BRAC net, world youth community and Open Learning Campus

Sir Fazle Abed -top 70 alumni networks & 5 scots curious about hi-trust hi-tech

big ideas youth competition across ca state unis and 2 in jerusalem

categories for 2018-2019 seem particularly interesting - hence pretty full notes of competition copied here - berkeley is hub for competition

1 work force development

2 Art & Social Change

3 connected communities

4 Energy and resource alternatives

5Food Systems

6 Global Health

7 Hardware for good

8 Scaling up big challenges

1

Rapid advances in technology and shifting world dynamics are transforming the global economy and nature of jobs. As global migration reaches an all-time high, the digital economy grows, and an increasing number of services move towards automation, the “Future of Work” will prove to be a massive disruption that will serve as both opportunity and challenge to the world economy. The skills required by today’s workers are different and more varied than they were even a decade ago, and future labor markets will demand a modernized and highly-skilled workforce with the ability to swiftly adapt to rapid changes. Meeting employers’ needs will require new approaches, tools, and partnerships—whether through collaborating with educational institutions, establishing workforce efforts built for scale, or piloting and investing in innovations focused on scalable employment solutions.

The Challenge

This category challenges students to develop workforce solutions that provide individuals with the technical knowledge, practical skills and readiness necessary to secure employment and become self-sufficient. Additionally, proposals may be focused on strategies to develop the capacity of individuals, corporations and governments to meet the challenges and demands of the 21st century economy and its workforce.

Examples of proposals that would fit into this category include (but are not limited to):

  • Remote training programs that provides continuation learning and job transition programs to specific populations of displaced workers, domestically or internationally.
  • A web application that provides individuals with information and assistance to transition their benefits from job to job.
  • ===============================

Overview

Many artists today are deeply committed to creating work that addresses pressing social issues and changes the way we perceive the world. While some artists use traditional forms of art to make work that comments on, responds to, or advocates for the need for change, others are exploring new forms of “social practice” that engages communities in an interactive exchange. For example, an artwork might take the form of a store, a garden, a meal, a website, a street performance, a story exchange, or an urban planning project. Socially engaged art can ignite outrage and demands for change, and/or provide a platform for reflection, collaboration, and building community. Art expressions can focus on the residents of a single city block, or reach out to a global audience.

The Challenge

The challenge for this category is to develop an innovative art project that meaningfully engages with issues of advocacy, justice, and community-building. The initiative may use any art form — visual/ conceptual art, photography, new media, video, dance, theater/performance art, music, creative writing, or other forms. Art must be central to the project, and the proposal must reflect an informed understanding of the particular art form(s) being used, as well as of the communities being served.

Examples of proposals that would fit into this category include (but are not limited to):

  • An after school expressive arts program that aims to provide a safe space and creative outlet to elementary school students who live in under-resourced communities.
  • A documentary that raises awareness about public health consequences, detrimental social impact, and cost of imprisonment.

========================

Communities in the U.S. and around the world are entering a new era of transformational change. Residents and the surrounding environments are increasingly connected by smart technologies, leading to new opportunities for innovation, improved services, and enhanced quality of life for all. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the power to enable governments, companies, universities, civil society organizations, and communities. These communities can collaboratively address some of the 21st century’s most pressing challenges—including urban planning, education quality, social services, and public safety. Yet, in our increasingly connected world, technology also can have negative effects as digital and social media further divide communities by creating “echo chambers” and “social bubbles.” Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of tools and platforms to promote collective problem-solving and strengthen the social and economic fabric of societies.

The Challenge

The challenge for this category is to describe a novel solution that leverages the capacity of technology to engage and enhance the wellbeing of communities, campuses, and cities. These innovations should stimulate new thinking to address key physical, social, or economic challenges facing geographic locales ranging from university settings to global metropolises. Solutions may focus on a wide range of areas, including but not limited to: improving the living conditions of urban environments, promoting civic engagement, sharing knowledge and information, making transportation options more accessible, and empowering individuals to improve their own well-being.

Examples of proposals include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • A cloud-based speech recognition and speaker identification technology that empowers hard-of-hearing individuals to access in-person conversations.
  • A mobile application that aims to promote the physical and mental health of students.
  • A web platform that helps first responders receive real-time crowdsourced information during emergencies.======================

As resource constraints and climate change impacts on our planet become more severe, individuals and communities will lack access to the tools and products necessary to live sustainably. The buildup of greenhouse gases has resulted in urgent challenges such as rising global temperatures, extreme weather disasters, and accelerated sea level rise. At the same time, humans are generating 1.3 billion tons of solid waste per year, straining natural resources and highlighting the need for robust conservation and recycling efforts. Nevertheless, innovators around the world are increasingly exploring the potential of sustainable energy resources (such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower energy, and biofuels), implementing sophisticated waste management strategies, and incorporating circular economy principles into business strategies. As climate change and resource depletion continue to pose a significant risk to humanity at large, there is an urgent need to make these renewable technologies more accessible, affordable, and reliable.

The Challenge

The challenge for this category is to encourage the adoption of clean energy and/or resource alternatives that are sustainable and have the potential for broad impact. Proposals may focus on the design, development or delivery of green energy solutions that can be domestic or international in scope. All proposals should clearly demonstrate the relationship between the proposed intervention and its impact on the environment.

Solutions may focus on several areas, including but not limited to: (1) clean, renewable energy technology; (2) land/watershed management; (3) climate change adaptation; (4) habitat restoration and/or maintenance; (5) Resource reduction/waste prevention.

Examples of proposals that would fit into this category include:

  • A project to accelerate governance, policies, or commerce to spur clean energy alternatives.
  • A program to create economic growth based on alternative energy production.
  • =============================================

The production and distribution of food intersect with some of the most critical issues of our time: pervasive hunger and malnutrition as well as obesity, environmental degradation resulting from agricultural activities, labor injustices, and extreme inequities in the distribution of farmland and food access. Many initiatives and efforts have emerged in recent years, as attempts to address these persistent food-related problems, from local to global levels. Yet, challenges persist– and have escalated in some areas– often due to political and economic causes. Achieving food security, justice, health, and sustainability in food systems, and equitable access to nutritious food, requires significant changes, ideas, and problem-solving by people and organizations in a wide variety of disciplines.

The Challenge

The challenge for this category is to encourage the development of innovative solutions or approaches that address complex challenges in food systems. Proposals submitted to this category may focus on areas such as enhancing agricultural production, increasing food security, promoting sustainable farming practices, and/or creating equitable access to nutritious food. Proposals may be aimed at campus-based programs, local/domestic issues, or international efforts.

Examples of proposals include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • A public health prevention initiative that aims to improve children’s nutrition and health outcomes or address issues of hunger and/or obesity.
  • A technology or innovation that greatly reduces agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and promotes sustainable agricultural practices.=====
  • ==========

Overview

Around the world, countries are working to strengthen health systems, increase access to quality care, and end preventable deaths. While there has been marked progress in certain regions and for certain health issues, this progress has not been evenly distributed. The fact that a child from the poorest 20% of households is still nearly twice as likely to die before the age of 5 as one from the wealthiest 20% illustrates the wide gaps between the rich and poor, urban and rural, both within and across countries. In addition to the challenge of persistent health inequalities, the “dual burden” of communicable (e.g. outbreaks like Zika and Ebola) and non-communicable disease (e.g. rising levels of diabetes and respiratory conditions) is placing added stress on health systems that are already overstretched and under-resourced. Innovations that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health systems, while also increasing access for vulnerable populations will be absolutely critical in the push to end preventable deaths in both the US and around the world.

The Challenge

The challenge for this category is to describe an intervention that would alleviate a global health concern, either domestically or internationally. Proposals submitted to this category should (a) demonstrate evidence of a widespread health concern faced by resource-constrained populations, and (b) develop a system, program, or technology that is culturally appropriate within the target communities and designed for low-resource settings.

Examples of proposals include (but are not limited to):

  • A medical innovation project that promotes effective diagnosis or treatment
  • A public health containment effort or surveillance technique to address infectious disease epidemics
  • ==================================

What is “Hardware for Good?”

With the recent rise of developments such as 3D printing, computer aided design (CAD) software, and makerspaces, the cost of prototyping and manufacturing hardware products at low volume has plummeted, allowing at-home innovators to develop solutions faster, cheaper, and more conveniently than ever. As barriers to entry continue to drop, there is significant opportunity to leverage the “Hardware Revolution” for environmentally sustainable, large-scale social benefit.

Hardware for Good encompasses everything from wearables (e.g. Fitbit and Google Glass), assistive and medical technologies, to devices that improve agricultural productivity, to smart home systems that improve energy efficiency and safety. As these hardware solutions continue to grow and develop, so too are the opportunities to harness them for social good.

The Challenge

The challenge for this category is to either: a) describe plans to develop an innovative hardware technology, or b) design a technology-led solution that uses an existing hardware/product in a novel way. These solutions should solve a major societal need, have high potential for impact, and/or improve the lives of individuals. Applications may focus on a wide range of areas, including: health, assistive mobility, education, responses to natural and manmade disasters, household and commercial robotics, economic opportunities for low-income communities, and beyond. Applications should seek to maximize environmental sustainability by incorporating the concepts and values of sustainable design, circular economy, and life-cycle assessment. Students are not required to produce a physical prototype by the Full Proposal deadline, but they must submit a blueprint, sketch, or model in their final submission.

Examples of innovative proposals that fit this category include (but are not limited to):

  • A physical medical innovation that promotes effective diagnosis or treatment.
  • Light installations that increase pedestrian interactions and foot traffic into urban spaces for safety purposes.==============================

Overview

Since 2006, over 450 student teams have received recognition and funding through the Big Ideas Contest. After using Big Ideas awards to pilot and test innovations, Big Ideas alumni often are ready to scale their projects and move their ventures forward. “Scaling Up Big Ideas” is an opportunity for former winners to gain additional support in reaching additional communities, developing new solutions to related problems, or otherwise expanding the impact of their projects.

The Challenge

The challenge for this category is for previous Big Ideas award winners to (1) highlight key achievements or progress made in implementing their original winning project idea, (2) document lessons learned in initial implementation, and (3) describe plans to revise their venture’s design or scale up their model. For the purposes of this category, Scaling Up is defined as reaching a new geographic area or underserved population, or adding to the scope and/or services of the original project in the same geographic area.

Views: 60

Reply to This

KERRY GLASGOWIS HUMANITY'S LAST BEST CHANCE - Join search for Sustainaabilty's Curricula

101ways-generation.docx 101 ways education can save the world WHAT IF WE DESIGNED LIFELONG LIVELIHOOD LOEARNING SO THAT so that teachers & students, parent & communities were empowered to be ahead of 100 times more tech rather than the remnants of a system that puts macihnes and their exhausts ahead of human life and nature's renewal 2016 is arguably the first time thet educatirs became front and centre to the question that Von neummn asked journalist to mediate back in 1951- what goods will peoples do with 100 times more tech per decade? It appears that while multilaterals like the Un got used in soundbite and twittering ages to claim they valued rifghts & inclusion, pubblic goods & safety, they fotgot theirUN tech twin in Genva has been practising global connectivity since 1865, that dellow Goats of V neumnn has chiared Intellectual Cooperation in the 1920s which pervesrely became the quasi trade union Unesco- it took Abedian inspired educations in 2016 ro reunite ed and tecah as well as health and trade ; 7 decades of the UN not valuing Numenn's question at its core is quite late, but if we dare graviate UN2 aeound this digital coperation question now we give the younger half if the world a chnace especially as a billion poorest women have been synchronised to deep community human development since 1970

Dear Robert - you kindly asked for a short email so that you could see if there is a CGTN anchor in east coast who might confidentially share views with my expectation of how only Asian young women cultural movements (parenting and community depth but amplified by transparent tech in life shaping markets eg health, food, nature..) can return sustainability to all of us
three of my father's main surveys in The Economist 1962-1977 explain imo where future history will take us (and so why younger half of world need friendship/sustainable adaptation with Chinese youth -both on mainland and diaspora)
 1962 consider japan approved by JF Kennedy: argued good news - 2 new economic models were emerging through japan korea south and taiwan relevant to all Asia Rising (nrxt to link the whole trading/supply chains of the far east coast down through hong kong and cross-seas at singapore)
1 rural keynsianism ie 100% productivity in village first of all food security- borlaug alumni ending starvation
2 supercity costal trade models which designed hi-tech borderless sme value chains- to build a 20 million person capital or an 8 million person superport you needed the same advances in engineering - partly why this second economic model was win-win for first time since engines begun Glasgow 1760 ; potentially able to leverage tech giant leaps 100 times ahead; the big opportunity von neumann had gifted us - knowhow action networking multiply value application unlike consuming up things
1976 entrepreneurial revolution -translated into italian by prodi - argued that future globalisation big politics big corporate would need to be triangularised by community scaled sme networks- this was both how innovation advancing human lot begins and also the only way to end poverty in the sense of 21st C being such that next girl born can thrive because every community taps in diversity/safety/ valuing child and health as conditions out of which intergenerational economic growth can spring
in 1977 fathers survey of china - argued that there was now great hope that china had found the system designs that would empower a billion people to escape from extreme poverty but ultimately education of the one child generation (its tech for human capabilities) would be pivotal ( parallel 1977 survey looked at the futures of half the world's people ie east of iran)
best chris macrae + 1 240 316 8157 washington DC
IN MORE DETAIL TECH HUMAN EXPONENTIALS LAST CHANCE DECADE? 
 - we are in midst of unprecedented exponential change (dad from 1960s called death of distance) the  tech legacy of von neumann (dad was his biographer due to luckily meeting him in his final years including neumann's scoping of brain science (ie ai and human i) research which he asked yale to continue in his last lecture series). Exponential risks of extinction track to  mainly western top-down errors at crossroads of tech  over last 60 years (as well as non transparent geonomic mapping of how to reconcile what mainly 10 white empires had monopoly done with machines 1760-1945 and embedded in finance - see eg keynes last chapter of general theory of money); so our 2020s destiny is conditioned by quite simple local time-stamped details but ones that have compounded so that root cause and consequence need exact opposite of academic silos- so I hope there are some simple mapping points we can agree sustainability and chinese anchors in particular are now urgently in the middle of
Both my father www.normanmacrae.net at the economist and I (eg co-authoring 1984 book 2025 report, retranslated to 1993 sweden's new vikings) have argued sustainability in early 21st c will depend mostly on how asians as 65% of humans advance and how von neumann (or moores law) 100 times more tech every decade from 1960s is valued by society and business.
My father (awarded Japan's Order of Rising Sun and one time scriptwriter for Prince Charles trips to Japan) had served as teen allied bomber command burma campaign - he therefore had google maps in his head 50 years ahead of most media people, and also believed the world needed peace (dad was only journalist at messina birth of EU ) ; from 1960 his Asian inclusion arguments were almost coincidental to Ezra Vogel who knew much more about Japan=China last 2000 years ( additionally  cultural consciousness of silk road's eastern dynamics not golden rule of Western Whites) and peter drucker's view of organisational systems
(none of the 10 people at the economist my father had mentored continued his work past 1993- 2 key friends died early; then the web turned against education-journalism when west coast ventures got taken over by advertising/commerce instead of permitting 2 webs - one hi-trust educational; the other blah blah. sell sell .sex sell. viral trivial and hate politicking)
although i had worked mainly in the far east eg with unilever because of family responsibilities I never got to china until i started bumping into chinese female graduates at un launch of sdgs in 2015- I got in 8 visits to beijing -guided by them around tsinghua, china centre of globalisation, a chinese elder Ying Lowrey who had worked on smes in usa for 25 years but was not jack ma's biographer in 2015 just as his fintech models (taobao not alibaba) were empowering villagers integration into supply chains; there was a fantastic global edutech conference dec 2016 in Tsinghua region (also 3 briefings by Romano Prodi to students) that I attended connected with  great womens education hero bangladesh's fazle abed;  Abed spent much of hs last decade hosting events with chinese and other asian ambassadors; unite university graduates around sdg projects the world needed in every community but which had first been massively demonstrated in asia - if you like a version of schwarzman scholars but inclusive of places linking all deepest sustainability goals challenges 
and i personally feel learnt a lot from 3 people broadcasting from cgtn you and the 2 ladies liu xin and  tian wei (they always seemed to do balanced interviews even in the middle of trump's hatred campaigns), through them I also became a fan of father and daughter Jin at AIIB ; i attended korea's annual general meet 2017 of aiib; it was fascinating watching bankers for 60 countries each coming up with excuses as to why they would not lead on infrastructure investments (even though the supercity economic model depends on that)
Being a diaspora scot and a mathematician borders (managers who maximise externalisation of risks) scare me; especially rise of nationalist ones ;   it is pretty clear historically that london trapped most of asia in colomisdation ; then bankrupted by world war 2 rushed to independence without the un or anyone helping redesign top-down systems ; this all crashed into bangladesh the first bottom up collaboration women lab ; ironically on health, food security, education bangladesh and chinese village women empowerment depended on sharing almost every village microfranchise between 1972 and 2000 especially on last mile health networking
in dads editing of 2025 from 1984 he had called for massive human awareness by 2001 of mans biggest risk being discrepancies in incomes and expectations of rich and poor nations; he suggested that eg public broadcast media could host a reality tv end poverty entrepreneur competition just as digital media was scaling to be as impactful as mass media
that didnt happen and pretty much every mess - reactions to 9/11, failure to do ai of epidemics as priority from 2005 instead of autonomous cars, failure to end long-term carbon investments, subprime has been rooted in the west not having either government nor big corporate systems necessary to collaboratively value Asian SDG innovations especially with 5g
I am not smart enough to understand how to thread all the politics now going on but in the event that any cgtn journalist wants to chat especially in dc where we could meet I do not see humans preventing extinction without maximising chinese youth (particularly womens dreams); due to covid we lost plans japan had to relaunch value of female athletes - so this and other ways japan and china and korea might have regained joint consciousness look as if they are being lost- in other words both cultural and education networks (not correctly valued by gdp news headlines) may still be our best chance at asian women empowerment saving us all from extinction but that needs off the record brainstorming as I have no idea what a cgtn journalist is free to cover now that trump has turned 75% of americans into seeing china as the enemy instead of looking at what asian policies of usa hurt humans (eg afghanistan is surely a human wrong caused mostly by usa); a; being a diaspora scot i have this naive idea that we need to celebrate happiness of all peoples an stop using media to spiral hatred across nations but I expect that isnt something an anchor can host generally but for example if an anchor really loves ending covid everywhere then at least in that market she needs to want to help united peoples, transparency of deep data etc

2021 afore ye go to glasgow cop26-

please map how and why - more than 3 in 4 scots earn their livelihoods worldwide not in our homeland- that requires hi-trust as well as hi-tech to try to love all cultures and nature's diversity- until mcdonalds you could use MAC OR MC TO identify our community engaging networks THAT SCALED ROUND STARTING UP THE AGE OF HUMANS AND MACHINES OF GKASGOW UNI 1760 1 2 3 - and the microfranchises they aimed to sustain  locally around each next child born - these days scots hall of fame started in 1760s around   adam smith and james watt and 195 years later glasgow engineering BA fazle abed - we hope biden unites his irish community building though cop26 -ditto we hope kamalA values gandhi- public service - but understand if he or she is too busy iN DC 2021 with covid or finding which democrats or republicans or american people speak bottom-up sustainable goals teachers and enrrepreneurs -zoom with chris.macrae@yahoo.co.uk if you are curious - fanily foundation of the economist's norman macrae- explorer of whether 100 times more tehc every decade since 1945 would end poverty or prove orwell's-big brother trumps -fears correct 2025report.com est1984 or the economist's entreprenerialrevolutionstarted up 1976 with italy/franciscan romano prodi

help assemble worldrecordjobs.com card pack 1in time for games at cop26 glasgow nov 2021 - 260th year of machines and humans started up by smith and watt- chris.macrae@yahoo.co.uk- co-author 2025report.com, networker foundation of The Economist's Norman Macrae - 60s curricula telecommuting andjapan's capitalist belt roaders; 70s curricula entreprenurial revolution and poverty-ending rural keynesianism - library of 40 annual surveys loving win-wins between nations youth biographer john von neumann


http://plunkettlakepress.com/jvn.html

101%20ways%20that%20lifelong%20education%20can%20prevent%20your%20kids%20being%20the%20extinction%20generation.docx

© 2024   Created by chris macrae.   Powered by

Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service