The British Council in Argentina is selecting one participant aged between 16 and 18 for the 2008 Youth Summit at the Natural History Museum in London. This summit is related to the 200^th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150^th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
Over the last two years the summit has concentrated on climate change issues and will now focus on Darwin’s ideas and how they impact on the modern world.
This conference aims to reinforce the basic ideas of evolution by way of natural selection – emphasising how it is relevant to real applications in the present day.

Dates

The conference will take place between Wednesday 2 and Friday 4 July. Therefore participants are expecting to arrive in the UK  between 29 June and 1 July.

Profile of applying candidates

Participants should fulfil the following requirements:

• This promotion is only applicable to individuals who are residents of, and domiciled in Argentina;
• Candidates will only be considered eligible to compete if they are between 16 and 18 years of age as of the 29 June 2008;
• Candidates must have good communication and leadership skills
• Candidates should be fluent in English.
• Candidates should have a more than superficial interest in issues related to origins of the species and in science education.
• The act of application is deemed as an automatic and complete acceptance of the terms and conditions of these rules and regulations.

Application process and deadlines

Applicants must download and fill the application form available here and send it by email to application@britishcouncil.org.ar by 1700 on 16 May 2008 at the latest.
The application form is available in Microsoft Word format. Failure to fill in the form correctly and/or to remit attachments according to the manner described above shall automatically disqualify the applicant;
Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed by the selection panel on 21 and 22 May at the British Council (Marcelo T de Alvear 590, Buenos Aires).

Publication of Winner

The winner of the competition will be announced on 23 May 2008 on the British Council website.

Award for selected candidate

One candidate shall be awarded a prize as described below:

• Participation in the Darwin 200 Youth Summit representating Argentina.
• Accommodation for six days at Imperial College student dorm.
• Fixed allowance in pounds sterling for the duration of the summit.
• Return air ticket Argentina-London-Argentina, in economy class and flying from the airport that is closest to the winner’s place of residence.

The selected candidate will be expected to:

   -  after attending the Youth Summit, maintain a dialogue with the winners from the other countries with the objective of organising and promoting a Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Youth Summit on Science Education to be held in LAC in 2008/09, dates to be decided, under the supervision of British Council Officers and local partners;

    -  actively take part in an internet forum which will be set up with the purpose of facilitating the dialogue and exchange of ideas regarding the organisation of the LAC Youth Summit;

 -  participate in the LAC Youth Summit in 2008/09.

-  cede all their rights to the use and publication of essays submitted to the competition for use in any marketing activities whatsoever, on the part of the competition organizers, for an unlimited period of time;

-  be available for interviews, testimonials, events, presentations and photo shoots before, during and after his/her trip to the United Kingdom;

-  present an authorisation to travel unaccompanied signed by a person responsible;

-  present a passport that is valid for international travel;

-  participate in activities related to the Science Education Project to which he/she will be invited by the British Council. These may include relating their experiences to other young people by means of debates, presentations, educational activities and uploads of material onto the Internet.