Deadline: 15 August 2024
Applications are now open for the CIHEAM Youth Innovation Award 2024 . CIHEAM launched the Youth Innovation Prize in 2022 to reward innovative solutions, designed and implemented by young people, to accelerate the green and blue transition processes towards more sustainable, inclusive and equitable food systems in the Mediterranean (SFS Med).
The 2024 edition is being launched with the support of three partners who share common objectives and a common vision for the Mediterranean, namely the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the Union of Mediterranean Universities (UNIMED) and the Union of Mediterranean Business Confederations (Business Med).
The CIHEAM Youth Innovation Award for the Green and Blue Transition in the Mediterranean will honour an innovative solution (scientific or entrepreneurial product/service) at least at the pilot stage, developed by a young Mediterranean man or woman under the age of 39 and implemented in a country in the region. The innovation must demonstrate its ability to contribute to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of Mediterranean food systems.
Prize
- The winner will receive a financial grant of €10,000, a CIHEAM medal and a certificate.
- Other recognitions will also be awarded in the form of a one-year scholarship for a master's degree in open innovation and youth entrepreneurship at CIHEAM Bari; and in the form of an internship at one of the partner companies.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be young Mediterraneans, aged no more than 39;
- Applications must propose an innovative solution (individually or on behalf of a team/startup), at least in a pilot phase to be implemented in a Mediterranean area.
Selection criteria
The Prize will reward an innovative entrepreneurial solution capable of generating technological, scientific, economic or social impact (job placement) and demonstrating:
- Innovative and disruptive features compared to existing ones;
- Innovative quantitative and qualitative contribution to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of Mediterranean Food Systems;
- Viability and measurable sustainability;
- Potential for scale-up, reproducibility, etc;
- Innovation solution readiness (RTL)
Application
The awards ceremony will take place at a special CIHEAM session during ECOMONDO - The Green Technology Expo, one of the world's most important trade fairs dedicated to the green and circular economy, held in Rimini, Italy, from 5 to 8 November. , 2024.
