Matthias Scheffelmeier wins BMW Foundation Young Leaders Award

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Source: Ashoka

Matthias Scheffelmeier, program leader at Ashoka Youth Venture and coordinator of Ashoka Turkey, was awarded the prestigious BMW Foundation Young Leaders Award for his contributions to the “Changemaker City” Initiative. The annual Award recognizes Young Leaders who chart new paths and initiate, develop or support exemplary initiatives for the common good in their professional or private lives.

Dreaming of a world in which “everyone can be a changemaker” Matthias Scheffelmeier joined Ashoka Youth Venture Germany in September 2009 to drive the national roll-out of an initiative called Changemaker City.  

Building on Youth Ventures 15 year old history of encouraging young people to start and lead their own ventures for the betterment of their communities, the Changemaker City program aims at improving the conditions for youth engagement and changemaking. To this end Changemaker City brings together local stakeholders and youth and then works with them to define barriers for changemaking and to come up with ideas for projects to dismantle such obstacles.

The high-level jury was particularly impressed by the thought-through concept and the fast and effective roll-out of the program to 4 cities in Germany in the last 1 ½ years.

The official Awards Ceremony took place on May 19, 2011, during the Munich Economic Summit with its high-ranking audience.

The other three winners of the BMW Foundation Young Leaders Award are Amani Eltunsi with Girls Only Radio, Stephan Augustin with Terracooler and Heather Cameron with Boxgirls International: Assets for Change.

www.changemakercity.com

Watch a video about the project and the award: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TtPb8IJON8