You are young, African, and want to work with like-minded people committed to making a difference from the grassroots level up? This ideathon is open to students, professionals, community activists, social entrepreneurs, changemakers, and all other interested folks in Africa.
Designed as a virtual, pan-African ideation space, the SDG Innovation Challenge is a powerhouse for young people from across the continent to come together and co-develop practical solution ideas to grassroots challenges while pushing the needle of sustainable development on a global scale. Conceived in 2020, this innovation challenge calls upon participants to employ their design and complex thinking skills that solve problems in a measurable and qualitative manner. The COVID-19 pandemic left a debilitating imprint: according to the World Bank, COVID-19 has pushed nearly 40 million people into extreme poverty in Africa and harmed the economy and livelihoods in multiple ways.
Offered Benefits
With this background, we present the SDG Innovation Challenge 2022, which builds upon its precedents to create a bigger space for expanded outreach and wider horizons! Under the theme Transformative Solutions against Global Challenges – Accountability in Leveraging Youth Action to Create and Empower, the SDG Innovation Challenge converges young talent with three primary goals:
- to trigger fresh thinking by connecting innovators from diverse backgrounds and sectors.
- to develop fresh, practical approaches to furthering SDG impact through cross-boundary collaboration.
- to ignite transformative action towards sustainable development and improved livelihoods of communities across Africa.
Application Process
Before registering, read through these consideration and keep these important points in mind:
- Only groups of 4 to 7 people can register:
To register, you must bring a group of 4-7 people – you included. What’s more, we encourage interdisciplinary group composition. When people from diverse realities or backgrounds meet and connect around a shared cause, that’s when true innovation happens: bridging realities, intersecting sectors, collaborating across boundaries, and building forward together.
In short: Diversity is one of the core values of the SDG Innovation Challenge, and we encourage everyone to join our pre-event connector space on Facebook. Whether you’re an individual who’s looking for a group of like-minded people to register, or whether you already have a (small) group in mind but could use some more diversity of thought and talent: The connector space is a great opportunity to meet people who are committed to sustainable development and interested in participating in the event. It’s in your hands to find out more about each other – what motivates you, the skills you bring, the dreams you have, the communities you serve, etc. – and to come together in groups of 4-7 people and register for the SDG Innovation Challenge 2022!
- Any idea entering the challenge must be at a nascent (early) stage at the most:
This is an ideation marathon, not an accelerator program. If you already have a fairly refined idea or if you have your mind set on something specific and are not open to re-think, bringing different perspectives on board and possibly changing how the solution idea is shaping up eventually: do not register it. We’re here to spark fresh thinking, to unearth novel ideas through cross-boundary collaboration, and to converge around solutions ideas. It’s that mindset that will result in the biggest, most transformative impact, starting with your participation in the SDG Innovation Challenge.
The registration follows a two-step process:
- First, you must register your group – this can be done by any one person in that group. You must have the names and email addresses of the young innovators you’ll be working with at hand since you will be asked to provide that information in the online registration form.
Please note: Whether you’re looking for a group to enter the Challenge, you would want some more diversity of thought and talent in your group, or you ‘just’ want to meet like-minded, committed people who care about the SDGs: our pre-event connector space on Facebook is the space to be. It’s open for business, whatever your business might be.
- After completing the group registration, the registrant will receive an email with instructions for the second step, the personal registry, where each group member must provide additional personal information that is required to make the event a full success. Both steps are equally important, and only groups who have completed both steps will be considered for participation in the SDG Innovation Challenge 2022.
