Star panel helps South East young people Reach for Gold

Renowned businesswoman Nicola Horlick, will be joined by Paralympic champion Danny Crates to help decide on the most innovative community business idea from South East schools and youth groups on 15 December at St. George’s House, Windsor Castle.

The event is the final of Reaching for Gold, a competition supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and key partners. The judging panel also includes Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Chief Executive Ian Trenholm and SEEDA Director for Culture and Communities Keren Jones.

Reaching for Gold challenges South East young people aged 14-19 to develop ideas that will make a difference to their local communities on the themes of Youth, Community or Disability. All projects must include some international collaboration.

Nine finalist groups have been intensively mentored by managers from one of nine major global companies and by community leaders, helping them prepare for a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style final in front of the judging panel. The winning group will receive a trophy and £5,000 to help them develop their project. The nine finalists were shortlisted from over 60 entries.

The competition is part of a unique collaboration between SEEDA and nine corporate business partners and voluntary and community sector organisations – known as the South East Corporate Cabinet – which works to support the future of the South East’s economy.

Keren Jones, SEEDA Director for Culture and Communities, who also will be judging the entries, said: “I am delighted to be joined by such an esteemed panel of talented judges who all have a real enthusiasm for children and are all leaders in their field. Of course the real stars of Reaching for Gold are the young people who will present their projects to our panel. Of course we are also very grateful to the major companies and organisations that we are collaborating with on this groundbreaking project.”

Reaching for Gold is supported by BT, CISCO, Honda UK, Huawei Technologies, Intel Corporation, Legal and General, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony, and Toshiba Information Systems. Groundwork, The Prince’s Trust and AbilityNet are partners from the voluntary and community sector.