BY AGNES MENANOPO
IUMI Waka-IUMI Waka-UNDP hosted its first three days innovation challenge under the theme “Environment blong iumi/Go Green” with Bank South Pacific (BSP).
The innovation challenge targeted urban youths specifically in the age of 18-34 who has a passion for the environmental issues faced in the country, they may be already engaged in some environmental activities.
Participants learnt how to raise awareness on the current environmental issues that this country is facing.
The innovation challenge aimed to raise awareness of environmental challenges amongst marginalized youth and promote innovative eco-friendly solutions contextualized to urban areas in around Honiara. Upon completion of the innovation challenge, the participants were able to design a plan to address the current environmental challenges, justify that the plan is viable eco-friendly business ideas and evaluate how the business models can also achieve SDGs.
The program ended with participants doing their small business evaluation in terms of viability and SDGs, pitched their business ideas to the panel and peers and the judging panel decided on winners and announced the winning team which went back home with the amount of $5,000 fund.
President of Recycling and Green Association, Bevan Vollrath said this IumiWaka program was a very well thought out project and a program for the youths to getting involved in.
“The participants have took on the challenge in a very short period of time, had come up with good ideas about removing wastes and other materials from the environment and find creative ways of how to turn them into usable products, not only one time use but just ongoing all the time.
“The funds for the winning group will go towards their basic development of their business which they had presented,” Bevan said.
The innovation challenge was a follow up of an operational time frame of advertising online pages on the, expression of interest which was already closed, finalists were announced, which was followed by the first meeting of finalists with a pre-training on SDGs and pitching.
Meanwhile, Solomon Islands is losing its natural beauty amongst the struggle to address waste management especially in its urban centres where waste management is poorly implemented or nearly non-existent.
Urban youth lack the opportunity to be actively involved in addressing environmental issues through innovation challenges since such opportunities are hard to come by in country.
With a high youth unemployment rate and 70% of the national population under 35 years old it is beneficial to have an array of youth participants together allowing positive peer-peer influence under the central theme for this innovation challenge.
hosted its first three days innovation challenge under the theme “Environment blong iumi/Go Green” with Bank South Pacific (BSP), who is providing working capital for the winning team-encouraging local communities to proactively maintain a clean green environment.
The innovation challenge targeted urban youths specifically in the age of 18-34 who has a passion for the environmental issues faced in the country, they may be already engaged in some environmental activities.
Participants learnt how to raise awareness on the current environmental issues that this country is facing.
The innovation challenge aimed to raise awareness of environmental challenges amongst marginalized youth and promote innovative eco-friendly solutions contextualized to urban areas in around Honiara. Upon completion of the innovation challenge, the participants were able to design a plan to address the current environmental challenges, justify that the plan is viable eco-friendly business ideas and evaluate how the business models can also achieve SDGs.
The program ended with participants doing their small business evaluation in terms of viability and SDGs, pitched their business ideas to the panel and peers and the judging panel decided on winners and announced the winning team which went back home with the amount of $5,000 fund.
President of Recycling and Green Association, Bevan Vollrath said this IumiWaka program was a very well thought out project and a program for the youths to getting involved in.
“The participants have took on the challenge in a very short period of time, had come up with good ideas about removing wastes and other materials from the environment and find creative ways of how to turn them into usable products, not only one time use but just ongoing all the time.
“The funds for the winning group will go towards their basic development of their business which they had presented,” Bevan said.
The innovation challenge was a follow up of an operational time frame of advertising online pages on the, expression of interest which was already closed, finalists were announced, which was followed by the first meeting of finalists with a pre-training on SDGs and pitching.
Meanwhile, Solomon Islands is losing its natural beauty amongst the struggle to address waste management especially in its urban centres where waste management is poorly implemented or nearly non-existent.
Urban youth lack the opportunity to be actively involved in addressing environmental issues through innovation challenges since such opportunities are hard to come by in country.
With a high youth unemployment rate and 70% of the national population under 35 years old it is beneficial to have an array of youth participants together allowing positive peer-peer influence under the central theme for this innovation challenge.
