The European Chess Union and Chess in Schools and Communities, a UK registered charity, are joining forces to provide the first ever professional program for social entrepreneurs in chess.
As part of the London Chess Classic with its London Chess and Education Conference 2015 on the theme „Chess and Society“ the best applicants will come together for a professional crash course in social entrepreneurship and a best project competition.
The ECU is offering six stipendia to be decided after the submission deadline of 23 September.
On Saturday and Sunday, 5 and 6 December, the participants will, along with following the conference, pitch their project or project idea first to an expert jury and then to the conference audience at large. The best voted project shall receive an award. On the first day, Friday, 4 December, throughout the afternoon and evening, experts will lecture and give workshops on these crucial topics:
– Business Plan
– Organisation and Stakeholders
– Pitching and Presenting
– Social Media Marketing
– The Social Investor’s Perspective
The recipients of the six ECU stipendia, reserved for applicants from European countries apart from the UK, will be selected by the ECU Educational Commission and decided during the ECU Board in Bar, Montenegro on 9th of October.
In your application you shall demonstrate why you have the skills and personal resources to be a social innovator in chess and why your participation will be an asset to this programme and group of participants. Your application must include a CV and an essay in English of up to 500 words on your expertise and your project or project idea and make clear what social need it is addressing. Grammar and style won’t be judged beyond that your English is good enough to participate actively. No cover letter or reference letters are required.
Applications are only accepted by e-mail: conference@londonchessclassic.com , with a copy to the ECU Educational Commission Chairman Jesper Hall jesper.hall@comhem.se until Wednesday, 6 October 2015, 18.00 CET.
The stipendia include free participation in the social entrepreneur training, competition and conference but do not cover travel, accommodation and food. If you don’t have the resources to pay these costs, please add a brief letter to your application, and we may be able to help.
Successful applicants shall be informed by the mid of October. The programme will start on 4 December 14.00 and end on 6 December 17.30. If you are selected you will receive reading materials and links for 10-15 hours of preparation. Please keep in mind that you will also need to be prepared to deliver a ten-minute-presentation of your project or project idea. And be prepared to network at the conference.
More on the conference Chess and Society: www.londonchessconference.com