The Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition (CEC) 2022. This competitive examination is a part of the Entrepreneurship Campus and was initiated to empower entrepreneurs all around the world to create innovative answers to global and/or community challenges and to engage in a more peaceful and sustainable world.
You are invited to submit your innovative ideas and projects with a societal impact, which champion and implement one or more of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs and 169 related targets address the most important social, economic, environmental, health and governmental challenges of our time.
Before, during and after the CEC you have the possibility to take two courses to help develop a sustainable business model from your idea. You will gain knowledge that can be helpful to change or upgrade existing projects as well. The Brain versus Capital (BvC) course serves as a basis and can also be completed without prior registration. The additional Sustainable Entrepreneurship Course (SEC) is recommended to be done after the end of the BvC course. Both courses are free of charge.
Note: Taking the BvC and/or SEC course is not mandatory to take part in the Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition. However, it is a helpful tool to get the greatest possible potential out of your ideas and projects.
If you are between 13 and 29 years old, please submit your idea and/or project in the Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship category. If you are 30+ you can submit your idea and/or project to the Adult Citizen Entrepreneurship category. Please make sure that you submit your entry into the right category. If not, your entry cannot be included in the competition. You will have to delete the entry and submit it again.
Competition timeline
- April 1, 2022: Start of CEC 2022
- June 1, 2022: Voting & commenting begins for all, entries will be published
- September 15, 2022: Deadline for new entries
- October 15, 2022: Deadline for Votes & Comments
- November 7, 2022: Deadline for videos from finalists
- November 29, 2022: Deadline for Panel of Judges: selection of the winners
- December 10, 2022: Online award ceremony
- OCTOBER 24, 2022; Announcement of finalists
Eligibility criteria
Anyone who is 13 years old and over with an innovative idea for an enterprise which contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and everyone from 13 years up who is operating such an enterprise in the form of a business, a non-profit organization or an informal program.
Anyone who is able to submit their entry in English.
Depending on your age, you either take part in the Youth (13 – 29 years old) or the Adult (from 30 years up) category.
Please read the Privacy Statement attentively and thoroughly. By participating in the competition you confirm that you have read and understood the privacy statement and that you adhere to it.
The advantages of the competition
Grand prize winners will receive a virtual gold badge and certificate.
Second prize winners will receive a virtual silver badge and certificate.
Third prize winners will receive a virtual bronze badge and certificate.
Audience award winners will receive a virtual gold badge and certificate.
Finalists not chosen as winners will receive an honorable mention badge.
How to take part in the Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition (CEC) 2022
Step 1
Register online and create your account! You will receive a confirmation email. In order to activate your account, you must confirm by clicking on the link in the email. If you cannot find the email, please check your spam folder.
Step 2
In order to participate in the competition, you must submit an idea and/or project in the Youth (13-29 years) or the Adult (from 30 years up) category. Fill out and submit the preliminary entry form.
Then wait for a response from the competition administrators: Entries are reviewed by the competition administrators of Stiftung Entrepreneurship and Digital Experts United. Only those entries that meet a certain standard and pass the preliminary screening will be invited to provide more details about their idea/project in a second entry form.
The status of an entry can be checked in your profile menu under “My Ideas/Projects”. All saved and submitted entries are saved there and can be accessed again at any time.
Please note: Rejected entries may be refined by the entrants and can be re-submitted up until the entries deadline.
Step 3
Entries (ideas and projects) that have passed the preliminary screening will be posted on the competition website and will participate in the competition.
Please note: Until 1 June 2022 every published entry will only be visible for the Entrepreneurship Campus community. At the start of the voting and commenting phase on June 1st, all entries will be published for the entire world outside the competition to see. All dates and deadlines can be found in the timeline.