Vantage 720 VR will allow students to experience and see changes to their environment in a story format. It will delve into the consequences associated with climate change, as well as recovery scenarios in order to instill confidence within students that they have the capacity to make a difference with sustainable actions. Our VR glasses will be linked to a smartphone to allow for easy access and affordability in the region, since most Zambians have smartphones. The curriculum will be designed by climate change experts, Indigenous Elders, as well as educators to ensure that it will be culturally relevant.

This represents value to our users as we are humanizing climate change and impact to students in a guided syllabus with solutions. This will directly solve their needs for engaging climate change material that is localized as well as bridge the connection between textbook knowledge and reality. Stakeholders will find value to invest in the future generation that will benefit their business models.

Silver winner: Braiding Trust

Conflicts between local communities & forest officials in Mt.Elgon forest (Kenya) stem from a lack of trust & resource conflict. Forest officials must engage & empower women across ethnic groups because despite being formally disempowered, women are interconnected and trusted influencers. Braiding Trust uses beauty courses to incentivize hairdressers to learn about forest conservation & women’s empowerment & spread this info through their networks, slowly building trust with forest officials. The user would be the Kenya Forest Service (KFS).

In spite of a busy life, the one leisure activity which she engages in is braiding her hair at the local saloon. This is a 2-3-hour long activity and is a personal as well as social experience where she tends to engage in conversations with the saloon assistant. During these conversations, we propose to work with the saloon assistants to weave in messages related to conservation and, gradually, make her receptive to messages from KFS and participate in their outreach activities.

Bronze winner: Urban Cool

Rising temperatures in cities due to increased human activity. Vulnerable communities are especially at risk of heat-related ailments, due to lack of access to cooling measures. This will only get more severe as cities continue to grow. Urban Cool propose an integrated, sustainable model for a community-owned cooling system covering both short- and long-term needs.  Evaporative coolers can be retrofitted with solar panels and batteries to provide portable cooling to slum-dwellers. This provides cooling to slum-dwellers using minimal electricity. Increased humidity from the coolers aids the growth of air plants and climbers, allowing communities to install green meshes. These increase shading and reduce ambient temperatures in the long-term.
Installation will be financed through a flexible ownership and rental payment system. Payment packages for coolers are customized to users’ economic needs, with flexible schemes such as installments and modular needs-based rental. This model can be exported to other communities via a franchise-like model, through local entrepreneurs and business owners.

This theme is sponsored by: