This second challenge invites young entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 from the ITU's 193 Member States to submit their best ideas through its dedicated crowdsourcing platform. It also seeks innovators with ideas for using iconic technologies from the "maker culture"—the community of inventors, creators, and designers who do everything themselves—such as 3D printing or robotics, to save lives in disaster situations. These technologies, combined with low-cost and readily accessible solutions, aim to reach the world's most vulnerable communities.
The deadline for submitting contributions is July 31, 2014 at 24.00 UTC+2.
“With their flexibility and adaptability, open source technologies have all the makings of essential disaster mitigation tools in situations where a timely response is vital to saving lives and helping rebuild communities after a disaster,” said Hamadoun I. Touré, Secretary-General of the ITU. “Innovations designed to save lives are fundamental in our quest to limit the devastating effects of natural disasters,” he said, urging young social entrepreneurs around the world to use their knowledge to develop such technologies and apply their vision, mission, and creativity to address this growing global challenge.
The Contest
This annual competition, created in 2010, offers young people the opportunity to participate in workshops on entrepreneurial skills, opportunities to meet and contact major ICT players, and to showcase their projects in InnovationSpace, a special pavilion at ITU Telecom World 2014.
This year's competition comprises several challenges aimed at solving real development problems through the innovative use of technologies with a real social impact. The competition began with Challenge 1 on local digital content and will continue with other challenges until ITU Telecom World 2014 in December.
The new companies that win Challenge-2 will be selected by a Selection Committee made up of experts, and will be invited to participate in ITU Telecom World 2014 along with the winners of the other 2014 challenges. The finalists from the 2013 edition of the Competition will also be present, and will report on the progress of their respective winning projects.
Visit ideas.itu.int for more information about Challenge-2 and the winners of Challenge-1, and register to submit contributions or comment on other contributions.
