Green Innovations Bootcamp for Ethiopians

Deadline: 26th of June 2014

Location: Climate Innovation Center (CIC) office, Kebena, behind 4kilo AAU Campus, Addis Ababa

INTRODUCTION

The Green Innovations Bootcamp will be held in Addis Ababa on July 8th-9th 2014. The goal of this two-day bootcamp is to promote green innovations & entrepreneurship, and build bridges between Finnish and Ethiopian startup communities & companies.

WHAT IT IS?

What environmental issue would you like to solve? How do you do it? Could your solution be developed into a business?

Most sustainable solutions come from the people who understand their surrounding problems and needs.  What simple solution would make your surroundings better for living?

Apply with your idea, meet up with other innovative minds, get feedback from professionals, build further business ideas and finally pitch your solution in public.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Social entrepreneurs, Students, techies, or whoever with an unchained mind and a vision to make the world a greener places to live.

PRIZE

The winners (2 individuals) will travel to Helsinki, Finland to participate in one of the biggest European startup events, SLUSH on November 18th & 19th 2014 with all travel expenses covered by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Other prizes are also available, including free membership and coaching at iceaddis & CIC.

HOW TO APPLY?

Steps to apply:

Step 1: Fill the application form on Google doc – Click here

Step 2: Selected teams will be informed on July 3rd, 2014

For more details click here

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Call for Abstracts: ‘Feeding 1 billion in Africa in a Changing World’

The CTA/ FARA/IFS/ ANAFE/ RUFORUM consortium, in collaboration with AGRA and NPCA, is pleased to announce the launch of its 2012-2013 Africa-wide women and young professionals in science competitions. With a population of approximately 1.03 billion in 2011, and a growth rate of 24 million per annum, Africa’s population is expected to double by 2050. The continent needs to increase agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner as well as find endogenous solutions to respond to the challenges. 

Africa’s investment in science and innovation remains low; and only one African university is listed among the top 500 in the world. Women are under-represented in all areas of policy, education and research and many of Africa’s youthful population; 70% aged 30 or younger, do not see a future in agriculture or science. The continent faces a knowledge and skills gap as ageing scientists and academicians retire.

The 2012-2013 Africa-wide competitions will evaluate, recognize and reward the contributions of women and young professionals who are involved in:

(i) Pioneering and innovative research;

(ii) Communicating their research results and technological developments; and

(iii) Advocating for policy change as well as influencing policy processes through their research.

They will also raise awareness of the need for valuing and sustaining the engagement of women and young professionals and facilitating their contribution to Africa’s socio-economic transformation.

Deadline: 14 May 2012. 

For more information or to submit abstracts email to: CTA or FARA-AFRICA

Full details are available on the websites below:

CTA-Kng -  or CTA RUFORUM   IFS FARA ANAFE NPCA AGRA 

Links to Documents

Women in science competition announcement.pdf (252.03 kB)

Young Professionals in sceince competition announcement.pdf (241.52 kB)

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2012/2013 Africa-wide Young Professionals in Science Competition

Excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation for Agricultural and Rural
Development

Call for Abstracts

“Feeding 1 billion in Africa in a changing world”

This competition seeks to promote excellence and recognize and reward outstanding young professionals who are undertaking scientific and innovative research, technology and engineering related development activities and communicating the outputs (knowledge, technologies and approaches) to improve agricultural performance and socio-economic development in Africa.

Who can participate?
Young professionals (25-40 years) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), North Africa and the Diaspora1 are encouraged to participate. Individual and group entries will be accepted. The role and contribution of the young professional(s) must be clearly demonstrated in group submissions. Entries should demonstrate effective partnerships and combination of skills and/or engagement with peers and or rural communities.

What is the scope?
Any science, technology and innovation (ST&I) related research and development activity linked to the topic “Feeding 1 billion in Africa in a changing world” which has been undertaken within the last five years and shows measurable impact (potential or demonstrated) on agricultural development or rural livelihoods in Africa, is eligible.
Thematic areas include: 

(i) increasing agricultural productivity and food security; 

(ii)postharvest handling and value addition;

 (iii) environmental and eco-system sustainability
– climate change, water, soil and biodiversity; 

(iv) policy, economics and trade;

 (v) tertiary education, knowledge management and ICTs; and 

(vi) agricultural machinery/engineering
including processing and packaging. Communication strategies, methods and tools used to
disseminate results - scientific findings, technologies, or approaches must be included.

Guidelines:
Entrants are required to submit an extended abstract (1000 – 2000 words) that clearly details the ST&I project. The heading “Young Professionals in Science”, name and full contact details; official mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address must appear at the top of the first page. The abstract should include the title, brief background, objective(s), methodology/approach, results, discussion, conclusion, communication strategy, methods and tools used for sharing outputs and impact (potential or demonstrated).
Passport page showing proof of age and citizenship must be submitted with the entry.Extended abstract and passport page should be e-mailed to scicom2012@cta.int and copied to agsci_award@fara-africa.org. The deadline for submission is 14th May, 2012. 

Abstracts received after the deadline will not be considered. Criteria for evaluation include logic (10%), content (20%), communication (20%), impact (20%), innovation (15%) and originality (15%).

Evaluation (Stage I)
Abstracts received by May 14th, 2012 will be evaluated by a panel of experts including scientists, policy makers, farmers, gender and information and communication experts. The top 20 semi-finalists will be announced on 11th July, 2012. They will be sponsored to attend a scientific writing and communication workshop which will be held in conjunction with the 3rd RUFORUM biennial conference, in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania from 24-28th September, 2012. Semi-finalists will be required to submit full draft papers of not more than 4 – 6 pages by 13th August, 2012. Failure to submit draft papers in keeping with the competition guidelines by 13th August will result in immediate disqualification.

Evaluation (Stage II)
Final papers are to be submitted by 16th November 2012. All final papers will be evaluated by the expert panel to select the 10 top finalists who will compete for the cash awards, prizes and trophies during the Finals and Award Ceremony in June 2013. All semi-finalists who meet the 16th November deadline for submission of final papers will be invited to the 6th Africa Science Week and FARA General Assembly scheduled for June 2013, in Accra,Ghana.

Competition Organizers:
The Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (ACP-EU), the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE), the International Foundation for Science (IFS), the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), in collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

1African nationals working or studying abroad and doing research on African issues linked to/and contributing to Africa’s development. Proof of citizenship is required.

For more information Click Here

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ILO video contest on Decent Work for Youth: instructions for participants

The ILO has launched a video contest for young people (from 18-29 years) on how the global jobs crisis is affecting them and their communities. Three winners will be offered an all expenses paid trip to Geneva, Switzerland to present their videos at the ‘Youth Employment Forum' which takes place at the International Labour Organization (ILO) on 23-25 May 2012.

Briefing note | 08 March 2012. Here's an opportunity to share with the world and with other young people like YOU, just how the global employment crisis has affected you, your friends, your family or community.

Your ideas, your story, your views

Use creativity and originality to describe (by video) how the youth employment crisis has affected you or your community. Are you having trouble transitioning into the job market? Have you lost your job or are you struggling to find one? Do you work under poor conditions? Share your thoughts and suggest an innovative idea that you think could help! If you have a story to tell, we're ready to watch and listen. Videos must be your original work.

Upload on your YouTube account

Upload your video on your own YouTube channel and send us the link at the following email address: youth@ilo.org.

If you don't have a YouTube account, please create one at http://www.youtube.com/create_account. Then simply send us the link to your video via email. Please don’t forget to provide your name, age and nationality. You must be between the ages of 18 and 29 years to be considered eligible for participation in the contest.

Your video

Videos should be no longer than two (2) minutes in length. They must not contain offensive or inappropriate language or content, and must comply with YouTube's general terms and conditions. Use your creativity, with or without words to share your thoughts. If you decide to use words which are not in one of the 3 official languages of the ILO (English, French, or Spanish), please add subtitles in one of the official languages. For simple instructions on how to create subtitles for YouTube videos, please see http://www.youtube.com/t/captions_about

Submissions must be in by 23:59 (GMT) on 10 April 2012. Entries submitted after this date will not be considered. Videos cannot be modified after the deadline. The results will be announced on 20 April 2012. The ILO will contact the winners after the announcement of the results to start arranging the trip to Geneva.

Legal matters

The participants grant the International Labour Organization (ILO), its partners and other UN agencies as well as other persons or entities authorized by the ILO, free of charge, an exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, perpetual, worldwide license to use the copyright, related rights or any other intellectual property rights that have arisen by law or will arise by law in the prepared and submitted videos.

The ILO is entitled to publish the videos, but has no obligation to do so. The ILO accepts no responsibility for technical or other disturbances that may impede the uploading of your video. By submitting your video, you accept these Entry Rules and Conditions. The ILO expressly reserves the right to exclude videos if participants breach these Entry Rules and Conditions or in case of a corresponding cause or suspicion.

Eligibility rules

• You must be between the ages of 18-29 years;
• Videos must be a maximum of two minutes in length;
• Videos which are not in one of the three official languages of the ILO (English, French or Spanish), must include subtitles in one of the ILO’s official languages. Videos without narrations (silent videos) are also accepted.
• You must send the link of your video via email toyouth@ilo.org and provide your name, age and nationality;
• Deadline for submission is 10 April 2012 at 23:59 (GMT).

Competition official site

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Best Idea Competition, Ethiopia.

 The CASCAPE project is a joint effort of Ethiopia and the Netherlands to improve agricultural productivity in Ethiopia. We aim to work with the best available technologies and therefore we call upon farmers and professionals to share their experiences on improving agricultural production in Ethiopia with us. Best practices may be anything as long as it is a technology or innovation that can be applied at farm level and is tested by at least one farmer.


Do you think you can come up with an innovative best practice which can help farmers to improve their crop productivity? Then consider joining our competition and see whether your idea will be the number one!
Please fill in the application of the Best Idea Competition. The winner receives € 200,- (+/- 4600 ETB).

Best practices may be anything as long as it is a technology or innovation that can be applied at farm level and is tested by at least one farmer.
To be sure that the results can be taken into account during the next coordinators meeting from CASCAPE, the deadline has been postponed till the 1st of April 2012. Take advantage of this opportunity and show us why your idea is the Best innovation! All participants will receive an email on the E-mail address given in the application.

For more information & application form Click Here

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YouTube launches worldwide space competition

Users are to think up new ways to test microgravity on the International Space Station. Picture: AP Source: AP

• YouTube launches space competition
• Users design micro-gravity tests for ISS
• Two best experiments rocket into space

TEENAGERS around the world have been invited to design experiments to be conducted on the International Space Station and streamed for all to see on YouTube.

The Google-owned video-sharing website and Chinese computer titan Lenovo worked with US, European, and Japanese agencies to launch YouTube Space Lab as a way to ignite passions for learning science.
"Google was founded by scientists, so inspiring the next generation of scientists is very important to us," said Zahaan Bharmal, the US internet firm's head of marketing for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
It was Mr Bharmal's idea to have students think of experiments to try in the micro-gravity environment on the space station and then arrange for the most promising concepts to be tested there.
"We are taking the two best experiments, packing them on a rocket and sending them to the International Space Station," Mr Bharmal told AFP.

"We are hoping that the live stream on YouTube will be the world's largest, coolest classroom," he continued.
The panel judging entries includes renowned physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking.
Experiments should fall into the broad categories of physics or biology.
The YouTube Space Lab competition is open to students from 14 to 18 years of age.
Winning experiments will be sent some time next year to the space station on a Japanese rocket, conducted using Lenovo computers, and streamed live on YouTube with held from NASA, according to Mr Bharmal.
Students whose ideas are selected will get to chose between being at the rocket launch or a visit to the cosmonaut training facility in Russia.
The window for pitching ideas closes on December 7, and winners will be announced in Washington DC in March.
The six regional winners will be treated to zero-gravity flights jokingly referred to as the "vomit comet" for the outcome it is prone to evoke, according to Mr Bharmal.
"It makes me wish I was still a teenager," said Mr Bharmal, who embraced science in his school days and even studied physics at the University of Oxford in Britain.
The Space Lab channel at YouTube could become a permanent online venue for science related content.
Information about the contest is available online at http://www.youtube.com/user/spacelab.

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Are you creative? Don't Miss This Competition! Stephen Hawking joins astronauts as judges

On October 11, ESA joins the launch of 'YouTube Space Lab', an exciting campaign initiated by YouTube, NASA, Space Adventures and Lenovo that challenges students around the world to design a science experiment for the International Space Station. The winning experiments will be conducted in space on the International Space Station (ISS), making it the Universe's largest science lesson, streamed live for the world to see via YouTube. Space Lab is part of a larger YouTube effort, aimed at providing educators access to the wealth of educational content available on YouTube.
Also joining ESA in this launch are two more Station partners, JAXA of Japan and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). 
Stephen Hawking joins astronauts as judges
Individually or in groups of up to three, students aged 14–18 years may submit a YouTube video describing their experiment to www.youtube.com/spacelab.

A panel of prestigious scientists, astronauts and teachers, including the renowned Professor Stephen Hawking, astronauts Frank De Winne, Samantha Cristoforetti and Timothy Peake of ESA, NASA’s Leland Melvin, Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA, Chris Hadfield of CSA and Cirque du Soleil’s founder Guy Laliberté, will judge the entries with input from the YouTube community. 

Six regional finalists will gather in the USA in March 2012 to experience a zero-gravity flight and receive other prizes. 

  Exclusive visit with ESA astronauts
European finalists will win a visit to the training facilities of the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. This will include scientific discussions and a personally guided tour led by European astronauts.

  Finally, two global winners will be announced, for their experiments to be sent into orbit and performed on the Space Station in summer 2012 – live-streamed on YouTube from space.
Additionally, the global winners will get to choose a unique space prize: either a trip to Japan to watch their experiment blast off on the HTV cargo vessel, or a trip to Russia for an authentic space training experience at the facilities where Yuri Gagarin became a cosmonaut.
 
"As a former ISS crew member, I am particularly pleased that ESA experts are joining this worldwide student competition in support of ISS science," says Thomas Reiter, ESA's Director for Human Spaceflight and Operations.
"I believe it is vital to directly involve youth not only in the challenges of conducting science in space, but also in seeing the wide range of benefits."
"The 'YouTube Space Lab' campaign is an excellent, creative way of reaching out to future generations of scientists, on the ground and in orbit. Today, numerous fundamental and applied research experiments in life and physical sciences, Earth and space monitoring as well as technology and education are performed on our Columbus laboratory on the ISS, closely coupled to terrestrial research programmes and issues."



 

ESA fosters youth focus on science

ESA is in a unique position to reach out to all European students of primary and secondary schools. It can convey the excitement and use the medium of space to stimulate and nurture children's fascination for sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. 
The regular presence of ESA astronauts on long missions on the Station since 2009 provides opportunities for European schools to participate in 'Take Your Classroom Into Space' activities, which see children perform the same experiments on the ground as ESA astronauts do in space. These events are highlighted by multi-site international video live links to the Station. Much of ESA's educational material revolves around experiments in Europe’s Columbus laboratory on the Station, but also uses the other European-built modules, such as Cupola, to maximise outreach with breathtaking images and videos of Earth.
 

---

Competition details, timeline and information

Contacts for press inquiries only

Bernhard von Weyhe
ESA Communications
Tel: +49 6151 90 4204
bvw @ esa.int
Peter Foley
Rubenstein Communications
Tel: +1 212 843 8308
pfoley @ rubenstein.com
Anna Richardson
YouTube
richardsona @ youtube.com
Kristy Fair
Lenovo
Tel: +1 919 257 6329
krisfair @ lenovo.com
 
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OECD seeks Video Submissions for 2012 Global Youth Video Competition themed on Education and Skills

 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) works to promote policies that are expected to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. OECD offers a platform to governments so that they could work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. OECD is currently inviting video submissions for the 2012 Global Youth Video Competition. Participants are required to send a short video of not more than 3 minutes on the theme of the competition.
Competition Theme

• Education and Skills – what are the big issues today:
• Learning the right skills to get a job?
• Bridging the ‘digital divide’?
• Tackling inequality in access to education and training?
• Inspiring creativity and innovation?

The Prize

The video author (or a nominated representative, if a team effort) of each winning video will be invited to Paris to attend the OECD Forum on 22-24 May 2012. Travel costs to and from Paris, hotel accommodation and a living allowance will be provided for the duration of the Forum. The Prize will be awarded to three winning videos selected by Jury. If a winning video is a group effort, then a nominated representative will be invited to Paris.

About the Videos

• Your video must be no more than 3 minutes in length.
• Any spoken language used in your video that is not English or French must be accompanied by the relevant subtitles in English or French.
• Your video must not contain violence, profanity, sex or direct attacks on individuals or organizations. Any entries deemed offensive will be immediately disqualified.
• Your video must be your own original creation – no copyrighted music, video, or images may be used.
• Your video must not infringe on any third party rights.
• Your video must not have been produced for compensation or posted previously on any OECD Web page.

Eligibility Criteria

You must be aged between 18 and 25 years during the period of this competition (14 December 2011 to 31 March 2012). That means you must have been born on or between 15 December 1985 and 1 April 1994. Proof of identity will be required from all finalists.

If you are a member of OECD staff (either permanent or temporary, current or former), intern, contractor, sponsor, or an immediate family member of any of the foregoing, you may participate, but are not eligible to win.

Selection Criteria

Videos will be judged on adherence to the competition challenge through creativity, originality, message content and overall presentation (sound and picture quality).

 Last date for submitting the entries is March 31, 2012

For more information,  Click here

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