Big Change wants to see a society where every young person is set up to thrive in life, not just exams. They provide early-stage funding and support for leaders and projects that are showing a new way of supporting young people is possible, so that the next generation can learn and flourish. In the last 10 years, Big Change has supported over 45 projects, which have collectively impacted the lives of nearly 8 million young people and 200k teachers and adults. They’ve also gone on to receive £60m in follow-on funding from government and established institutions to deliver their programmes across the UK.
FEBE’s Charity Partner
Why is Big Change needed?
Research has shown that the UK’s current ‘one size fits all’ approach to education does not work:
- 69% of young people (aged 18-25) say that the school curriculum focuses on subjects that are no longer relevant (Big Education Conversation Polling Data, 2022)
- At the current rate, it will take 500 years to close the attainment gap for poorer pupils, who are an average of 18 months behind their wealthier peers. [The Education Policy Institute]
- The number of children and youth experiencing anxiety, depression, loneliness, and withdrawal is more than twice as high as before COVID-19 in some G20 countries [OECD]
About the Big Education Challenge
Winners and runners up have just been selected from the Big Education Challenge, Big Change’s new £1m prize fund that is providing early-stage funding and capacity-building support to young people and experienced social entrepreneurs with bold ideas that have the potential to transform education & learning in the UK.
The Challenge has two prizes:
The Groundbreaker Prize
– for young people aged 18-25 with a bold new idea or project.
The Gamechanger Prize
– for individuals with a track record of leading innovative projects or approaches with a tangible social impact.
Winners:
Clover Hogan
Joint Winner of the Gamechanger Prize
Force of Nature, led by Clover Hogan, addresses climate anxiety by providing training to help young people prepare for roles in a green economy, building their confidence, developing their skills, and helping them find the climate solutions they wish to lead. “With support from the Big Education Challenge, we’re piloting training to help hundreds of young people upskill in public speaking, advising decision-makers, and supporting peers and teachers within schools.”
Jonathan Harper
Joint Winner of the Gamechanger Prize
CanTeam, led by Jonathan Harper, transforms school canteens into vibrant community hubs, by equipping schools to offer nutritious and delicious food after school. Co-designed and delivered with young people, their families and the local community, they are creating a sustainable solution to food insecurity, fostering a sense of belonging and community cohesion,, and enabling young people to learn and thrive.
Sergio Gosalvez
Winner of the Groundbreaker Prize
Paige Connect, led by Sergio Gosalvez, supports young blind and partially-sighted people to connect with learning, and work independently or alongside others. By using technology to upgrade existing braille writers, Paige Connect enables better communication and collaboration with sighted teachers, family and friends.
Strive
Strive is about a simple belief – that growth happens when you push yourself outside your comfort zone, and magic happens when you do it with others.
Strive was founded back in 2014 as a way to push ourselves beyond our comfort zones and above all, to raise funds and awareness for Big Change. 12 Strives later, we’ve raised over £8.5m for Big Change and have continued to bring together an extraordinary community of global changemakers and entrepreneurs who are all driven by the prospect of transformation – both within themselves, and for the futures of young people.
Strive is more than an event, Strive is a philosophy. When you take part in Strive, you’ll be joining an incredible group of values-aligned people who believe in taking action to create a change; by challenging themselves in both mind and body and showing up to create a brighter future for young people.
Richard Branson
Founder, Virgin
“Strive is always my favourite week of the year”
Sara Blakely
Founder, Spanx
“Now I have done STRIVE, I feel capable of taking on anything life throws at me”
Matt Isaacs
Founder, Essence, Counteract
“I strive to (re)connect with my adventurous spirit, be inspired by amazing changemakers and to support Big Change in creating an education system fit for the future generations”
Strive Emirates
30th Nov - 7th Dec 2024
In 2024, led by Sir Richard Branson, we will venture through a region synonymous with adventure, steeped in ancient history, and spearheading the world of tomorrow. Strive Emirates will take us through all seven of the United Arab Emirates for a quintessential desert adventure. Over seven days, we will traverse ancient smuggling routes, kayak and sail down the coast of Oman through the ‘Fjords of Arabia’, bike across the mountain trails of Hatta and dunes of Dubai, and camp under glistening desert skies. This just might be the most adventurous Strive yet.
Entry Fee: £13.5k*
Minimum suggested donation: £25k
*Subject to change
Limited spaces available – join the waitlist by emailing Freddie here.
