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In 2023, the world's population will cross the threshold of eight billion people. By mid-century, nine billion people will populate the earth. Already today, the majority of them live in cities, a trend that will continue to intensify. Cities and metropolitan areas are indeed economic powerhouses. But they are also responsible for about 70 percent of global carbon emissions and over 60 percent of resource consumption. Rapid urbanization is leading to congested infrastructure, air pollution and unplanned urban sprawl. Developing countries in particular are becoming a hotspot for these negative trends.
That's why this year's Innovate2030 program, initiated by BMZ digilab and in collaboration with the Make-IT Alliance, the European Commission, and the UNFCCC, focuses on SDG11: "Sustainable Cities and Communities."
As with many of the global challenges we face in the 21st century, the issues our cities face today do not stand by themselves and technology is at the heart of many of the solutions we need. The future is both green and digital, and therefore, Innovate2030 is looking for cutting-edge, digital projects and ideas to combat the many challenges of climate change in urban areas and positively contribute to reaching the aims of SDG11.
But, the change we need can only be realised together, so now we need you! We believe that the most innovative solutions addressing these challenges are already out there and we want to find and scale them for the global good. Teams, start-ups, community projects, academia groups and individuals focusing on digital solutions for climate-change and smart cities from all over the world can now apply to the program. Become an innovator and send in your ideas and proven digital innovations in to join the challenge. You have until 13 February, so don’t wait too long – winning teams receive cash prizes of up to EUR 3,000 per challenge, a bootcamp with training and mentors from Microsoft, SAP, UNFCCC, The Impact Week and many more exciting partners from business, academia, science, and politics.
To apply, simply submit your approach via the challenge-specific submission template that you can find on the respective challenge landing page on our website. There, you can also learn more about the challenges and how you can participate: https://app.ekipa.de/challenges/innovate2030.
If you don’t have a fitting solution for any challenge yet, you can still support us on our mission – just share our programme with your most innovative friends, colleagues, and partners!!
Let’s make the cities of the future green, digital and liveable together! Apply today to be part of the solution and tell others to do so. We are looking forward to learning about your idea and increasing its impact together through the Innovate2030 programme.
