Would the world be a different place if young people were in charge… or at least had a platform to share their ideas and promote change? Those vying for the Young Creators Award certainly think so, and they have a vital ally in the effort.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is giving away $500,000 to anyone age 25 and under anywhere in the world with compelling ideas for using digitally delivered news and information to improve the lives of people where they live, work and vote. The award is a component of the Knight News Challenge, an annual competition that awards $5 million for innovative ideas using digital experiments to transform community news.

This year, for the first time, Neighborhood America’s enterprise social networking solution transformed the competition. Besides enabling the Knight Foundation to manage the contest via the Web, from the application submissions to the judging process, the Knight News Challenge website allowed entrants to invite public comment to help improve their entries and build community among the participants.

The ideas flowing into the website span the globe, including projects that inspire local communities to care about the environment and those that serve to educate and raise awareness about cultural, political, and societal issues.

MTV promoted the award on its youth-oriented social network focused on activism and works of charity called ThinkMTV and throughout its international network. The Boys & Girls Club of America, with more than 4,000 Clubs in the United States and abroad, also encouraged the more than 4.8 million young people it serves to participate in the contest. Winners will be announced by the spring of 2008.

Neighborhood America is privileged to support an innovative leader in the industry whose efforts have the potential to create transformational change. Whether it’s youth in the U.S. or across the globe, technology and the Internet proves to be an empowering and uniting force.