World Summit Award (WSA) Young Innovators Award for Digital Entrepreneurs 2024

World Summit Award (WSA)

Country to Study: India
Deadline: 15th October, 2024

The World Summit Awards (WSA) is an awards system, selecting and promoting local digital innovation to improve society. Combing an ongoing series of international events with a global network of experts, mentors, start-ups, social entrepreneurs, jurors, speakers, government leaders, academia and civil society,WSA was initiated in 2003 in the framework of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), mandated by the WSIS Plan of Action, and cooperates with UNESCO and UNIDO.

The WSA Young Innovators are a special recognition for young people under 26 years of age, using ICTs to take action on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The submitted solutions have to include:

• Development by young innovators under the age of 26 (born on or after January 1, 1997)
• Digital impact solutions
• Market-ready or already launched on the market

Benefits:

The contest gives participants a chance to pitch their solution to a global network of national experts, building valuable connections in the process. The winners will get win the chance to join WSA in Hyderabad India for the 19th WSA Global Congress. This will give winners the chance to:

• Connect with likeminded people including partners, investors, and fellow impact entrepreneurs
• Join the knowledge society of thought leaders, innovators and stakeholders in a community that fosters collaboration over competition
• Access unique opportunities through WSA’s global network
• Learn globally and act locally – get to know specialists solving similar problems to you, and transfer their learnings to your local ecosystem

Requirements:

• Eligible for young citizens of all UN member states, WSA Young Innovators is open to every start-up, social entrepreneur, NGO, student or individual!
• The participation in the WSA Young Innovators is open to any entrepreneur, company, student group or project team – at least one of the founding members and the majority of the team must be under the age of 26
• Submissions for the WSA Young Innovators can contain all mobile and web-based projects, such as: apps, web pages, applications for wearables, kiosk installations, SMS based products, games and interactive productions. There is no limitation regarding the platforms or channels the projects work with.
• All submissions have to be launched products. No drafts, ideas or unfinished projects can be accepted.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Young Innovators Award

Timeline:

• May 15, 2024: WSA will be accepting Young Innovator applications starting on this date
• October 15, 2024: This is the deadline – WSA will no longer accept applications after this date
• November 2024: The Online Jury will evaluate the applications to select the shortlist
• January 2025: Shortlisted solutions will be announced
• TBA 2025: The Grand Jury will evaluate the shortlist to select the winners
• April 6-9, 2025: Young Innovator winners will be presented and awarded along with all the other WSA winners at the WSA Global Congress in Hyderabad, India

Rules

• Submission guidelines encompass adherence to human rights principles and exclusion of content promoting violence, fraud, racism, or discrimination
• The WSA Young Innovators award is open to those under 26 from UN and UNESCO member states
• Only launched products with local impact and alterations from previous submissions are eligible
• Producers grant WSA non-commercial exploitation rights for promotional purposes
• English is the official language for communication and database information
• Incomplete or guideline-defying submissions may be disqualified at the jury’s discretion

Apply Here