Tim Smit is chief executive and co-founder of the award-winning Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall. Eden began as a dream in 1995 and since 2000 more than ten million people have come to see a once sterile pit turned into a cradle of life containing world-class horticulture and startling architecture symbolic of human endeavour. Part of the British Library and HSBC Inspiring Entrepreneurs series.

You want to travel through Europe to meet new people and understand them better? You are between 17 and 27 years old and are looking for a way to fund your journey? Then you can apply for a Schwarzkopf Foundation travel grant until the 19th of March!
By awarding travel grants the Schwarzkopf Foundation aims to get youngsters and young adults interested in Europe. Your journey should be motivated by wanting to explore Europe and the will to personally document your travel experience. The application deadline is March 19, 2017. Everyone between the ages of 17 and 27 permanently residing in one of the 47 European states can apply for a travel grant. We encourage young people from all backgrounds to apply!
The journey should last between three and six weeks. For those enrolled in an internship or traineeship programme we offer, if needed, to shorten the travel period to two weeks.

The regular travel grant: 550 €
You decide how you will spend the 550 € on your trip. You will receive 400 € at the beginning of your journey, and the other 150 € after submitting your travel report. The grant holders can decide freely which part of the travel costs will be covered by the grant. More Information on this travel grant you can find here.
In cooperation with the Kreuzberger Kinderstiftung, we will this year especially support youth from rural areas as well as students from vocational schools, as well as trainees.
Travel grants to Greece
Together with the Kreuzberger Kinderstiftung we also grant 550 € for journeys to Greece, for people who want to get to know the country and its young people better. Call for travel grants to Greece
The InterRail Global Pass: traveling in 30 European countries
Additionally, the Schwarzkopf Foundation offers InterRail Global Passes, which young people can use to travel for one month in 30 European countries including Russia and Turkey. For more information on the InterRail Global Passes read here
What should you do while traveling?
The journey should take place in 2017 and shouldn’t start later than September. You are free to choose your own travel destination(s) but also have to book the necessary accommodations and plan the whole journey by yourself. It’s important that you are willing to produce a travel report on a question which is relevant on a European level. You should do your research on one of the following questions:
How are young people in Europe handling the current (economic/ political/refugee etc.) crises?
What is part of European identity?
How do young people participate in society?
The report can be submitted as an Instagram or Flickr photo story, a video diary, a blog series, or a written report.
How to apply
Fill in this application form. Before starting please think about a good topic for your research and also consider what kind of documentation you would like to submit (Photos, Videos, Blog etc.). The Schwarzkopf Foundation helps its grant holders to further develop their ideas for the travel reports, but still you shouldn’t underestimate this part of your application because it, together with your motivation to do the trip, are important criteria that we take into account when choosing this year’s grantees.
The Deadline is March 19, 2017, 11:59 pm. If you have any open questions, please contact Anna Saraste at a.saraste@Schwarzkopf-stiftung.de.
Other conditions
It is only possible to apply for a travel grant if you have permanent residence in one of the Council of Europe member states. The travel grants don’t cover the travel costs of conferences, language courses or traineeships, but only for travel projects in Europe. You should travel alone, since we don’t issue travel grants to working pairs or groups. For financial documentation we only ask for some receipts from your trip as proof of travel.
It is not possible to combine the InterRail Global Pass and the regular travel grant. Please choose which one you apply for.

Click here to apply ..
http://polls.eyp.org/travelgrants-2017

What keeps you going ? What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Its a question I ask myself quite often and there is no simple answer. Why do we do what we do?
The small team i work with are ace but sometime we do feel like we are constantly sinking. Some days it really is hard to keep our heads above water and to keep going and this week was one of those weeks.
Yet again we had been turned down for funding and it hurts.. I am quite new to this game of funding but my partner in work has 4 years experience and together we have a shed load of evidence, testimonials and need for what we are trying to do. For 4 years they have been battling each year to continue the good work and the chance to improve the community around us. for me it has only been a couple of years looking at funding and I am put off already! 
To give you an example of the good work we do ..
This same week as we got turned down for funding we also won an award for ` The most inspiring community group in Cornwall` .. Now to me.. Right there .. That is the reason why we do what we do. We help change lives and we help improve the community around us. This same week we have had approval for an event we plan to hold that will bring 1000+ people together for a lunch and free market ( Share Fair) in our town this summer. An event that will inspire people to join in, enjoy and to learn more about the community they live in.
Back to the funding ..
The funding wasn't going to make us rich, in fact the funding wouldn't have paid us salary, the funding was to expand and enable us to do more in the community over a longer period of time. The money we applied for would have enabled us to rent a long term empty shop in the high street and turn it into a community hub. Something that is well needed in our town since the heart has been ripped out of it when the public buildings got sold off and even the library closed it doors this week after a hundred + years of public use.
Our community is not so different to many others up and down the country but to us , it is the world. Its where we live, its where we play and its where we want our kids to grow up safe and with equal opportunities.
It does have its challenges though and that is mainly one of poverty. Our children cant get access to music due to poverty, healthy eating is one that missed our area and education is failing due to resources being less in our schools. poverty is not only a problem for the young in our community. It effects all and if not address it will be a problem for future generations.
The only increases in our neighborhood are those within the cues at the foodbanks, in drug use and  petty crime. Aspiration is a buzz word used on the towns only high school advertising slogan as is, Raising Standards. I question both but that's for another blog, another day.
After we found out that we had been turned down again for funding we did what many other community activists do .. We had a cup of tea, put on our big pants and started another application.
We have the determination, for now, to continue to what we simply love doing. Sadly though, determination wont pay our bills, buy food for my fridge or school shoes for my son.
Lets hope this next application is more successful and please, if you want to give us a hand, if you want to know more, please get in touch or pop in for a coffee and if you know anyone who is good with funding applications then I will even supply cake to go with the coffee .