Au Pair of the Year Award

The 2024 IAPA Au Pair of the Year Award

We’re excited to share that the IAPA International Au Pair of the Year Contest is now open! This contest recognizes outstanding young individuals in au pair programs around the world by shining a spotlight on their contributions and promoting awareness of this meaningful cultural exchange. It’s also a fantastic chance to feature IAPA member organizations!

 

The Winner´s Prize

The winner of the next IAPA Au Pair of the Year Award will travel to Kraków (Poland) where the award will be presented at the Work Experience Travel Market and IAPA Annual Conference (WETM-IAC), taking place 16-18 March, 2024. Travel and accommodation the conference hotel will be covered by IAPA.

 

Changes to the Contest for 2024

This year’s contest is a video-only contest! We received so many wonderful video entries last year that we feel confident this is the direction to go. These creative and compelling videos really make the au pair experience come to life. We also want to invite entries from au pairs who want to create their own video. That means they do not necessarily have to be nominated by a family in order to participate. By encouraging au pairs to share their perspectives, we aim to amplify the unique cultural exchange aspects of the program!

Please note that au pairs / host families who want to send in their submissions always need to submit the videos to their own placing agency/sponsor who will then select and send in their maximum two nominations to us!

Read also the instructions carefully

Contest Procedure

Please read carefully

  1. 1. IAPA member “receiving” agencies should invite your au pairs and host families to submit a video featuring a deserving au pair to your organization.
  2. 2. The receiving agency should then review the entries and select their top two entries.
  3. 3. The receiving agency then submits a maximum of two entries to IAPA using our online application form.
  4. 4. Please note that both the sending and receiving agencies must be members of IAPA.
  5. 5. The deadline to submit your entries is 02 February 2024, 23:59 CET.
  6. 6. IAPA staff will review the videos and entries to verify eligibility.
  7. 7. The winner and runner-up will be chosen by our jury. 
  8. 8. The IAPA member agencies who submitted the winner and runner-up will be notified by IAPA.
  9. 9. IAPA will bring the winning au pair to the 2024 WETM-IAC event in Kraków, Poland to receive the award (subject to availability).
  10. 10. The winning au pair and IAPA member agencies will receive the award during the WETM-IAC Welcome Reception on 16 March 2024.

Please note that we do not announce the winner before the ceremony.

What are the requirements?

We´re looking for compelling, unique stories of cultural exchange experiences, personal growth, integration in a family, culture, language, community.

  1. Content: How did the au pair integrate, overcome challenges, and experience cultural exchange. What are they doing to make the best of their time abroad? How did the au pair make a difference in the family’s life?
  2. Creativity: Everything is possible, but it is important that the video wasn’t created by the agency or their professional staff.
  3. Legal compliance: Ensure that the entry is in compliance with all the legal and copyright requirements.
  4. Consent: Everyone featured in videos entered to sign the consent form. If someone doesn’t consent – including parents on behalf of their children – please edit the video accordingly.
  5. Language: IAPA accepts registrations in any language. However, for judging purposes, all videos should have English subtitle
  6. Technical requirements:
    • Videos must be in mp4 or mov format and no larger than 3 GB
    • Music can be added, however, please make sure that you are allowed to use the music. As a resource for royalty-free music for videos you can use Youtube Music Library or any other resource that offers royalty free music.
    • Make sure to check whether you need to mention the source of music in your video and do so, if required.

Please read the full Terms and Conditions and also inform your au pairs and host families about the rules and regulations. Make sure to have them sign photo and video release forms that allow us to use their content.

Our Winner 2023 – Antonella Arnau from Argentina

In 2023, our winner was Antonella (Anto) Arnau! The receiving agency was Cultural Care Au Pair (USA)! Her host family –  the Serfati family –  nominated her because she was so  supportive from her first day. She is more than just an au pair to them. She has become an integral part of the whole family.

“We really can’t imagine the past two years without Anto and want the world to know that she deserves every bit of recognition for the human being she is… and we continue to love her.” The Servati Famil

You can watch the video about Antonella and her host family here.