Deadline: 05-Jul-21
The 2021 Youth Innovation Challenge, hosted by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, invites North American youth, aged 18 to 30, to propose innovative solutions to support communities in becoming more resilient and adaptive to climate change and help foster equal access to a healthy environment for all, particularly those underserved and vulnerable in Canada, Mexico and the United States (including isolated, remote, and Indigenous communities and peoples).
Since 2017, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation has hosted the annual Youth Innovation Challenge, a contest that invites youth from Canada, Mexico and the United States to submit their innovative ideas and solutions for improving both the environment and the economy in North America.
This 5th annual challenge focuses on Climate Change and Environmental Justice Innovations for Resilient Communities.
Funding Information
- North American youth will compete for up to C$15,000 per country in seed funding, a chance to present their solutions to North America’s top environmental officials and an opportunity to engage in a youth-led networking and mentorship event.
- Up to two winning submissions per country will be selected.
- In addition, winners will receive technical advice from experts associated with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation to help advance their solution.
Additional Considerations
- Possible innovations could consider the use of traditional ecological knowledge, nature-based solutions and support for sustainable innovation and emerging clean technologies, among others, and/or consider local knowledge and transform that knowledge into an innovative action or solution.
- Priority will be given to those solutions from young entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs (an entrepreneur within an existing organization) that demonstrate a direct impact on promoting equal access to a healthy environment, particularly from social and economic perspectives.
Eligibility Criteria
- Participants in the CEC Youth Innovation Challenge must be 18 to 30 years old on the date they upload their solution to the Submittable platform. The solution may be uploaded by an individual or a team of submitters.
- Participants must be residents of Canada, Mexico or the United States.
- Participants must demonstrate that their innovative solution supports community resilience to climate change and climate-related issues, and directly yields equitable environmental benefits and resilience for local communities (e.g., by addressing environmental injustices affecting communities of color, low-income, and Indigenous communities).
- By submitting a solution, participants confirm that they are the sole author or have obtained written permission from all team members who contributed to developing the solution before uploading it to the submission platform.
- Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) staff, Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) members, CEC, JPAC and TEKEG immediate family members, and Youth Innovation Challenge judges or immediate family members of judges (siblings, children, grandchildren) are not eligible to enter.
For more information, visit http://www.cec.org/files/2021_guidelines.pdf