ITU Starts Telecom World Young Innovators Competition in 2014 series

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ITU

From Benjamin a ameh, Lagos

Innovative open source technology for emergency telecommunications

International Telecommunications Units (ITU) is a leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology. For nearly 150 years, it has coordinated the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoted international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, worked to improve communication infrastructure in the developing world, and established the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. From broadband networks to new-generation wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology and converging fixed-mobile phone, Internet and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world.

As the results of that, the board of global body ITU has opened Young Innovators Competition 2014 which is the second of its 2014 series of challenges, soliciting innovations using open source technologies for disaster management and offering winners the chance to win up to USD 10,000 in seed funding, plus the opportunity to showcase their work at ITU Telecom World 2014 this December in Doha.

The competition Challenge-2  targeted at age from18 to 30 year old start-up founders from across ITU’s 193 Member States to submit their winning ideas via its dedicated crowd sourcing platform. It also seeks innovators with ideas for taking the iconic technologies of the “maker culture” which encourage  the community of do it yourself inventors, creators and designers such as 3D printing or robotics that if applying these, it will saving lives in disaster situations, together with low cost, low entry barrier technologies, to reach the world’s most vulnerable communities.

The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2014, 24:00 UTC+2.

“With their flexibility and adaptability, open source technologies have tremendous potential to be key disaster mitigation tools in situations where a timely response is vital, both to save lives as well as to help rebuild communities after a disaster has occurred,” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré. “Innovations that are designed to save lives are critical in our quest to mitigate the devastating effect of natural disasters, and I urge young social entrepreneurs worldwide to use their skills in developing these technologies and apply their vision, ambition and creativity to meet this growing global challenge.”

According to Sanjay Acharya, the Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU this annual competition offers young people the chance to take part in workshops on entrepreneurial skills, opportunities to meet and network with leading ICT players, and to showcase their projects at the InnovationSpace, a dedicated show floor pavilion at ITU Telecom World 2014.

It was further disclosed that this year’s competition comprises of a series of challenges aimed at solving real-life developmental issues through the innovative use of technology with effective social impact. The competition began with Challenge-1 on Local Digital Content, and will continue with further challenges in the run up to ITU Telecom World 2014 in December.

The competition which lunched first in 2010 will adopt two start-ups method, as winners of Challenge-2 by a Selection Committee of experts and invited to attend ITU Telecom World 2014, along with the winners of the other 2014 challenges. Joining them will also be the finalists of the 2013 edition of the competition, who will report on progress of their winning projects.


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