Six projects run by the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community won competition supported by the Coca-Cola Company

  • Shaping a Better Future challenge awards six Global Shaper projects that tackle pressing problems in local communities
  • The winning project receives US$ 50,000 grant from Coca-Cola; five runner-ups receive US$ 10,000 each
  • The World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community includes more than 3,000 socially engaged Millennials in over 300 Hubs worldwide
  • For more information about the Global Shapers, visit: www.globalshapers.org

Davos, Switzerland, 21-1-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Six projects run by the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community – a worldwide network of young, dynamic and socially engaged leaders – today won a competition supported by the Coca-Cola Company to expand local projects and initiatives that are having a positive impact on their communities.

A total of US$ 100,000 was awarded as part of the Shaping a Better Future challenge, which was launched last year at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. The challenge called on Shapers from the Community’s 300 city-based Hubs across the world to come up with ideas and solutions that address local issues.

Powering Education, a joint project from Hubs in Rome and Nairobi, received the US$ 50,000 grand prize. The funding will accelerate efforts to bring safe, clean energy to school-age children living in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa where the lack of electricity makes study difficult after sunset. The programme provides schools with solar lanterns that children can borrow, replacing more common and dangerous kerosene lamps. Students recharge the solar lanterns daily at school, and families can buy them over time by paying a small daily fee.

The Coca-Cola Company, a Community Partner of the Global Shapers Community, also awarded five US$ 10,000 grants to five other Hubs for their projects:

  • Cape Town Hub, South Africa: An online and mobile platform for matching organizations and youth volunteers, offering young people experience of civic engagement to improve their employability
  • Kiev Hub, Ukraine: A non-profit youth programme providing mentorship with skilled professionals
  • Monterrey Hub, Mexico: A mobile app that links residents of city neighbourhoods with civic engagement activities
  • Port au Prince Hub, Haiti: A botanical eco-technology park in which profits from fruit exports are reinvested to support 200 school cafeterias
  • Yerevan Hub, Armenia: A digital afterschool enrichment programme for children from socially vulnerable families and children with disabilities

The winners were selected by the Global Shapers Community with final judging done by a panel of leading figures from Coca-Cola, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, as well as senior figures from government and civil society. Judging criteria included the severity of issues addressed, the number of lives impacted, overall return on investment and the ability of the project to be scaled more broadly.

Describing the projects as “breakthrough initiatives”, Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, USA, said that projects brought together innovation, scalability and the potential for collaboration:

“Our support of the Global Shapers movement reflects our view that true leading begins with taking action. These young leaders understand and, indeed, exemplify that same approach,” he added.

David Aikman, Managing Director, Head of New Champions and the Global Shapers Community, World Economic Forum, said: “Young people are an indispensable part of the solution to the challenges that communities face: economic growth, addressing social injustice and creating sustainable change. The Coca-Cola Company clearly sees this and has embraced the disruptive power of the Community. We greatly appreciate its role in helping to bring the entrepreneurial drive of Global Shapers’ to positively impact the lives of more people.”

Notes to Editors

Visit the Global Shapers website at http://globalshapers.org
Follow the Global Shapers on Twitter at @globalshapers
Become a fan of the Global Shapers on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GlobalShapers
Watch our videos on YouTube http://wef.ch/globalshapersyoutube
Become a Global Shaper at http://www.globalshapers.org/apply
Read about the Global Shapers on the Forum Blog at http://wef.ch/shapersblog
Upcoming Forum events at http://wef.ch/events
Subscribe to Forum news releases at http://wef.ch/news
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Contact:

Maxwell Hall, Senior Media Manager: Tel.: +41(0)79 329 3500, E-mail: maxwell.hall@weforum.org

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