The IDB-FEMSA Awards to the best water and sanitation solutions is joining forces with Demand Solutions, Chile 2018, to find and reward the best innovations in the continent.
The biggest challenges produce the most innovative solutions. Over the past nine years we have seen IDB-FEMSA Awards going to innovators that harvest water from air or use original software to bring water to rural communities among other solutions that improve lives throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Innovators interested in registering for the 2018 IDB-FEMSA Awards can visit our official website in Spanish and English, where you will also find the requirements to participate.
Participation is open to innovating solutions from Latin America and the Caribbean in the areas of water, sanitation and solid waste. Since 2009, the awards promote ventures, products and initiatives, or creative and innovative services that can show they already are having positive and demonstrable impacts and results in the area of water and sanitation.
The 2018 IDB-FEMSA Awards edition will bestow prizes to the three winning solutions from Latin America and the Caribbean. The first prize will be US$15,000 in cash and a special recognition from Latin American artist Gerardo Azcúnaga; the second and third prizes will be US$10,000 and US$5,000, respectively.
The call is open from June 19 through July 15, 2018. The complete contest rules, as well as the electronic application form, are available on the official 2018 IDB-FEMSA Awards site in Spanish and English. Organizations or ventures wishing to participate may submit their solutions in any of the four official IDB languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese and French) and ask any questions you may have to [email protected].
As in previous years, all participants must submit, as part of their application for admission, a video of no more than two minutes explaining their innovative solution.
An initial jury of water and sanitation experts will choose up to seven (7) contesting solutions for the final leg, where entrants will vie for the top three prize positions. The selected finalists will then compete in person, presenting their solutions in a “pitch by fire” format in two minutes or less to a final jury of world-class experts and sector leaders. This jury will pick the three winners in Santiago during the Demand Solutions Chile Venture Night event to be held in November 2018. All participants’ expenses will be covered by the prize sponsors. Here you can learn about the finalists and winners of the IDB-FEMSA Awards 2017 edition. For more information on the IDB-FEMSA Awards and on previous winners, visit the official site. Updates on this call will be posted on the Water and Sanitation Division blog, Volvamos a la Fuente.
About the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
The Bank works to improve the quality of lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. It aims to improve health, education and infrastructure through financial and technical support to countries striving to reduce poverty and inequality. The goal is to achieve sustainable and climate-friendly development. With a history dating back to 1959, we are currently the main source of financing for development in Latin America and the Caribbean. We offer loans, grants and technical assistance, and we also conduct extensive research. We have a strong commitment to the attainment of measurable results and to high integrity, transparency and accountability standards.
Currently, the Bank’s main issues include three challenges for development –social inclusion and equality, productivity and innovation, and economic integration–, plus three crosscutting issues: gender equality, climate change and environmental sustainability, and institutional capacity and the rule of law.
For more information on our water, sanitation and solid waste activities: www.iadb.org/agua and @BIDagua.
About FEMSA Foundation
The FEMSA Foundation is a social investment vehicle that supports corporate sustainability in its social and environmental dimensions. Through its WATER initiative, the Foundation funds projects that foster the conservation of water resources and promote their adequate use as well as sanitation and hygiene practices, not only for the present but also for future generations. It is divided into three programs: Watershed Conservation, Water and Sanitation, and Capacity Building and Applied Research. In addition, ITS EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT area supports projects that aim to help children between 0-5 years of age, in particular those in a situation of social vulnerability, reach their maximum development potential and transform their communities.
For more information about the FEMSA Foundation visit www.fundacionfemsa.org and follow us on our social networks (@FundacionFEMSA and facebook.com/FundacionFEMSA.
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