WHAT IS #CONNECT2EFFECT?
On March 10-12th nine regions, from five continents, 800 participants and the UN SDGAction Campaign connected and collaborated during the Influx Trust #Connect2Effect 48-hour global hackathon (an intense 48hr start up idea prototyping session) around UN Sustainable Development Goals 9,10 and 12. These are the world’s greatest challenges as agreed by 193 member states and Influx Trust and its organising partner Adpreneurs have created a compelling and innovative way for people and organisations to get involved in the effort to pursue these goals.
“Throughout the tenure of my Presidency, my office and I will remain firmly committed to fostering new methods of increasing awareness about the new agenda, and ways of working across sectors to achieve its implementation. As such, we look forward to closely following the outcomes of the hackathon, and will warmly welcome the winners to the United Nations Headquarters.”
WHY SHOUT ABOUT IT?
In just one weekend the event generated 90+ world-changing startup ideas, 20K Facebook followers, 3 million impressions of #Connect2Effect and 200K views of Peter Thomson, President of General Assembly public endorsement video. The nine #Connect2Effect winners will now spend the following month using the resources donated to them in their prizes to work towards winning a chance to pitch their ideas at the New York UN Headquarters during the STI Conference on May 15-16th 2017.
Next up, Influx Trust are launching a crowdfunding platform (crowdfunding.connect2effect.c
WHAT ARE 2017’s SELECTED SDG GOALS?
The UN’s 193 member states have agreed to 17 goals as priorities for the world to tackle by 2030.
This year Influx Trust focused on 3 of them.
SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation Infrastructure
SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities
SDG 12 – Sustainable Consumption & Production
WHAT ARE THE REGIONS & WHO ARE THE WINNERS?
1. BAHRAIN (SDG 9): Paperless – E-receipts that cut down on paper waste
2. BALI (SDG 12): Niskala – Educate and reduce waste generated from religious festivals that are a large contributor to the severe waste issues Indonesia is suffering with
3. CHANDIGARH (SDG 9): Help aid the education of blind children with a paperless Braille tablet
4. GENEVA (SDG 12): 24/7 -Access to Antiretroviral Treatment for people on the move
5. LAGOS (SDG 9): Smart Transit – A culturally appropriate app to tackle poor transit in Nigeria by offering local transport information in real time
6. LISBON (SDG 9): Lettuce Grow – An app that connects small scale farmers directly with consumers to boost agricultural industry and local economy
7. LONDON (SDG 9): eQuality – A system that allows shoppers to educate themselves around the ethical, political & environmental impact of their product purchases
8. NEW YORK (SDG 12): Kindred – The world’s first closed-loop marketplace for sustainable garments.
9. RIO DE JANEIRO (SDG 10): Jardim Digital – An app that connects refugees with jobs open and available to them by fair and honest employers .
Overall the #Connect2Effect initiative has proven that there is a widespread desire for open innovation between the public and the UN on the Sustainable Development Goals and that this work can be expected to grow in terms of impact and scope. You can learn more about this project @ www.connect2effect.com
WHO ARE THE PARTNERS?
Influx Trust is charity dedicated to exploring digital opportunities and to apply the practices of digital innovation to the UN model for better United Nations, the initiative #Connect2Effect is endorsed by SDG Action Campaign and the President of the UN General Assembly. Here’s a breakdown of our regional hackathon events:
Adpreneurs is an innovation consultancy passionate about creating, and inspiring the creation of world changing start-ups all over the planet. They invent, facilitate and empower people to #makeshithappen through consultancy, innovation workshops and Hackathons.
For more information, pictures, videos or interview opportunities or further detail on a specific region, please contact Jayne & Misael at Kitsch.inc on behalf of Influx Trust: kitschinc.digital@
Co-Creator @wearefoodscouts & @KitschInc. Digital Marketing & Creative Direction. Illustration, writing, creativity & style. Fan of films, TV, cartoons, colourful hair & clean beauty. Blogger since 2009.
