Merit Next is an exclusive year-long leadership program accessible to the most talented and driven young people from around the globe. World Merit is working with some of the world's most innovative thought leaders and organizations to provide a life-changing experience that will accelerate the potential of all participants. Curious to know who you will be working with? Just imagine that in our Your Big Year program, the young leaders selected for the finals worked with Richard Brandson, Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito and collaborated with Google, Deloitte's Center for the Edge, Vodafone and Bloomberg. Merit Next is going to be just as ambitious!
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Liverpool, 1 Week
We start off with World Merit Day - a huge concert, hackathon and TEDx talk! We will have lots of workshops to team-build, identify personal strengths and weaknesses and learn from some of the best experts around.
| London, 1 Week
Week 2 will have you experiencing the exciting capital of England for a week. It will entail everything from site visits, workshops and debating with leaders. This is the time to set up your life-plan and choose a global challenge!
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Home Country, 11 Months
In Months 2 to 5 the challenges will continue online. Through virtual collaboration and online mentoring by our team of experts and leaders, you will delve deeply into your goals and strategies for accomplishing them. You will develop a plan in a team of 6 that will tackle a global issue of your choice while turning your mind to developing your own personal life-plan. Month 6 will involve a two week internship in your home country, organized or supported by the World Merit team. Then, in Months 7 to 11 it's back to virtual collaboration and online mentoring to pull together the final touches!
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Washington, 1 Week
After 11 months of hard work, you will be received in Washington DC, USA. This week will consist of site visits, talking to leaders and integrating and presenting your life-plan and global challenge.
| New York, 1 Week
In the final week we gather in dynamic New York City. We will celebrate the culmination of Merit Next with one BIG weekend filled with site-seeing and new experiences.
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If you want to be part of Merit Next, the first step is to fill out this application form. You won't be able to complete it all in one go as it has been designed to mirror your progress in World Merit. However, don't let time go by and get started immediately! The sooner you start, the sooner we can provide you with feedback on how to improve your application and your performance.
Once you start filling out your application you should get ready, because the fun is just about to start!
The main requirement to be selected for Merit Next is to prove you are "of Merit". What does this mean? It means that you have the passion and determination to not let any obstacle get in your way when it comes to making a positive impact both locally and globally!
We set both online and offline challenges to assess your merit. We will challenge you to take action and showcase that you are a real change-maker. The actions you take will vary from producing a creative video to being active in your community and impacting a social cause...and of course, being active on the online hub is an action itself so keep earning credits!
You will find all the challenges outlined in the application for Merit Next and we have provided specific guidelines for all of them. For the biggest offline challenge we ask you to take a Social Action. Find out more about that challenge on the Social Action Challenge Page. So, make sure you follow the guidelines. They are there to direct your efforts!
Successful applicants will be chosen based on the quality of their applications and on their performance in the challenges.
Personal Qualities
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How you can demonstrate this to us
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Commitment, drive and passion
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Be an active member of the online community and login to your account regularly. Drive thoughtful and interesting conversations through our groups. Assist new members and demonstrate your passion for World Merit through your social media channels.
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Original ideas and creativity
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For each challenge, you should think outside the box. We need to be able to show our partners and sponsors that you have the ability to think differently. Stories about what social action you are taking and evidence to back it up are essential. Do something and do it creatively!
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Collaboration with the World Merit Community
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Show us that you can collaborate with the wider community, lead projects and action in the community. Set a high standard for others to follow.
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Ability to inspire and energize our community and partners
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You can't change the world on your own. Use your global World Merit team and inspire debate, ideas and action.
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Produce high quality content
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Provide us with the highest quality work you can. If it is a video challenge, use your network to find an HD camera, a tri-pod and audio equipment. For posts and debates, give thoughtful and intelligent contributions.
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Be resourceful
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Don't let obstacles stand in your way. It wouldn't be challenging if it was easy! Take initiative, contact your network, use your resources. If you are determined you won't let anything get in your way of producing high quality results.
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My *Merit ID: 7946
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