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The international jury for Design Your Climate Action has evaluated all the entries over the categories of Raising Resilience and Adaptation, Energy of Change, and Solutions Offered by Nature, and named the winners of the First, Second and Third Prizes.
Design Your Climate Action is the latest international competition developed by philanthropic educational initiative BE OPEN and its partners. It is open to all students, graduates and young professionals who specialise in the fields of design, architecture, engineering and media globally. The competition aims to encourage creation of innovative solutions by younger creatives, for the more prosperous and sustainable future; the focus of this competition is the United Nations’ SDG13: Climate Action.
In 2023, the United Nations announced the Climate Action programme which encourages governments, businesses, and financial institutions, centres of innovation, communities and non-profit organizations like BE OPEN to take a joint action to come up with new technologies and accelerate the shift towards sustainable infrastructure.
BE OPEN strongly believes that creativity is integral in the shift to sustainable existence. To attain the UN SDGs we need to think out of box. Therefore the scholars from all over the world were asked to reflect on “What can be done to combat climate change and its effects on all the levels of our lives: from introducing new national policies to adopting new technologies by industries and switching to greener practices at home?”
Elena Baturina, Founder of BE OPEN comments on the finalization of the project: “I am certain that involving young people into the conversation centered on the SDG agenda is a very wholesome way of not simply raising awareness about sustainability, but encouraging the creation of actual solutions able to contribute to achieving sustainable future. We are continuously impressed by the level of submissions we receive every year for the SDG-focused competitions. We see hard work and intelligence, commitment and creativity, and can’t help but believe that younger generations can make an actual difference and inspire change for all of us.”
The First Prize of €5,000 goes to Darcy Rincón and Michelle Aljure, the students of Biodesign at Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, for their Inspira System. This project aims to introduce and promote the cultivation of spirulina in low-income neighborhoods in Bogotá. The initiative targets combating malnutrition, creating new income opportunities, and enhancing environmental sustainability within vulnerable communities.
The Second Prize of €3,000 goes to Granny Mmantho Lesiamang and the Clauseph BioFuels startup in Botswana, for the Clean Cooking Project. Its focus is on designing, manufacturing and distributing low-cost, energy-efficient biomass stoves that can reduce biomass fuel consumption, lower the smoke inhalation and carbon emissions. The projects also includes developing clean solid biomass fuel with wood derived from invasive bush trees, rampant across Botswana’s farmlands.
The Third Prize of €2,000 goes to Emilia Ziolek, a Product Design and Technology student from University of Limerick, Ireland, for the Tidal Energy Turbine Form Redesign with Biomimicry concept. It is the first step to a new design of bladeless turbines with hydrofoils. Their streamlined design reduces the impact on marine life by eliminating rotating blades and enhances efficiency in energy conversion. Emilia suggests that hydrofoils operate by harnessing lift generated from water flow, allowing them to capture energy with reduced drag and increased effectiveness.
The Founder’s Choice prize will soon be allocated by the Founder of BE OPEN Elena Baturina. The Public Vote prize winner will be decided upon by the majority of votes in an online open vote from the same.
Design Your Climate Action is the fifth competition of the SDG-dedicated programme developed by BE OPEN. Every year the foundation chooses to focus on one particular goal, and have so far covered SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG2: Zero Hunger, and SDG7: Affordable and Clean Energy.
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