Your Country, Your Call finalists put through paces

THE two winning proposals in the Your Country, Your Call competition will be announced this evening after the five finalists were put through their paces by the judging panel yesterday.

The final five – who made it to the penultimate stage after the competition received some 9,000 entries – each had an hour with the seven-strong judging panel at the Aviva stadium in Dublin.

They were charged with outlining all the details of how their projects would work if they succeed in winning the final two slots in the competition, and with it the chance to see their project implemented with a €500,000 fund.

The two winners will also receive €100,000 each for their efforts, and the chance that their journey from nebulous idea to winning proposal will be screened on television later this year.

A spokesman for the Your Country, Your Call initiative – which is the brainchild of Dr Martin McAleese, husband of President Mary McAleese – said a TV crew has been filming proceedings “since day one” and that it is possible the footage will be shown in the near future.

Some of the 15 semi-finalists who missed out on consideration in the final five may also be progressed, it emerged yesterday.

The final five panellists met yesterday with the judging panel, chaired by David Byrne SC.

The ideas they are proposing include:

* Creation of a “Superbrand” to market Irish tourism and food under one banner with a focus on building job opportunities in both sectors.

The proposer is businessman Brody Sweeney from Sandymount in Dublin.

* An opportunity for Ireland to become a global media hub. Beginning with the creation of an Irish content industry association which would then drive the development of a cultural and creative quarter.

The proposer, Neil Leyden, is a screen writer and a digital media consultant.

* Installation of Solar PV Electricity Generation on existing windfarms.

The proposer, Peter Enda Kavanagh, is originally from Gorey, Co Wexford, and is an electrical engineer who specialises in the grid connection.