Cisco/Global Citizen Prize 2025 Youth Leadership Award

The Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award was established by Cisco and Global Citizen to recognize and lift up a young person positively impacting the world, demonstrate the impact that young people are having on achieving the United Nation's Global Goals, and accelerate global problem solving.

The Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award honors an individual aged 18-30 who has contributed meaningfully to global problem solving. The award includes a US$250,000 prize paid to the organization to which the individual contributes.

Benefits of CISCO Youth Leadership Award

The Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award honors an individual aged 18-30 who has contributed meaningfully to global problem solving.

The award includes a US$250,000 prize paid to the organization to which the individual contributes.

Requirements for CISCO Youth Leadership Award

We are looking for a young person who is making extraordinary progress towards one or more of the Global Goals.

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

Age: Between 18 and 30 at the time of application.

Organization: Actively involved with an organization or initiative using technology to address poverty and social inequality issues.

Purpose: Proven commitment to positively impacting economic development, health, education, or other efforts aligned with the UN Global Goals.

Selection Process

Candidates will be judged against criteria by a group of Global Citizen, Cisco, and independent experts.

Up to five (5) finalists will be selected on or around February 2nd, 2024, and will be required to submit three (3) letters of recommendation. If applying for the Prize, you should have your letters of recommendation ready for submission. Additional supplemental information might also be requested of finalists.

If selected as one of the 5 finalists, you will be judged by a panel of representatives from Global Citizen, Cisco, and esteemed activists and leaders in the international development field.

Application Documents

If you are selected as one of the 5 finalists you will be contacted on or around February 3rd, 2025, to submit 3 letters of recommendation:

3 Letters of endorsement / recommendation

A Colleague

A Funder or Operational Partner

Person you’ve impacted

Once you apply for the Prize, you should have your letters of recommendation ready for submission. Supplemental information might also be requested of finalists. Finalists who are contacted and cannot provide letters of recommendation and supplemental information by the deadline may be removed from further consideration.

If selected as a finalist, you will be provided with instructions on how to submit your letters of recommendation and supplemental information.

Application Deadline

December 18, 2024

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Cisco on 2025cyla.skild.com to apply

The application consists of four parts:

About You: Personal and Organization Information,

Pitch

Description of how your work aligns with the Judging Criteria

Supplemental Organizational Details.

For the first part, you will be required to submit basic information about you and your organization and a scanned copy of your passport.

For the second part, you must explain why you deserve this award and provide us with a 1–2-minute video of your pitch. 

For the third part, you will be required to answer 5 short answer questions about your work, and you will describe in 250 words or less, how you have achieved each one of the Prize’s criteria.

And for the fourth part, you will submit proof of your organization’s registration details including the certificate of registration, incorporation or tax exemption and other supplemental information.