“Be the Match – Youth Edition” Competition Launches to Inspire Young Creators to Promote Volunteer Bone Marrow Donor Registration

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Turning Youth Creativity into Life-Saving Awareness

A new youth-driven awareness competition is launching this February, inviting young people aged 15–30 to use their creativity to help save lives through bone marrow donation and the recruitment of volunteer donors.

The “Be the Match – Youth Edition” programme is organized by JA Cyprus in collaboration with the Karaiskakio Foundation, with the goal of mobilizing youth creators to design and run impactful awareness campaigns that encourage young people to register as volunteer bone marrow donors.

Participants are invited to create short video campaigns aimed at educating and motivating young audiences to register as volunteer bone marrow donors. The initiative empowers young people to combine storytelling, digital media, and social impact: turning creativity into real-world change.

Competition Timeline

  • 16 February — Kick-off Event & Official Launch of the Competition
  • 3 March — Deadline for team video submission
  • 6 March — Evaluation and Expert feedback commmunicated to teams to ensure message accuracy
  • 10 March – 10 April — Campaign activation period (teams run their public awareness campaigns)
  • 29 April — Winner announcement during the Company Programme Finale

The winning team will receive a two-day educational visit at the University of Patras, recognizing excellence in youth-led social impact campaigning.

Bone marrow transplantation is an essential treatment option for several serious diseases, and patients often depend on finding a compatible donor outside their immediate family. Public awareness plays a crucial role in increasing the registration of volunteer bone marrow donors and improving the chances of identifying a suitable match for patients in need of transplantation.

Through this initiative, young people are empowered to contribute meaningfully to this effort by using the communication tools and platforms they know best: video, social media, and peer-to-peer messaging.

The competition is open to young people aged 15–30, working in teams of 3-5 participants. Submissions are welcome from schools, universities, youth groups, and independent creators.

🔗Here is the link to register: https://forms.gle/H5fCiK9fGXTAkB8MA

About the Organizers

JA Cyprus is part of the global Junior Achievement network and delivers entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy education programmes for young people. For more information refer to https://jacyprus.org/el/.

The Karaiskakiο Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996, with the initial goal of establishing a volunteer Bone Marrow Donor Registry guided by the vision “for a world without leukemia”. After 30 years of continuous growth and dedication, characterized by integrity, scientific excellence, and professionalism, the Karaiskakio Foundation is now recognized as one of the most advanced diagnostic centres in the world, specializing in haematology, oncology, immunology, transplantation support and rare disease investigation.

For more information refer to https://kfnewdonor.org.cy/en/