The Melton Foundation SDG Innovation Challenge 2023 for young Africans

Application Deadline: 31 August, 2023

Are you a young African with a desire to collaborate with others who share your passion for creating positive change starting from the local level? If you are a student, professional, community activist, change-maker, or simply someone interested in making a difference on the continent and in the world, the SDG Innovation Challenge is the place to be!

Under the theme Mobilizing the African Youth for Sustainable Impact, the SDG Innovation Challenge 2023 converges young talent with three primary goals:

• To trigger fresh thinking by connecting innovators from diverse backgrounds and sectors.
• To develop practical, impact-oriented solution ideas through cross-boundary collaboration.
• To ignite transformative action towards sustainable development and improved livelihoods of communities across Africa.

Benefits

• Access to an unorthodox, dynamic, and diverse platform of youth activists, organizations, and legislators – Tap into a conducive online space to converge around practical SDG solutions!
• A much-needed opportunity to visualize and implement the SDGs at the grassroots level – Participate in the making of our future and jumpstart your involvement in the sustainable development agenda as an active, passionate global citizen.
• Immense networking potential – Build connections, and be part of a community of practice around eco-systemic, collaborative solutions.
• A space to exercise your global citizenship muscle – Sharpen and hone skills in leadership, innovation, cross-sector collaboration, analytic thinking, interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and allied areas.
• Sourcing diversity of thought, background, and sector – Collaborate with people from many different domains, including engineering, design, civic policy, social justice reform, project management, finance, education, and many others.

Applicants must:

• Share a passion, drive, and commitment to improving livelihoods in your community and beyond
• Have a genuine interest in sustainable development and a desire to contribute to advancing the SDGs in your community and beyond
• Possess the motivation to engage pro-actively throughout the event
• Be able to work in an interdisciplinary team from different domains and geographies
• Have the motivation to extensively ideate throughout the SDG Innovation Challenge and work in an agile hackathon-like environment
• Be committed to taking the idea to completion and remain engaged with the cause after the SDG Innovation Challenge

How to Participate

To participate virtually on 21-23 September, you must register by 31 August, 2023 before 11:59 PM GMT.

Before registering, here are some rules to keep in mind:

• Only groups of 4 to 7 people can register! Read on because the important stuff is yet to come:
  Diversity is one of the core values of the SDG Innovation Challenge, and we encourage anyone interested in participating in the SDG Innovation Challenge 2023 to join our pre-event connector space on Facebook to connect in diversity early. Because when people from diverse realities and backgrounds connect around a shared cause, real innovations shape up.
  Whether you’re an individual who’s looking for a group of like-minded people to register or whether you already have a (small) group in mind but could use some more diversity of thought and talent: The connector space is an excellent opportunity to meet people who are committed to sustainable development and interested in participating in the event. It’s in your hands to find out more about each other – what motivates you, the skills you bring, the dreams you have, the communities you serve, etc. – and to come together in groups of 4-7 people and register for the SDG Innovation Challenge 2023!

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the SDG Innovation Challenge 2023