A competition has been launched to help build ideas for Ireland’s prosperity.

Ireland has launched a competition – Your Country, Your Call – to “ignite imaginations and inspire thinking”, encouraging the public to put forward proposals that will secure prosperity and jobs in the country – and each of the two winners will receive €100,000.

Launched by Irish President Mary McAleese, her husband Dr Martin McAleese came up with the idea. He said: “This started where all good ideas start, during quiet moments of reflection, thinking about Ireland and how we moved so quickly from being a vibrant and dynamic and thriving country to the position of wondering how we are going to get back to that.

“It came about by realising that old ideas weren’t going to do it – that new ideas or proposals were needed to shift our thinking and our mindsets to where they used to be – and beyond.”

There are eight categories (including a category named ‘Other’) under which to submit your proposal. Participants are simply asked to title their proposal and write a couple of sentences summarising the idea. These will be made visible on the website, and anyone visiting the site is invited to comment on the idea.

The full proposal can be attached to your submission, and will not be made visible on the website – only judges will see it.

Twenty of the best proposals will be put through to the semi-final stage, and these semi-finalists will each be given a coach to guide them through the final stages of the competition and to help them refine the document.

Five will be chosen for the final stage of the competition. A development fund of €500,000 is available for each of the winning proposals.

The competition opens today, St Patrick’s Day, Wednesday 17 March 2010. For full details and deadline information, visit: http://www.yourcountryyourcall.com/index.html