Posts Tagged ‘ashoka’

  • Youth Venture: awesome inventions to change the world

    By Hannah Wright On 26th February 10

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    hannah
    Anyone who doubts young people’s ability to create innovative solutions to the problems faced by their communities should check these amazing inventions from young people.

    Ashoka’s Youth Venture project ran the Invent Your World Challenge to  reward 16-25 year olds from all over the world for inventions that help their communities. The winners were a big hit at the recent Tech4Society conference in Hyderabad, India.

    Still only 16 years old, competition winner Javier Fernández-Han invented an algae-powered energy system that combines a dozen new and existing technologies to treat waste, produce methane and bio-oil for fuel, produce food for humans and livestock, sequester greenhouse gases, and produce oxygen. The VERSATILE system is targeted at developing communities which need sources of power and waste disposal - and while it hasn’t actually been built yet, you’ve got to admire the sheer ambition of the project.

    We also love Tractor Factor, designed by 23-year-old Shailesh Upadhyay from Velore, India. He found it difficult to study in the evenings at his home in rural India, so he came up with a system which uses the battery in a tractor to power a fluorescent light at night. It’s now being installed in homes throughout his village.

    Really inspiring stuff for a Friday read - find out more about the winners here.

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  • Spotlight: Ashoka and Youth Venture

    By Anjali Ramachandran On 23rd May 09

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    anjali

    This presentation is rather interesting, because it ties up the concept of social entrepreneurship with youth action. Created by Ashoka and Youth Venture, it explains the background behind the two organisations and how working together can help shape a new generation of changemakers. For those not in the know, Ashoka is an organisation that supports and provides opportunities for social entrepreneurs who work across the world, mostly in developing countries, to create innovative and vital solutions to problems such as poverty and illiteracy. Youth Venture is a division of Ashoka focussing on young people. Take a look at the presentation:

    Ashoka And Youth Venture Overview

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    Posted in Spotlight