Bright Future Prize
Empowering and investing in the next generation of community leaders.
Launched in 2021, the Bright Future Prize empowers and invests in the next generation of leaders and innovators – those exceptional young people who are committed to driving positive change and inspiring others around the world.
Bright Future Prize 2026 will open for applications in February.
The opportunity is open to young people aged 15 to 21 years old who live anywhere The Ardonagh Group has a presence, including the Australia, Austria, Bermuda, Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, and the UK.
Keep connected to ACT on our website and at @ardonaghct to be the first to know when the prize launches.
Each of our four prize categories connect to a different way young people can make a difference to the world around them. The winners of our categories will share the £40,000 prize fund to help make their bright idea for a community project a reality.
This category is all about the people you share your world with – whether that’s by location or a network you are connected to. Your project idea might be related to a societal issue, health, education, wellbeing or something else that is important to your chosen community.
Perhaps your bright idea is about caring for the world we live in – nature, wildlife, or the climate. Your project might support green spaces, enable new ways to live sustainably, provide solutions to energy, or something else to protect the Earth’s future.
This is all about harnessing new ways to create lasting positive impact. Your project might centre around a new technology, use advocacy to drive change or use entrepreneurial spirit to enable a better and smarter way to live and engage with the world.
Sharing your passion means even more people can enjoy, learn and benefit from it too. Perhaps your project is about improving access for those who are less able to take part, promote outreach, or further inclusivity so that even more people can experience what you love.
Meet the four fantastic winners of the 2025 Bright Future who each win £10,000 to invest in their bright ideas to make a positive impact on the world around them. We can't wait to see how the funding empowers them to further their ambitions and passion to give back.
Based in Manchester, Farhad is the founder of Potential MCR, providing mentorship and skills to young people to help them tread a new path.
Having already led entrepreneurship workshops to inspire and equip teens with the skills to dream big, Farhad is now on a mission to deliver a new range of sessions to further develop young people and their access to opportunities.
Farhad has experience first-hand the challenges of growing up and amongst his peers. We’re inspired by his commitment to support those around him seek new beginnings!
Your CommunityMarta embodies the spirit of invention, designing a hexapod robot that can cover difficult terrain to plant trees to support reforestation in rural areas of Portugal - and beyond. Her six-limbed robot, Trovador, is totally autonomous, programmed to both navigate to a chosen location and plant young trees.
Self-founded, Marta has recently established a small team – and now she wants to scale up to build a full size 1m³ version of Trovador.
Your PlanetA problem-solver by nature, Kanishk has harnessed his passion for engineering to apply it to the assistive healthcare sector - designing new ways to help older people or those with low mobility to retain their independence. The smart textile he's been working on monitors a range of health factors real-time with the ultimate aim of enabling people to have a simple but crucial good night's sleep.
Already he's spent hours at the bench and now Kanishk is ready to take the project to its next stage of development.
Your VisionIn rural Devon, there are fewer opportunities for young people to perform and create their own music. That’s where Sound Communities Records CIC comes in – empowering young people to kickstart their own music ambitions and breaking down barriers to music production.
Jarvis started his own journey in Torbay and is now helping other young people do the same. Whether it’s recording, getting slots at venues, accessing instruments, and even marketing skills. Jarvis now wants to take Sound Communities Records to the next chapter, organising its very own youth-led festival to showcase young people and their talents.
Your PassionNicole is using her passion for politics and social cohesion to create an app that enables the user to gain an insight into lived experiences, including asylum and displacement.
Equal Eyes takes the user on an immersive journey to gain an insight into asylum seekers and refugees. In doing so, Nicole hopes the app will help mobilise young people to promote social justice and community cohesion.
Your CommunityOver 1 million people living in the Amazon don’t have access to power. Adriely is leader of the Biolume project. Together with her team members at the Federal University of Pará, Adriely has spearheaded the design of a streetlamp powered by biodiesel made from cooking oil.
Already, the project has installed five streetlamps in a riverside community in the regions of the Lower Itacuruçá River, with plans to operate in five more communities that would otherwise have no public lighting – improving security and sustainability.
Your PlanetDonna is on a mission to create a world where communication know no boundaries. Having taught herself sign language to support a family member, Donna has gone on to create GESTURA, a dedicated sign language app.
She hopes the app will help people of any age to get to grips sign language more easily, with interactive games and finger-spell translation, to provide more engaging resources than she was able to find herself when learning.
Your VisionHaving seen a deaf friend struggle with access to the same opportunities at school, Maria too action to establish a digital academic Olympiad specifically for people with hearing impairments and is now ready to turn it into a fully-fledged charity.
Maria has collaborated with deaf and hearing teachers and students to develop the digital platform, where the competitions are hosted – making them more accessible and engaging for deaf pupils. Now, Maria wants to turn OBMLibras into a fully-fledged NGO to host even more events in schools across Brazil.
Your PassionDiscover all our alumni from 2021 to present on our dedicated Bright Future Alumni page.
The Bright Future Prize was launched in the memory of Freddie Williams, the son of Ardonagh colleague David and his wife Sarah.
In 2015, aged seven, Freddie was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. When Freddie died four years later, the contents of his money box were donated to ACT with the message: “To help pay for special treats for the next poorly child.”
Freddie pictured flying over Anfield, the home ground of his favourite football team, Liverpool FC.
The Williams Family – Freddie together with his parents, David and Sarah, and his siblings Jack and Megan.
This simple act led to the creation of the Bright Future Prize, which enables young people to realise their dreams to make a positive impact in the communities that matter to them.
To continue Freddie’s legacy, David and Sarah help the ACT Trustees select our Bright Future Prize winners every year.