The Siemens Stiftung (foundation) has launched a worldwide competition to find low-cost simple technologies that will promote sustainable development in some of the world’s poorest regions. The ‘empowering people. Award’ was launched at the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development.
Innovators and developer teams can submit a proven product or solution that can help people in combating existential basic supply problems. Entries can be filed in the categories of Water & Waste Water, Energy, Food & Agriculture Waste Management & Recycling, Housing & Construction, Healthcare, and Information & Communication Technology.
The main objective of the competition is to make these solutions more easily accessible to practitioners and to empower more people to actively improve the social and economic environment.
An Awards Ceremony will be held in June 2013 with a sum of 50,000 EUR going to the winner. The second prize is valued at 30,000 EUR, the third at 20,000 EUR and a further 5,000 EUR will be awarded to 20 runners up. All intellectual properties will remain with the inventor or team.
Ulrike Wahl, managing director of the Siemens Stiftung, stated: “As a foundation active in projects extending basic services to those in needs we are convinced that technological solutions are a key lever to sustainable development. The database we want to build is geared equally to bringing inventors in touch with organizations funding their idea, as well as empowering inventors and practitioners to link-up directly and thus speed up processes to tackle basic supply challenges. We invite everybody who has invented a technological solution for solving basic supply challenges to take part in the competition.”
Deadline for entries is 31st December 2012 at 12.00pm EST.
www.empowering-people-award.org
