Proposed joint initiative with the G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20)
The Better, Kinder World Award
An interfaith youth challenge to make the world better and kinder through business and social enterprise.
How have you made the world a better, kinder place in the past year?
Register interest
Become a partner or sponsor
Finalists present their projects in London. The awards and the DTO Youth Summit are celebrated at a ceremony in Manchester during G20 week, November 2027.
Details are proposed and may change as partners confirm. To hear first, tick “Better, Kinder World Award” on the registration form.
Vision
Every person has inherent human dignity. The opportunity to work, create, contribute and provide for oneself and others is one powerful way that dignity is respected and expressed. Through enterprise, young people can help build communities in which more people have that opportunity.
The Award builds on Dare to Overcome’s 2026 theme, The Economics of Kindness. It is a Social Olympics for young changemakers, recognising what they have actually done.
Why enterprise
Official development assistance from OECD Development Assistance Committee members fell 23.1% in real terms in 2025, according to the OECD’s preliminary figures, and a further fall is projected for 2026.
Charity and aid remain essential, and faith communities have long been sources of generosity and service. Business and social enterprise offer another powerful way to create lasting change. They can generate employment, income, skills and opportunity while strengthening local communities. They treat people as workers, owners, customers and partners, not only as beneficiaries.
The Award celebrates young people building enterprises that combine economic sustainability with kindness, inclusion and respect for human dignity.
An interfaith award
The G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20) began in Australia in 2014 and has met every year since in the country hosting the G20. It describes itself as a network of religious, humanitarian, academic and public institutions, and it works to bring the contributions of faith communities into the G20 process. It has a standing working group on children and youth.
Its most recent forum, “Resilient Hope, Shared Future”, took place in Salt Lake City on 15 to 17 October 2026, the first IF20 held in the United States. Its opening ceremony heard Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Jewish leaders, and the programme covered human dignity, technology and AI, religious freedom and the common good.
The Better, Kinder World Award is proposed as a way to bring that interfaith spirit to young people’s enterprise. Interfaith here includes people with no particular faith: it is about people of every religion and none building something good side by side.
Open to every belief
People of any faith or none are equally part of the Award, and teams of mixed backgrounds are encouraged.
Shared humanity
The Award recognises what people have done, not what they believe. Religious affiliation is not required and is not a judging criterion.
Bridge-building
Ventures that bring people together across religious, cultural, ethnic and social lines have their own thematic award.
The Award is proposed as a joint initiative with IF20. The partnership is not yet formally agreed, and details will be confirmed with IF20.
What we are looking for
Kindness with economic value
Enterprise that creates economic value while deliberately improving the lives of others. A commercially successful business is not automatically a kinder one.
Kindness in practice
Kindness shown in how the enterprise treats employees, customers, suppliers, neighbours and the communities it serves, and how it respects human dignity.
A way to last
A credible model for long-term financial and operational sustainability, through earned income, investment, partnerships or a mix of funding. Early-stage ventures are welcome if they show a realistic path forward.
Real action
A business plan alone is not enough. Entries show practical action, testing, community engagement or early results.
All kinds of enterprise count: start-ups, social enterprises, cooperatives, businesses, faith-inspired enterprises, workplace innovations and informal microbusinesses. A 17-year-old organising a community employment initiative is as eligible as a technology start-up. Registering a company is not required.
Who can enter
- Youth, ages 15 to 24, reflecting the United Nations’ statistical definition of youth.
- Young Leaders, ages 25 to 30.
- Individuals and teams. A team enters in the age band of its oldest member.
- Entrants of any faith or none. The Award is interfaith in the fullest sense: it includes people with no particular faith, celebrates shared humanity and practical contribution, and does not require religious affiliation.
- Entrants under 18 need parental consent, and the programme will have a safeguarding policy.
Six thematic awards and one Grand Prize
Kindness in Action
Ventures that meet real needs with compassion and are built to last.
Bridging Divides
Ventures that bring people together across differences of faith, belief, culture, ethnicity or background.
Community Transformation
Local enterprises strengthening neighbourhoods and creating lasting change.
Innovation for Good
Technological and entrepreneurial innovation that improves wellbeing and dignity.
Opportunity and Empowerment
Dignified work, skills, education, finance and mentoring.
Care for Our Shared Planet
Sustainable business models that protect the natural world.
The Better, Kinder World Prize
One outstanding entry across the whole competition, judged independently of size or budget. A small venture with almost no resources can outperform a well-funded one.
How entries are judged
An international panel from business, youth leadership, education, civil society and a range of faith and belief traditions, including non-religious perspectives and young entrepreneurs. Each age band has its own shortlist. Judges consider the resources available to each entrant.
- Respect for human dignity
- Kindness in practice
- Demonstrable impact
- Sustainability
- Creativity
- Inclusion
- Bridge-building across faiths, beliefs and backgrounds
- Power to inspire others
Presented in London, celebrated in Manchester
Finalists are invited to present their projects in London, during IF20 and Dare to Overcome events, so that leaders, investors and partners can meet them and hear their stories first-hand.
The awards and the DTO Youth Summit are then celebrated at a ceremony in Manchester during G20 week. The UK hosts the G20 Leaders’ Summit there on 27 and 28 November 2027, and we aim to coordinate with the Y20 if feasible, so that young people’s solutions are seen in Manchester just as leaders arrive.
Dates and venues are proposed and subject to confirmation, including coordination with the Y20. The Award is an independent event held during G20 week and is not an official G20 programme. Proposed prizes: mentoring and introductions to business partners and impact investors, plus seed funding if sponsors are secured.
A movement beyond the awards
Partnerships with schools, universities, businesses, faith communities and youth organisations aim to build an annual platform for young changemakers. Young people help design and judge the competition, and we propose a distinguished patron and a young public ambassador.
Success will be measured by opportunities created, livelihoods sustained, communities strengthened and lives improved.
Dare to make the world better and kinder
Register your interest to hear when entries open, or talk to us about partnering, sponsoring or judging.