Applications are open for World Ocean Initiative Ocean Changemakers Challenge 2021. Building on the success of the Women and the ocean: Changemakers challenge, The Economist Group’s World Ocean Initiative has launched the Ocean Changemakers Challenge, a competition open to men and women that aims to showcase leading changemakers working to develop business solutions to ocean-related sustainability challenges. It is aimed at early-career researchers or professionals.

Benefits

The judges will select three winning applicants, each of whom will receive:

• An opportunity to present the innovation to the World Ocean Summit Virtual Week audience during a dedicated session.
• Mentoring from a high-profile ocean mentor, who will work with them over a 12-month period to help refine their ideas and shape their leadership skills.

Criteria

• Researchers, early-career professionals, entrepreneurs, and innovators with solutions to tackle some of the ocean’s greatest challenges, including for example marine pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of marine resources, unsustainable aquaculture, marine engineering, and oil drilling, and destruction of ocean habitats.
• Individuals who have been recognized by local communities but not yet by the international ocean community.
• Individuals who are driving change locally and have innovative solutions we could learn from to scale ocean solutions rapidly.

Selection Criteria

A panel of judges from the World Ocean Initiative Ocean Changemakers Challenge will review the videos and select a shortlist of 12 entrants. The videos of the shortlisted applicants will be posted on the World Ocean Initiative website and social media channels (#OceanChangemakers). Applicants will be judged according to how well their ideas meet the following criteria:

• Impact on blue economy: clear link with sustainable development of the ocean
• Innovative: original idea—or clear improvement on existing idea—focused on progress
• Viable: should be feasible in the medium to long-term
• Scalable: can be scaled up and applied in different contexts
• Investable: offers opportunities for growth

Apply Now

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