Ceremonia de cierre Premio a la Innovación Juvenil Rural

Last March 3, the Rural Youth Innovation Award, launched its Second Edition. The aim of the competition was to identify and reward innovative initiatives, implemented by 18-to 35-year-olds, who contributed to overcoming the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region’s rural areas.

131 initiatives were registered from 15 countries in the region, who entered to compete for one of the following categories:

•   Financial Inclusion
•   Recycling and Alternative Energies
•   Connectivity Solutions
•   Female Empowerment and Gender Inclusion
•  Marketing and Market Access Solutions.

The initiatives received were evaluated by a committee composed of 29 experts and experts from United Nations agencies, civil society organizations working in rural development and private companies. We selected 17 finalist initiatives, taking into account criteria such as: degree of innovation of their enterprises and results and impacts in overcoming the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 in rural areas.

Meet the finalists

1. AGROUNE (Colombia)
2. ARDOWN (Mexico)
3. CAMINNOS (Bolivia)
4. Chao COVID 19 (Colombia)
5. Lighting Communities: rural development through solar energy-PowerMundo (Peru)
6. Water harvesting for sustainable development of communities (Peru)
7. Empowerment of the Amazon Girl and Woman (ENMA) (Peru)
8. Energy Grata (Colombia)
9. Fotolampara-Energy within reach of a plant (Colombia)
10. Gavilan Coffee (Honduras)
11. Junpajal O ‘ tanil Armonia del Heart (Mexico)
12. Women of Change (Mexico)
13. Agroecological production for responsible consumption (Guatemala)
14. Projeto Compostar (Brazil)
15. PUTZKAN (Peru)
16. Raeasy (Brazil)
17. TeleSAN (Honduras)

On July 8, the Prize will release the winners of this Second Edition at a semi-face-to-face ceremony organized from Ean University in Bogotá, Colombia, with the participation of Rossana Polastri, IFAD Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The event will finally mark the Closing the Rural Youth Innovation Award in Latin America and the Caribbean that is reaching the end of its implementation process.

The winning initiatives of this 2nd edition will be promoted in the channels of communication of the Prize and IFAD in order to provide visibility and allow them to serve as inspiration to similar projects. In addition, the winners will receive a summer course offered by Ean University, financial resources (awarded by the Alpine Foundation for the best qualified initiative in the “Marketing and Access to Markets Solutions” category) as well as the publication of the history of their ventures.