NESCAFé BIG BREAK calls for entries

MEDIA RELEASE
April 26, 2004

For Immediate Release

NESCAFé BIG BREAK calls for entries -
You could win up to $50,000!

Aspiring young inventors, sports fanatics, music producers, fashion designers and anyone else with a great idea has a chance to win up to AUD$50,000 this year with Nescafé BIG BREAK.

Firmly established in launching many young careers, entries to the programme open on May 1, offering ambitious 16 to 24 year olds the chance to turn their dreams into reality.

Offering a total prize pool of AUD$205,000, Nescafé BIG BREAK is a unique concept that has been inspiring youth to chase their dreams, for five years in New Zealand and it 15 in Australia. In this time, the programme has kick-started the careers of young New Zealanders and Australians in areas as diverse as technology, the arts, business, sport, science, education, agriculture and charity.

Last year ace motorcycle racer Karl Morgan from Waitakere (Auckland); 23 year old sharemilker Nick Pemberton from Wyndham (Southland) and wildlife photographer Stephen Bradley from Akaroa (Banks Peninsula) each took home AUD$20,000 to help fund their ideas.

Inspired by Sweden's Mattias Klum and his book Borneo Rainforest, Stephen used his NESCAFÉ BIG BREAK to buy necessary equipment to take him overland from Australia to Europe and he hopes to ultimately work for National Geographic. Stephen started his trip in early 2004 and is currently photographing his way around Australia.

"I am so grateful to Nescafé - the money allowed me to put my dreams into action - I called my photography shop straight away to order a new camera," says Stephen.

"My advice to anyone with a dream is to just go for it. Remember it's your life so make the most of it."

NESCAFÉ BIG BREAK is for anyone with a dream or ambition and is not an achievement award. There are no categories - you could be a wannabe pop star or a business-minded entrepreneur.

This year NESCAFÉ BIG BREAK will be awarding one grant of AUD$50,000, five of AUD$25,000 and six grants of AUD$5000.

Entries for this year's Nescafé BIG BREAK close on May 31, 2004. Semi-finalists will be selected in June and asked to submit further details about their entry. Finalists will then be flown to Sydney in August to present their ideas to a judging panel made up of past Nescafé BIG BREAK winners. Based on their presentations, the judges will award the top (AUD$25,000 x 6) and runner-up (AUD$5,000 x 6) prizes.

This year, for the first time, everyone can get involved with NESCAFÉ BIG BREAK through public voting among the six AUD$25,000 winners, one of which will go on to win a further AUD$25,000. Voting opens in October and you can give someone the chance of a lifetime, helping to choose who most deserves to win a grand total of $50,000.

Entry forms are available online at www.nescafebigbreak.co.nz or by calling 0800 430 043.

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