The International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) awards were devised by the British Council to celebrate the achievements and to develop the potential of young creative entrepreneurs across the world.

In 2004 we launched the first award for entrepreneurs in publishing. Since then the programme has systematically grown, covering different creative industries. The format of the programme is open. We invite young (25-35) entrepreneurs from emerging economies who are successful in creative industries. Every year 10 countries are selected to take part in this programme.

PLEASE NOTE: The IYCE awards are unique in rewarding entrepreneurial ability. We recognise that a finalist may be active in the creative process, but this should be secondary to their focus as an entrepreneur in the promotion of their creative sector in their own country. Artistic talent will not be factored into the judging procedure – finalist will be judged solely on the merit of their entrepreneurial abilities in the industry.

The winner of the Polish edition, together with the winners from other countries, will go to the UK for the world final, where they will compete for an attractive money prize. However, participation in the final is not all - we have prepared many more prizes and opportunities for all of the finalists:

• they will stay in Britain for over 10 days

• they will take part in meetings, during which they will be able to get to know each other, exchange experiences and learn how their specific creative industry works in the UK

• they will visit London and at least one more British city or region – for example, Edinburgh for the publishing industry, Manchester for the music industry, and Cardiff for the film industry.

• the finalists will participate in UK specialist fairs, where they will have a great opportunity to present their work in front of a wider public. For instance, this will be the London Book Fair for the publishing industry, 100% Design for the design industry, and the London Film Festival for the film industry.

During their stay in the UK, the finalists will present themselves in front of an experienced jury from the British creative industries.  They will talk about their work achievements and will explain how their specific industries work in their home countries. There will be one winner chosen in the world final. Apart from the honour this selection will bestow, the winner will be awarded a money prize (£7500), which must be spent on a project run in co-operation with the British Council. The aim of this mutual enterprise will be relation building between the winning country and Great Britain.

To date there have been winners from Brazil (Design’06), India (Publishing’07), Indonesia (Screen’07), Lebanon (Publishing’06), Mexico (Publishing’04), Morocco (Music’06), Nigeria (Design’05 and Music’07), Poland (Publishing’05) and Venezuela (Design’07).

A participant must:

• be aged between 25 and 35

• already work in the relevant creative sector(s) covered by each IYCE award

• be entrepreneurial and have shown their ability in the promotion of their creative sector in their own country, in either a commercial context, public context, or both

• through their character, drive and abilities demonstrate their potential to be a future leader of the sector in their country

• be fluent in English. He/she should be able to understand relatively complex language, especially when it comes to his/her area of expertise. Good verbal English language skills are important for finalists to gain the most out of the IYCE experience, which involves constant networking, meetings in English, as well as making a formal judging presentation in English to a specialised jury.