things, you have the right to information, correction or deletion.
In addition, you have the right to appeal to the data protection authority.