SOCIAL
INNOVATION
AWARDS
List of 2013-2014 winners by region
To see the what interesting projects are going on around the world and get some inspiration for your own project, we invite you to see some of the winners of the 2013-2104 contests according to their different regions.
Africa
Multipurpose broad bed and furrow maker (2014)
- Dr Melesse Temesgen (Ethiopia)
Dr Melesse Temesgen of Ethiopia is the winner of the Special Prize for innovation with the highest Social Impact. He walked away with USD 25 000 prize money for his innovation, the Aybar Broad Based Furrow Maker (BBM), promises to have the greatest social impact. It is estimated that the income of farmers will more than triple as a result of using this technology.
The Aybar BBM is a low-cost farming device used to easily drain excess water from waterlogged fields. It is the only known effective device capable of creating drainage furrows for excess water while building a broad bed for planting. Up to 5 million hectares of land in Ethiopia and a much larger area in Africa are not available for farming because they are water logged. Using the Aybar BBM re-avails this abandoned land hence improving food production. The Aybar BBM builds on 2,000 years old Ethiopian farming technology, is easy to use and very cost effective. Over 44,000 units have been sold in Ethiopia alone to date.
Asia
Tee-back (2013)
- Wong Yee Wa, Eva, Chung Man Lok, Chase, & Ho Man Yi (Taiwan)
"Tee-back" will innovate the traditional act of flyers distribution. Instead of handing out flyers, low-income staffs who join the programme will wear an advertisement tee-shirt to act as a mobile advertisement for more effective marketing. Not only does "Tee-back" reduce the time and effort to achieve same level of awareness, it can also reduce paper waste and create employment.
Australia
Solar / Desalination Power Plant (2013)
-Trevor Powell (Queensland)
Trevor Powell won the Backyard Hero prize in the 2013 The Australian Innovation Challenge for his radical approach to using the sun for water treatment and power generation.
"This is something that needs to be done," he says. "The potential to address some of the major problems facing us is huge."
Starting in 2006, Powell worked from home, on evenings and weekends, to develop a different approach to solar energy. The aim was a medium-temperature system that would be much cheaper than existing systems in construction and operation. Over time, Powell assembled and self-funded a "virtual" team of specialists, each of whom contributed a few more pieces to the puzzle. It was a matter of adding up a lot of what-ifs to a new design concept.
The eventual outcome was a concentrating solar thermal collector. It was made entirely from components that could be obtained off-the-shelf and could be recycled, which kept both the financial costs and the embedded energy inputs down. A prototype was built at Powell’s farm at Samford, Queensland. The collector, about the size of an average bedroom wall, tracks the sun and focuses solar energy to reach temperatures of 350C.
Europe
To the roots (2014)
(Czech Republic)
To The Roots provides ecological funerals and bereavement counselling. Czech funeral rituals are in crisis, so we want to revive this very important rite of passage with new green impulses. We empower the bereaved by helping them with organisation of unique ecological and DIY funerals. Participation of the bereaved in funeral planning helps them to cope with their loss of a loved one. Aestethically pleasing surroundings of natural burial sites also have therapeutic impact.
Smart Safety Module(2014)
(Czech Republic)
The project "Smart Safety Module" integrates social, economic and technical aspects. The municipalities are offered an economically reasonable solution to cope with the needs of homeless people. The project also includes a proposition on homeless people employment. The Module is designed to benefit from the natural body heat of the users. All additional maintenance processes of the Modul are powered by solar energy so it is completely self-sufficient.
North America
Kit of Life (2013)
(USA)
The Kit Yamoyo (‘Kit of Life’) is an anti-diarrhoea kit that contains 4g/200ml sachets of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS), Zinc, Soap and an instruction leaflet which carries the branding. The Kit Yamoyo packaging acts as the measuring device for the water needed to make up the ORS, a mixing and storage device and a cup.
It is available in two formats: The Original (the AidPod) which can be transported in Coca-Cola crates and The Screw-top which is cheaper and can be manufactured locally.