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Trailblazer social innovators awarded with funding in Dublin to scale up impact

Climate Journal reporting — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:24:01 +0000

Trailblazer social innovators awarded with funding in Dublin to scale up impact

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social enterprise

Social Innovation

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Ireland

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Social Enterprise

Local social enterprises addressing societal and environmental challenges received €60,000 in funding at the annual Dublin Social Enterprise Awards 2023 to enhance their operation and scale their impact.

The six awardees work in diverse areas, including sustainability, unemployment, education, health, homelessness and ex-offender reintegration, supporting disadvantaged people while advocating for inclusion in their communities and beyond.

Minister Joe O’Brien, Minister of State with the Department of Rural and Community Development, emphasised the role of social enterprises in his keynote address at the award ceremony:

“They are tangibly helping to address key issues regarding our economy, society and environment while providing employment, opportunities and positive impact.”

One of the awardees is The Mugshot by PACE, which works with people who have criminal records, supporting people back to the community since 2014 to give them work experience and ease their way into mainstream employment.

With three locations across Dublin, this social enterprise provides training and learning opportunities on a professional and personal level.

The Mugshot by PACE is one of the awardees of Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2023.

Maggie Clune, representing PACE, says that the funding will allow them to improve their equipment, which they couldn`t have done without this support.

“This year’s awardees clearly highlight how social enterprise can lead positive change in a sustainable way, showing the possibilities when profit and purpose work hand in hand,”

added Ross Curley, Head of Economic Development, Dublin City Council.

Rediscover Furniture runs its operation at the Rediscovery Centre, the National Centre for the Circular Economy, aiming to keep all kinds of furniture in use for as long as possible through restoration, conservation and upcycling to stop them from ending up in landfills.

“The Social Enterprise Award Dublin is going to help us to rent premises where we can display the furniture and the public can come in and buy it all from us, and also to host events like repair cafés,” says Nessa Doran O`Reilly from Rediscover Furniture.

She adds that this support will go a long way so they can improve logistics, marketing and employment, ultimately getting more people involved with a sustainable lifestyle.

Gemma McCabe, Co-Director and COO of the social enterprise Hair Together, also received an award for delivering wellbeing and life skills programmes through the art of hairdressing and barbering.

For her, this recognition means they can expand their services, involve more kids and young adults, and create a three-year plan to sustain their operation financially.

Hair Together social enterprise received funding and support through the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2023.

Other awardees include Dublin Simon Community Charity Shops, Mellow Spring Childcare Development Centre and New Creations Cleaning Service.

Besides the financial support, awardees were presented bespoke trophies handmade by The Yard at Solas Project, a local social enterprise and previous awardee, and they will also benefit from additional support to grow their organisation.

Now in its ninth year, the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards is organised and managed by various stakeholders in partnership, such as the Dublin City Council, Dublin City Social Enterprise Committee, Inner City Enterprise, Economic Development Office, Local Enterprise Office Dublin City and the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Headline image: Left to the Right - Pearse O'Reilly, Nessa Doran O'Reilly, Minister Joe O'Brien, Erika Pena, Eileen McHugh, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Paul Donoghue, Rachael Duff

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September 2023

“I hope to see a better world for every living organism.”

Bronagh Loughlin — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 11:41:52 +0000

“I hope to see a better world for every living organism.”

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Sustainability

Leadership

Award

Sustainable lifestyle

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Sustainability

Awards

Courageous sustainability leader, Godfrey Mchunguzi Oyema, has been recognised for his extensive work in advocacy and igniting change.

The importance of leaders within the sustainability sector cannot be overstated. Sustainability leaders have the skills and courage to challenge industries and business as usual, while acting as the voice for the people.

The Sustainability Leader of the Year Award hosted by the Earth Mother Community non-profit organisation aims to recognise the work of leaders fighting climate change and making the world a better place for all.

Winner of this year’s award, Godfrey Mchunguzi Oyema, works as Assistant Environmental Officer with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and shares his thoughts on what keeps him going.

His career background has extensively been in wildlife conservation, human ecology, and sustainability, which lead him to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Kasulu, Tanzania.

Additionally, Godfrey uses his social media networks to spread awareness of the environmental issues we currently face and encourage people to take action.

His passion for advocating for sustainability issues was ignited during his school years.

“It’s been quite a journey; I’ve worked with many different organisations in environmental conservation, biodiversity, and wildlife protection,” Godfrey says.

He shares that his personal motivation for his work is to “see a better world for every living organism.”

Godfrey Mchunguzi Oyema, sustainability expert and activist, winner of the Sustainability Leader of the Year Award

Godfrey further explains:

“When I say every living organism, I speak about people, plants, and animals.

Without a better, balanced world regarding the environment, economy, and society, our lives, businesses, communities, and societies cannot be what they are.

So putting these three components together really motivates me to ensure they stay in balance for all living organisms on this planet.”

He kickstarted his sustainability career in 2010, working with the Tanzania Commission for Science & Technology as their Associate Country Programme Coordinator. In this role, Godfrey established the Tanzania Biodiversity Information Facility (TanBIF) Portal and co-published the first-ever National Biota Checklist, which included more than 13,000 biological species.

Godrey now serves as the Assistant Environmental Officer at UNHCR.

Following his work here, Godfrey went on to work as the Senior Biodiversity Officer at a consultancy company, where he continued to shine as an expert in biodiversity and environmental management.

His impressive career continued as he began working as the Environmental Compliance & Forestry Manager for Unilever in 2015. Here he was responsible for implementing their Sustainable Living Plan, which linked environmental objectives to business operations.

While working with Unilever, Godfrey achieved the Rainforest Alliance Certificate for three consecutive years and created numerous plans to prevent biodiversity loss and restore ecosystems.

Also, he worked on the development and implementation of their Environmental and Social Strategies.

Later, he worked as a Freelance Consultant, providing professional advice and expertise on sustainability issues using his diverse experience.

Now, he serves as the Assistant Environmental Officer at UNHCR. His work with this refugee agency has centred around offering advice on alternative sustainable cooking energy programmes, ensuring they are sustainable and compliant.

Godfrey shares what keeps him going:

“The issue of sustainability needs to start from home, and this needs to rise from the fact that environmental resources are vital to us. We need to protect, conserve, and sustainably use these limited natural resources.

My value has always been to be a custodian and take the responsibility of managing our limited natural resources and taking this knowledge to the general public, family, friends, and colleagues.”

He strongly believes we all must do this to ensure a balanced world for all living organisms. Godfrey is also harnessing the power of social media to drive change:

“I speak to groups, people one-on-one, and communities to discuss our current problems. Social media has provided us with a great platform to do this!”

About winning the Sustainability Leader of the Year award, he shares:

“For me, winning this award means so much. This is my first-ever sustainability award with global recognition. The award only motivates me to do more work in this area and continue inspiring others to do right by the environment.

It means so much in terms of my career and is a huge personal milestone for me.”

Organisers of this award believe that we need more courageous sustainability leaders taking risks and leading the way, but we also need to support them on their journey.

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July 2022

Environmental leaders received prestigious UNEP Champions of the Earth awards

Business Spirit News reporting — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 16:03:51 +0000

Environmental leaders received prestigious UNEP Champions of the Earth awards

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2021 Laureates of the Champions of the Earth have been announced in four categories, receiving the United Nations’ highest environmental honours for their work.

The annual Champions of the Earth awards, hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) since 2005, were handed to exceptional leaders who have a transformative impact on the environment and represent bold leadership in taking action on behalf of people and the planet.

Awardees in 2021 were chosen from a record number of nominations in four categories: Inspiration and Action, Policy Leadership, Entrepreneurial Vision, and Science and Innovation.

“As we enter into a decisive decade, to cut emissions and protect and restore ecosystems, UNEP’s Champions of the Earth demonstrate that all of us can contribute. Every single act for nature counts. The entire spectrum of humanity has both a global responsibility and a profound opportunity,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

Andersen highlighted that this year’s Champions are women who ‘not only inspire us, but also remind us that we have in our hands the solutions, the knowledge and the technology to limit climate change and avoid ecological collapse’.

2021 Champions of the Earth:

Policy Leadership category - Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados

Awarded for her powerful voice for a sustainable world from the global south, she consistently raises the alarm about the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States due to the climate crises.

The Prime Minister is a driving force for climate action across the Latin American and Caribbean region. Under her leadership, Barbados has adopted ambitious renewable energy targets, committing to a fossil-fuel-free electricity sector and transport by 2030.

At the same time, Barbados is implementing numerous conservation and restoration projects, from forests, through cities, to the coastline and the ocean.

She also co-chairs the One Health Global Leaders' Group on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Inspiration and Action category - The Sea Women of Melanesia

The award goes to this organisation in recognition for their work in training local women to monitor and assess the impacts of widespread coral bleaching on some of the world's most endangered reefs using marine science and technology.

“When you train a woman, you train a society,” said Evangelista Apelis, a SeaWoman and co-director of the SeaWomen programme based in Papua New Guinea.

“We're trying to educate women, get women on board, so they can then go back and make an impact in their own families and their society as well."

Inspiration and Action category winner of the Champions of the Earth: The Sea Women of Melanesia

Science and Innovation category - Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda

She was the first-ever wildlife veterinarian of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and is a recognised world authority on primates and zoonotic diseases.

As the founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), she leads the implementation of three integrated strategic programs using the ‘One Health’ approach. Kalema-Zikusoka, says that she hopes she will inspire young Africans to choose careers in conservation.

“There is a lack of local representation among conservationists. Not many are from the places where endangered animals are found,” she said. “We need more local champions, because these are the people who will become decision-makers for their communities and countries.”

Entrepreneurial Vision category - Maria Kolesnikova, Kyrgyz Republic

She is an environmental activist, youth advocate and head of MoveGreen, an organisation working to monitor and improve air quality in Central Asia.

Under her leadership, the organisation developed an app called AQ.kg, which collects data every 20 minutes from the two largest Kyrgyz cities, Bishkek and Osh, about the concentration of pollutants in the air, including PM2.5, and PM10 and nitrogen dioxide.

“So often, you can get demotivated as an activist – you work so hard, don't see results of your endeavors and, finally, you feel like you don’t want to keep going. But then you realise, no. Someone has to take responsibility for the future. Why shouldn’t it be me?” Kolesnikova says about what drives her to make change.

Meet the Champions of the Earth 2021

The Champions of the Earth award aims to amplify the impact of leaders working on the environmental frontlines and inspire others to take action in addressing the triple planetary crisis.

The honour goes to individuals, groups, and organisations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment and recognises outstanding leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector.

This year’s award reflects on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which runs until 2030, coinciding with the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Headline image: Evgeny Tchebotarev from Pexels

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December 2021

Early-stage startups in Berlin can apply for business award

Business Spirit News reporting — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 11:11:00 +0000

Early-stage startups in Berlin can apply for business award

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The Berlin Newcomer Startup Award is open for business ideas that are not yet on the market.

The Berlin Newcomer Startup Award 2021, managed by Singa Business Lab, is looking for newcomers with great business ideas who are not yet on the market.

Early-stage businesses that are on the verge of turning their concept into reality, but who may still be lacking capital, contacts or advice can apply for the award to receive support and get recognised.

With digital event formats ranging from Q&A sessions and networking events to the pitches at the award show, organisers want to enable more people to get involved.

The winner of the award can access up to 10.000€ seed capital, and additional coaching budgets, while the amount of seed capital in total is 27.500€ to be split between finalists.

Besides finalist projects get to enjoy more visibility and opportunities for networking and co-creation sessions.

Applications can be submitted online by the end of 2nd November.

Eligibility criteria to apply for the Berlin Newcomer Startup Award:

Live in Berlin, Germany.
Moved to Germany within the last 8 years, i.e. in 2013 or later.
The applicant has the nationality of one of the countries from the DAC List of ODA Recipients.
Aged over 18 years.

The six finalists preselected by the jury will be presented on the award's website for 2 weeks where public can vote on their favorite project.

Winner of the public voting will we rewarded with an extra prize of 5.000€ and 2.500€ additional budget for coaching and consulting.

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November 2021

Twelve European impact focused start-ups receive awards

Business Spirit News reporting — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 15:48:57 +0000

Twelve European impact focused start-ups receive awards

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The Impact Shakers Awards shine a light on businesses with a positive impact on society and the environment.

The inaugural Impact Shakers Awards aiming to create a supportive environment for impact-driven start-ups and scale-ups, announced its winners.

The award is inspired by the doughnut economics model that maps human prosperity according to a social foundation and an ecological ceiling.

Winning teams were selected by an expert panel of jury and public voting in twelve categories reflecting on the concept of the doughnut economy: Energy, Water, Food, Health, Education, Income & Work, Peace & Justice, Political Voice, Social Equity, Gender Equality, Housing & Networks.

Twelve winners of the Impact Shakers Awards 2021 European edition

The twelve selected start-ups will be invited to participate in an intensive bootcamp to secure alternative funding and get access to a prize package with valuable tools and workshops for impact entrepreneurs valued at 20.000 euros.

They also will become part of the global Impact Shakers ecosystem and receive access to unique networking opportunities with highly sought after mentors, business angels and impact founders across the globe.

Winning start-ups:

Energy: Charm Impact (Borehamwood, UK) is an impact investing platform that crowdsources loans for clean energy start-ups in developing countries.
Water: BitaGreen (Leuven, Belgium) offers nature-based solutions for urban water management and quality of life.
Health: ResHub (Dublin, Ireland) ResHub is a resident engagement for Aged Care Providers who provide residential care to older adults, from independent living, assisted living, senior living to nursing home settings. •
Gender equality: TaskHer (London, UK) champions women in skilled manual trades.

“We are absolutely thrilled that the work TaskHer is doing has been acknowledged by such a notable panel of judges and awarding body. This award for Gender Equality further validates the pressing need to shift the gender imbalance in this multi-billion pound industry.

Thank you very much to everyone who voted for TaskHer, it means so much to us.”- the TaskHer team recalls winning the award.

Food: LAM'ON (Sofia, Bulgaria) Ltd produces and sells 100% biodegradable and suitable for compost laminating film called LAM'ON and packaging foil - PACK'ON.
Political voice: The Newsroom (Lissabon, Portugal) The Newsroom fights misinformation and promotes plurality online.
Housing: nestful (London, UK) helps those seeking affordable accommodation to co-live with seniors aged 50+ with rooms to spare.
Education: Ecolytiq (Berlin, Germany) Ecolytiq enables banks, fintech companies and financial service providers to show their customers the personal impact of their purchasing behaviour on the environment in real-time.

David Lais, Co-founder and CPO at Ecolytiq, explains why this award is an important step on their journey:

”One of the most powerful tools at our disposal in fighting climate change is education. It is through education that we create awareness and inspire the action needed to solve one of humanity's most pressing issues. That is why we are so happy the Impact Shakers see it the same way we do!”

Income & work: Lightning Social Ventures (London, UK) helps people in financial hardship to receive super fast support and recover from shocks.
Peace & justice: Amurabi (Paris, France) bridges the gap between the law and its users: empowering all users to actually understand and exercise their rights.
Networks: Maanch (Londen, Verenigd Koninkrijk) develops technology to measure, monitor and report on the impact of investments, organisations and philanthropy, through the lens of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Social equality: TIIQU (London, UK) is a trust mechanism continuously fed by blockchain-based certificates. They build trusted ecosystems for a modern, inclusive and fair society.

The awards are a part of the broader Impact Shakers ecosystem, the driving force behind the awards, which tackles complex societal challenges through inclusive entrepreneurship and aims to expand opportunities and capacity further to grow.

The organisation is currently developing their impact investment projects and will launch an accelerator later this year. Organisers will also introduce the Impact Shakers Awards in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region after the Summer.

Headline image: Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

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July 2021

Public voting is open to select winners of the first Impact Shakers Awards

Anonymous — Thu, 27 May 2021 11:31:45 +0000

Public voting is open to select winners of the first Impact Shakers Awards

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Social Entrepreneurship

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Awards

Business

Social Impact

People are invited from all over Europe to vote for the most innovative impact-driven startups and scale-ups.

Public voting is open until June 18th 2021, to select winners of the first Impact Shakers Awards that takes its inspiration from the doughnut economics model, which maps human prosperity according to a social foundation and ecological ceiling.

Applications were submitted from 24 countries, and an expert panel of jury selected 48 projects that made it to the final round.

Using simple online voting, people can now decide which innovative startup or scale-up will become category winners.

The public can pick winners in twelve categories: Energy, Water, Food, Health, Education, Income & Work, Peace & Justice, Political Voice, Social Equity, Gender Equality, Housing & Networks.

Top 10 countries and cities represented at The Impact Shakers Awards

Finalist projects present various solutions to tackle pressing social, environmental challenges with an entrepreneurial mindset, focusing on data-driven technologies, capturing carbon from the atmosphere, mental health issues, plastic pollution, and more.

Winners will be announced on June 21st and receive access to unique networking opportunities, prizes to accelerate business growth and be invited to participate in an intensive bootcamp to secure alternative funding.

Partners offering prizes for best projects include Quest Impact Design Studio, EVPA, Mikme, SeedTribe, UpEffect, Business Spirit Platform and Adobe.

Yonca Braeckman, CEO of Impact Shakers and founder of the award, said:

“It’s the first time we used the doughnut economics model to work with impact startups, and we can say it’s an excellent and educational first edition.

We’ll continue to research how we can implement insight, collect more data, and measure impact.

At this point, we found significantly more impact startups in the categories energy, health, income & work and food, while there were far fewer in the categories peace & justice, political voice and water.”

Impact Shakers, the organiser behind The Impact Shakers Awards, aims to create a supportive ecosystem in which impact-driven startups can grow into solid and scalable businesses and bridge the gap between impact and profit.

“It’s really great to be able to prove with data what we’ve been sensing for a while: founders of impact startups are more diverse.

Over 80% of the applicants had at least one ‘under-represented founder’ on their team.

Another remarkable trend: many already found interested business angels—even with an impact-driven business model,” says Braeckman about the added value of organising the first edition of the Impact Shakers Awards.

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May 2021

Award is open for sustainable and inclusive European startups

Anonymous — Tue, 04 May 2021 11:52:42 +0000

Award is open for sustainable and inclusive European startups

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Applications for the Impact Shakers Awards are open to European startups and scaleups that positively impact society and the environment.

For the first time, more than 40 impact ecosystem players from all over Europe, including incubators, accelerators, investors and networking organisations, are rallying behind the same cause.

Impact Shaker, organisers of the Impact Shakers Awards, wanted to create a space where impact-driven startups can grow stronger and scale their business idea to bridge the gap between social, environmental impact and profit.

Startups and scaleups from all over Europe can apply until May 7th for the awards inspired by the doughnut economics model that maps human prosperity according to a social foundation and an ecological ceiling.

Yonca Braeckman, CEO of Impact Shakers and co-founder of the Impact Shakers Awards

An international expert jury will pick winners in twelve categories: Energy, Water, Food, Health, Education, Income & Work, Peace & Justice, Political Voice, Social Equity, Gender Equality, Housing & Networks.

Yonca Braeckman, CEO of Impact Shakers lead organiser and co-founder of the awards, said:

“Impact should be a logical part of every business model.

With Impact Shakers, we want to bring about a systemic shift that fosters more diverse entrepreneurship and success.

In 2019, 200 of the CEOs of the top Fortune 500 issued a statement declaring that delivering shareholder value was no longer the chief focus and that value needed to extend to the employees, suppliers and environment.”

The public can also cast their vote over a month-long period, and winners will be announced on June 21st during an online Awards Show.

“One advantage of the awards show is the spotlight it shines on businesses that work in harmony with society and the environment.

By recognising inclusive and sustainable businesses, people can better visualise meaningful alternatives to profit-only enterprises that overuse resources and undervalue segments of the population.

It’s not that profit isn’t important, but it is no longer the only important factor,” says Braeckman.

On top of the Awards, there will be additional supports to help selected startups embrace their idea.

The winners in each category will get to participate in a unique Masterclass to help them 'Raise Alternative Funding', and as part of the program they will get to interact with the top founders in their region and learn from experts as well as peers.

The Impact Shakers Awards are open to European startups and scaleups that positively impact society and the environment; Image: Impact Shakers

At the same time, other prizes include impact service design offered by Quest, tickets to the EVPA (European Venture Philanthropy Association) Annual Conference, UpEffect scholarship for crowdfunding, free upgrade on the SeedTribe platform to o be exposed to a global network of over 250,000 investors from around the world, and more.

Braeckman adds: “We’re launching a warm call for accelerators, investors and all those who care about sustainability, social impact and inclusivity, to encourage startups to apply and be a part of an impactful positive future.”

The Impact Shakers, who is the driving force behind the awards, tackles complex societal challenges through inclusive entrepreneurship and aims to expand opportunities and capacity further to grow.

Together with partners, they created the Impact Shakers Lab to create experimental entrepreneurship programmes.

Here they work with underserved communities and explore new educational methods to help more diverse audiences start using entrepreneurship as a problem-solving method.

They will be launching their own micro-investment fund and accelerator later in 2021.

“We believe in people — especially when they have succeeded against all odds.

If you can get through tough times, break through barriers, then you can also build a company.

Resilience and problem-solving capabilities are ideal breeding grounds for entrepreneurship.

We work to bring out the potential from all walks of life and to incorporate inclusion in every detail,” explains Braeckman.

Headline image: Impact Shakers Awards

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May 2021

Social Art Award to catalyse change towards a greener future

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 12:30:47 +0000

Social Art Award to catalyse change towards a greener future

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Artists are invited to submit artworks in the theme of 'New Greening' for Social Art Award 2021.

The Social Art Award 2021 was launched by The Institute for Art and Innovation for the third time to recognise visionary works from artists who are co-creating positive futures, communicating compelling ideas, concepts, narratives, practices and visions of coexistence.

This award aims to invigorate the rise of social art and encourage more people to create impact and inspire change.

Applications are welcome until 30th April, focusing on this year’s theme “New Greening” providing bright prospects towards climate change, resource-saving, environmental protection, ecosystem recovery, water conservation, biodiversity, resilient cities, and more.

All artists and cultural actors are invited to apply with work they consider relevant to the field of social art.

The overall winner receives 1000 Euro prize money, and three winners will be selected for the final exhibition to present their artwork in Berlin, Germany, in summer 2021.

Furthermore, the top 50 submissions will receive additional exposure through an exhibition raising awareness about building green societies and get featured in the official Social Art Award book for 2021.

Social Art Award 2021

Nicole Loeser, co-founder and director of IFAI, serial entrepreneur with over fifteen years of experience in cross-sectoral collaboration with institutions and corporations worldwide, shared her thoughts about the Social Art Award:

Art engages in questioning and rethinking existing systems and paradigms.

Often, artists can feel the need for change even before people find the words for what might be wrong with a situation.

They can draw our attention towards a created reality that no longer suits us.

In my opinion, artists are visionaries, utopists, even agents for change, with the ability to affect society by creating emotionally captivating experiences.

Social Art is the first attempt to feel the wounds and question the circumstances of our being.

To me, it is evident that if we want to create a liveable future for all creatures on this planet, we need imagination, positive images and narratives that people can mirror themselves in.

It is the aesthetic revolution that preludes the societal revolution.

Nicole Loeser, co-founder and director of The Institute for Art and Innovation

That is why I believe we really need more socially engaged artists to help us find new ways towards regenerative futures and envision and imagine new worlds that people would like to live in.

It is essential for us to promote the importance of social art for society and strengthen social artists' recognition and the value of their work, especially as the art market is usually not open for such positions.

In 2017, the first year of the award, it started as an experiment, whether artists would react to the terms of Social Art.

We were excited to receive artworks from 128 countries, presenting how they practice and define socially engaged art.

We decided to go with the New Greening topic for this year’s award, to call on creative people to start imagining and realising a future of regeneration and restoration of nature - basically a better life for all living being on the planet.

We would like to hear what artists have to say about that.

Can they convince us with their applications to open, interrogate and invigorate the prevailing fabric of understanding that science, technology and governmental policies, such as the Green New Deals, emerge from?

With the award, we want to generate conversation and exchange visions on possible and hopeful futures.

We wish to figure out what could be changed together.

Pink Silence (Social Sculpture in India) by Bogna Grazyna Jaroslwski, winner of Social Art Award 2019

In 2019 the topic was: “We are the people - Peaceful Revolutions”, which mainly attracted artists from conflict zones who empower people to stand up for their rights, freedom, and future.

The exchange on Social Art practices under painful circumstances brought up a lot of negativity, but the spirit of shared human kindness was extraordinary.

Participating artists deeply related to other like-minded people from around the world.

They inspired each other with their bold approaches and humanistic actions for their communities.

It was a very encouraging moment of sharing deep feelings.

We strive to generate meaningful conversations and exchange visions on possible and hopeful futures, so this year we will have side events, including workshops and panels.

We also joined forces with various experts and organisations working in the field of socio-ecological transformation.

I’m always impressed by how fast people and organisations can visualise and design relevant scenarios for a liveable world and how deeply they resonate with their own vision.

This gives me hope that we can accelerate change and be faster in creating new structures.

In the future, we would like to broaden the program beyond the Social Art Award and found interdisciplinary Artists-in-Residency-programs as well as other formats, like experimenting with Real Laboratories.

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March 2021

Young trailblazer innovators awarded for bold sustainability ideas by UNEP

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 12:05:42 +0000

Young trailblazer innovators awarded for bold sustainability ideas by UNEP

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The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded to innovators with bold ideas for sustainable environmental change

The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded every year to seven entrepreneurs under the age of 30 with bold ideas for sustainable environmental change.

Winners, hailing from different regions around the world, receive seed funding, mentoring and communications support to amplify their efforts.

The prize is the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) leading initiative to engage youth in tackling the world's most pressing environmental challenges. Since its inception in 2017, 28 environmental trailblazers have been recognised from every corner of the globe.

“Globally, young people are leading the way in calling for meaningful and immediate solutions to the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution – we must listen,”

said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.

“As we enter this decisive decade where we work to cut emissions and protect and restore ecosystems, UNEP Young Champions demonstrate that all of us can contribute, starting where we are with what we have. Every single act for nature counts, and we need the entire spectrum of humanity to share this global responsibility and this profound opportunity.”

With solutions to harvest water from the air, recycle plastic into paving slabs, and motivate fishing boats to haul tonnes of plastic out of the ocean, these change-makers show how innovative ideas coupled with ambitious action can help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

The seven prize winners, all 30 years old or younger, were selected by a global jury of experts following a competitive public nomination.

“It is absurd that we still have this problem of providing decent shelter – a basic human need. Plastic is a material that is misused and misunderstood.

The potential is enormous, but its after life can be disastrous,” says Nzambi Matee one of the winners.

In 2017, Matee quit her job as a data analyst and set up a small lab in her mother’s back yard.

There, she began creating and testing pavers, which are a combination of plastic and sand.

She developed the prototype for a machine that turns discarded plastic into paving stones – an invention that underpins her company, Gjenge Makers.

Each day, the business churns out 1,500 plastic pavers, which are prized by schools and homeowners because they are both durable and affordable.

With her enterprise she is also giving a second life to plastic bottles and other containers which would otherwise end up in landfills or, worse, on Nairobi’s streets.

Nzambi Matee, Young Champion of the Earth 2020 winner; Image: UNEP

Matee encourages other young people to tackle environmental challenges at the local level.

“The negative impact we are having on the environment is huge,” said Matee. “It’s up to us to make this reality better. Start with whatever local solution you can find and be consistent with it. The results will be amazing.”

On of the winners from the Asia and Pacific region, 29 years old Xiaoyuan Ren from China, has a similar mindset with her MyH2O data platform that tests and records the quality of groundwater across a thousand villages in rural China into an app so residents know where to find clean water.

The platform also educates communities about sources of contamination and connects villages with potable water companies.

Since its launch in 2015, MyH2O has helped provide clean water to tens of thousands of villagers, an accomplishment that saw Ren recently named a Young Champion of the Earth.

Indian engineer, Vidyut Mohan, who grew up in Delhi, is the co-founder of Takachar. The company buys rice husks, straw and coconut shells from farmers and turns them into charcoal, saving the debris from the fires, which are also a driver of climate change.

Mohan and co-founder Kevin Kung launched their venture in 2018, where they have worked with about 4,500 farmers and processed 3,000 tonnes of crops. Those efforts were recently recognized by becoming one of the winners of this year's award.

“I’ve always been passionate about energy access and creating income opportunities for poor communities,” said Mohan. “(That) is at the heart of finding answers to the difficult question of balancing economic growth and climate change mitigation in developing countries.”

Max Hidalgo, biologist and inventor - named Young Champion of the Earth 2020; Image: UNEP

Max Hidalgo, a relentless tinkerer, biologist and inventor, was also honoured as one of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Young Champions of the Earth for 2020.

He uses nature as inspiration for technological innovations that change lives in the world’s poorest communities.

“I developed an electrical energy generator in the shape of a local flower, and a flowerpot that can charge cell phone batteries,” he said. “Now I am working on developing biodegradable packaging that’s hexagonal, like a beehive, so that it is sturdy but compact.

Nature in itself is incredible. There is so much we can learn by observing it.”

His most heralded invention thus far turns the wind into water.

Called Yawa after the Quechua words for water, yaku, and wind, waira, the technology uses a wind turbine to condense vapour from the air and generate water.

The technology is much needed in Hidalgo’s native Peru, one of the countries in Latin America most at risk of a water crisis due to changing climate.

“There are communities that have been waiting for water for 20 years and rely on trucks that come in with expensive water of questionable quality,” he said.

The Yawa technology, developed by Hidalgo, is an example of best practice in the circular economy.

Materials used to build the turbine are recyclable and there is minimal plastic in the device.

The simple-to-use technology is even being modified to adapt to local air quality, a response to the challenges wrought by air pollution.

But most importantly, the technology is something that can be used, owned and repaired by the communities it serves, even if they are no experts.

Other outstanding projects that received the honour of becoming Young Champions of the Earth in 2020 are:

North America: Niria Alicia Garcia (USA, 28), coordinates - alongside a community of indigenous activists - the annual Run 4 Salmon event using virtual reality to bring to life the historical journey of the Sacramento chinook salmon along California’s largest watershed, raising awareness of this invaluable ecosystem, the species and people it supports.

West Asia: Fatemah Alzelzela (Kuwait, 24) started Eco Star, a non-profit recycling initiative that exchanges trees and plants for waste from homes, schools and businesses in Kuwait. Since launching in early 2019, Eco Star has recycled over 130 tonnes of metal, paper and plastic.

Europe: Lefteris Arapakis (Greece, 26 years) founded the start-up Enaleia, through which the team trains, empowers and incentivises the local fishing community to collect plastic from the sea, allowing both fish stocks and the ecosystem to recover. Enaleia is also prototyping recycling the plastic into fashion merchandise like socks and swimsuits.

By amplifying news of the significant work being done on the environmental frontlines, the Young Champions of the Earth prize - part of UNEP’s #ForNature campaign - aims to inspire and motivate more young people to act for nature.

More stories of winners: Young Champions of the Earth

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Social Innovators in Dublin received €50,000 funding to realise greater impact

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 13:31:39 +0000

Social Innovators in Dublin received €50,000 funding to realise greater impact

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Five social innovation projects received significant funding in Dublin to bring more benefits to communities and economy

The annual Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2020 took place in early November, as a fully online ceremony in line with the Irish government Covid-restrictions.

At the ceremony, five awardees received funding from a total pool of €50,000 along with supports which will assist their social enterprises in achieving a greater impact among the individuals and communities that they serve.

Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2020

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu delivered the keynote address in which she praised the awardees:

“This year’s Dublin City Social Enterprise awardees are actively and innovatively working to address inadequacies, contradictions and underlying issues within our city.

They are delivering change, progress and hope to individuals and communities while also bringing about economic, community and policy benefits.”

The social challenges that the awardees are seeking to address include: diversity, social inclusion, disability, unemployment, mental health, family support, old-age care, education and sustainability.

This year’s Dublin City Social Enterprise awardees:

Outhouse, the LGBT Community Resource Centre.
The Open Doors Initiative provides opportunities to some of the marginalised members of the society.
MyMind has created a unique movement for community-based mental health services that work towards giving every person in Ireland equal access to mental health support early, affordably, directly, without stigma or delay.
The Great Care Co-op is Ireland's first ever carer-owned cooperative in home care.
ReCreate Ireland is making art materials and educational supplies affordable and accessible to every sector of the community for all kinds of creative purposes.

Chair of the Dublin City Social Enterprise Committee and MC of the ceremony, Mary Mac Sweeney congratulated the awardees.

She highlighted the importance of raising awareness of both the awardees and social enterprises in general. ‘It is so important that we collectively promote the significant impact that social enterprises deliver in local communities and economies. The awardees, along with an increasing and dynamic array of social enterprises in Dublin, are creating employment, opportunities and improvements where they are based’. said Mac Sweeney.

“This award is going to allow us to work with fifty Primary Schools within Dublin City.

We are going to deliver fifty boxes packed full of materials directly to these schools, which will be accompanied by some creative consultation sessions.

Schools will also get a full membership until the end of 2021 which will give them the chance to continue being creative with minimal environmental impact.”

Kevin McLoughlin, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Recreate Ireland

says Kevin McLoughlin, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Recreate Ireland, about what this award means to them.

The Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards seeks to celebrate and support innovative social enterprises, highlighting their role in the city’s ecosystem.

Great Care Co-op social enterprise - awardee of Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2020

Aoife Smith, co-founder and director of Great Care Co-op social enterprise, explains how this award can open up new opportunities to create value in the community through their work.

“We started off to support disadvantaged migrant women in home care and to create equal opportunities in this sector for all. We see that our way of operating will bring a real systemic change in the home care system in Ireland.

With the financial support of this award, we will be able to set up a hub, which usually takes up to six months to sustain itself. This is going to be crucial for us in getting this model out there.”

The programme and competition aim to increase awareness of the important contribution that social enterprises make to building communities, creating employment and developing the skills of the participants who get involved.

The awards are funded by Dublin City Council and the Department of Rural and Community Development and are managed by Inner City Enterprise.

The funding awarded to social enterprises will allow them to develop their plans, activities further and bring benefits to more individuals and communities.

The scheme was first established in 2015 through a collaboration between Dublin City Council, Inner City Enterprise (ICE) and the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Dublin City to provide funding to kick-start the creation and development of social enterprises in Dublin City.

This year’s award ceremony was part of a series - which represents Dublin's involvement in the European Commission’s: European Social Economy Regions - 2020 Project. The objective of the project is to build networks of Social Economy and Social Enterprise stakeholders and to raise awareness about the Social Economy at the regional and local level.

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