COVID-19 Youth Design Challenge

LET US CREATE A STRONGER AFRICA TOGETHER
The COVID-19 pandemic has already impacted millions of people across Africa. Help not only reduce this impact, but contribute to more positive futures by sharing your voice and ideas in the COVID-19 youth challenge.

OVERVIEW

COVID-19 is impacting us all as we deal with the new normal of social distancing and lockdowns. Misinformation and fake news amplify our fears. Hard realities like loss of income, job insecurity, stalled education, food shortages and lack of cleanwater, force us to explore unique ways to cope. While we cannot always prevent such impacts, we can be better prepared.

UNICEF has partnered with Cartedo to empower youth across Africa to solve a series of global grand challenges and positively impact communities while developing employability skills. We believe that youth have unique perspectives on these challenges and should be given the opportunity to become knowledge producers. This is your chance to Be seen, Be heard and Be the Change!

ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

This challenge gives youth a voice in exploring how we might empower people and communities to become more pandemic-resilient. We are looking for your ideas to solve real challenges faced by real people just like you. This challenge offers you the opportunity to develop future-ready employability skills like design thinking while contributing to the global efforts to tackle COVID-19.

As you progress through this challenge, you will use a human-centered design approach to discover how COVID-19 is impacting real people in different ways, define these challenges from a human-centered perspective, and develop innovative solutions to these challenges.

You will start by exploring human needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic and turn your findings into core challenges faced by real people. By using our tools and techniques you will generate multiple ideas to solve these challenges and prototype solutions to share with people around the world.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

Anyone over the age of 14 who identifies as Youth

REWARDS

Get certified in design thinking as you develop products, services and solutions to the challenges faced by people in your community like misinformation & trust, depression, income insecurity and stalled learning. Everyone who finishes this challenge will receive a certificate of participation from UNICEF, acknowledging your positive contribution in the fight against this pandemic. See the Rewards tab for more details.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

CHALLENGE TIMELINE

May 13, 2020, 12:00 AM – Challenge opens
Jun 13, 2020, 12:00 AM – Last day to submit ideas
Jun 13, 2020, 12:00 AM – Last day to submit Prototyped Solutions
Jun 13, 2020, 12:00 AM – Challenge closes