A Moderator said:

lucy wants to know: "What are the spotlight awards? who can be nominated?"

Linsey Birghall said:

The Deutsche Bank Spotlight Awards are for young campaigners aged between 11 - 18. They aim to recognise the great things that young people are involved in, in their communities. For example, last year Kate won an award for her environmental campaign, to teach young people about the impact of their behaviour on the environment.

A Moderator said:

Beryl wants to know: "I think the awards are a great idea, who came up with the idea and how long has it been running for?"

Linsey Birghall said:

The Spotlight Awards are a collaboration by Deusche Bank and Common Purpose. The awards are in their 5th year.

A Moderator said:

Perry wants to know: "Who do you get to judge the entries and what do they base their judging on?"

Linsey Birghall said:

There are ten judges this year including Ben Shephard and human right's campaigner Doreen Lawrence. The judges are looking for campaigns that are sustainable and have had impact on the community. All entrees receive a certificate of recognition.

A Moderator said:

Sophie wants to know about last year's winners: "Dear Linsey, what kind of people did the nominations, from winners to shortlists, range from last year - what sort of things had they done - to have been recognised?"

Linsey Birghall said:

The range of entries is huge. We have nominations from individuals who have done small things at school such as, trying to change school uniform and nominations from groups who have done things in the community. Last year Charlotte won an award for her campaign to intergrate young hearing and deaf people. The awards recognise achievements no matter how big or small.

A Moderator said:

Moz asks:"What type of person should be nomminated for an award?"

Linsey Birghall said:

Nominees have to be aged between 11 - 18 and based in the UK. We take entries from individuals or groups. The awards have nothing to do with academic achievement, so you don't have to be a brilliant student to be nominated. It's all about good citizenship.

A Moderator said:

A number of you - including Chris wants to know: "Can anyone nominate you?"

Linsey Birghall said:

You can nominate yourself or you can be nominated by an adult. If you nominate yourself you need an adult referee.

A Moderator said:

Paul has a follow up question: "I've been helping with the voluntary service unit for the past 3 years do you think I could be nominated for this award, I don't want to be seen to nominate myself."

Linsey Birghall said:

Great that you're interested! You can nominate yourself or ask someone you work with to fill out the form for you on your behalf. Don't think that you shouldn't nominate yourself. The Spotlight Awards are all about recognising young people like yourself.

A Moderator said:

Amazon156 wants to know: "I have somebody I'd like to nominate but I don't know how to go about it, please advise?"

Linsey Birghall said:

You can complete a nomination form on our website www.commonpurpose.org.uk/spotlight or you can email spotlight@commonpurpose.org.uk I look forward to reading your nomination form.

A Moderator said:

Danny wants to know if he qualifies: "hello, I'm involved in some voluntary work, I live in the West Mids, and i raise money for the Acorn's House hospice in Birmingham - even though it's only a bit of time devoted, and it's only raising money for charity, would i still be able to be nominated? thanks for your time, danny, 14."

Linsey Birghall said:

Danny, yes you definitely qualify. It doesn't matter how big or small your campaign, we would love to get a nomination from you and you will get a certificate of recognition.

A Moderator said:

Chaz asks: "I'd like to nominate a group of boys at our school who have been running an anti bullying campaign on the school buses and since it started I don't get picked on like I used to and I want to say thanks. Would that count?"

Linsey Birghall said:

Yes, that would definitely count. Last year Hannah and Hannah won a spotlight award for their bus monitoring scheme which reduced bullying on local buses. It's great that the campaigners helped to reduce bullying on your buses. You should definitely nominate them!

A Moderator said:

Thanks to yuri for joining us, he wants to know: "How is it best to avoid peer scorn for getting involved in awards such as these? I like to be involved but I dont like the other people at school making fun of me for my involvement?"

Linsey Birghall said:

Don't be ashamed of getting involved in a great award scheme that recognises campaigning work of young people like you. The Spotlight Awards are all about getting young people involved in being good citizens. You should be proud of your campaigning achievement and you might even win a thousand pounds.

A Moderator said:

Candice wants to know:"Do you get more entrants from one part of the country than another? If so, which one?"

Linsey Birghall said:

No, we get hundreds of nominations from the whole of the UK and Northern Ireland. It's great that there are so many young people that are involved in campaigning around the country.

A Moderator said:

Sam wants to know:"Who are some of the previous winners of the awards? Have they gone on to do further good things within their community?"

Linsey Birghall said:

Last year Ben won an award for his campaign to get a skate park in his local area. He campaigned hard for lots of funding and has gone on to set up other initiatives in his area. Kate, spent her prize on furthering her campaign and is now at university and is a judge for this years Spotlight Awards.

A Moderator said:

We have a teacher - Ben - joining us: "I haven't got anyone to nominate...yet! I'm a teacher and keen to motivate my pupils (who are aged between 11 - 13) to go out and start doing work in their community. Any ideas of where to start? I'd love to be able to nominate them in a year's time."

Linsey Birghall said:

The Deutsche Bank Spotlight Awards can give you a teachers pack which has lesson plans on campaigning and great ideas that you can implement in the classroom. It is available on our website www.commompurpose.org.uk/spotlight This year we have had some great nominations from this age group who are campaigning within their schools for things like better school meals.

A Moderator said:

Congratulations to Johnny who is a nominee but wants to know: "I've been nominated - by my mum! - what happens now?"

Linsey Birghall said:

The deadline is the 3rd February. After that all the nominations are read and short listed. The judges meet in March to discuss the nominations and choose the winners. The Award ceremony is held in May in London to which all shortlisted nominations are invited. Good Luck!

A Moderator said:

Julie wants to know:"The papers seem to be full of negative stories about teenagers - that 14 year old girl jailed for the happy slap killing - how important is it to focus on positive stories about teenagers?"

Linsey Birghall said:

It is so important to focus on positive stories that young people are involved in. Every year the Deutsche Bank Spotlight Awards recognise the great things that young people are doing no matter how big or small. We all know a young person who goes out of their way to help others and that's the great thing about these awards. Last year we recognised 2500 young people.

A Moderator said:

Howey wants to know:"What is Common Purpose, is it a company or a chairty and what involvement does it have in these awards?"

Linsey Birghall said:

Common Purpose run the most diverse leadership programmes in the UK. We have 45 offices in the UK and have been running for sixteen years. We are very keen to highlight the campaigning achievements of young people and help reduce the negative image they often receive.

A Moderator said:

Udinot wants to know:"I'm 14 and have an idea for a community project. I have no clue how to get started - what should I do?"

Linsey Birghall said:

Great that you have an idea and getting started is easy. Visit our website where we have a campaigning tool kit which, has lots of great information about how to get started and who to contact. Maybe next year you'll nominate yourself for a Spotlight Award.

A Moderator said:

Hi to Simon who joins us and wants to know:"What was the most inspirational thing you rememember someone doing to be entered for these awards?"

Linsey Birghall said:

There are so many great campaigns that have been nominated over the past five years. Malcolm won an award last year for his campaign to reduce young homelessness in Newcastle. It was an inspirational story and he was a great young person. It's not just the big campaigns that are inspiring it's so great to see nominations that have made a difference to one person.

A Moderator said:

Oscar wants to know:"Do you think the awards have created a lasting impact over the years? Do the campaigns nominated create permanent change for good?"

Linsey Birghall said:

Definitely, there are examples of winning campaigns that have made a permanent difference to a community. For example, Glen campaigned to save his local bus route which is now running for an extra three years because of his hard work.

Linsey Birghall said:

Thank you for all your questions and interest in this great award scheme for young campaigners. Hopefully you will nominate someone you know, so that they can get recognition for all their hard work and maybe win £1000. Remember the deadline is February 3rd...Good Luck!