KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): Youths with vision are wanted to develop solutions for the big health and social concerns arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
To encourage them, Impact Hub, the world’s largest network focused on building entrepreneurial communities is partnering with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to offer grants, mentoring and networking opportunities to upscale their innovations.
Three winners will receive RM4,000 in seed grants each, the competition organisers said.
The grants will be matched by partners to the same or higher amount, in addition to mentorship opportunities and connections to global networks to crystallise their vision and build it into working solutions that can be adopted at a national and regional level, Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur, the local arm of Impact Hub Global, said in a statement.
Titled ‘Imagine the World Anew: A Call for Youth Voices on Covid-19 in Malaysia’, the competition is organised in partnership with Social Entrepreneurship to Spur Health (SESH) and Social Innovation in Health Initiative (SIHI) at the University of North Carolina.
Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur Co-Founder and Board Member Dr. Shariha Khalid Erichsen said, “Youth have been amongst some of the worst impacted groups in our communities as the pandemic has brought long-lasting and new health issues, job losses, disrupted education and negatively impacted their social wellbeing. Unless urgent action is taken, young people are likely to suffer severe and long-lasting impacts from the pandemic. And the best solutions will come from the youths themselves.”
The competition has three categories.
The first category is ‘Youth-Led Social Innovations in Health,’ focused on finding innovations directly related to the pandemic, such as managing the number of Covid-19 cases or improving contact tracing practices through innovative solutions such as specialised apps or community mobilisation initiatives. Solutions for indirect Covid-19 health problems such as mental health and job losses are also welcome, the statement said.
The second category is ‘Youth Messaging’ for compelling youth messages and creative works including music, videos, performance pieces and artwork to educate youth on various Covid-19 issues.
This can be any pandemic-related messages that contribute to collective health and wellbeing for young people and their loved ones, the organisers said.
The third category for submissions is ‘Futures Thinking and Strategic Planning’ and the organisers are looking for visionary youth who have ideas for overcoming risks and problems related to health or the future of health.
The competition is open to all Malaysian youth aged 18 to 30 years old and closes tomorrow.
“Youth have the opportunity to be key actors for health and can help define the future they want. This open call allows them to participate and truly contribute to the development of solutions to some of the biggest challenges posed by the pandemic. It is important that we listen closely to their innovative ideas and ensure that their voices are included in the response and in shaping health policies,” said Dr Ying-Ru Lo, WHO Representative to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
“Youth are often at margins when it comes to setting priorities, informing decision-making, and creating public health solutions. This exciting crowdsourcing open call hosted by Impact Hub and partners disrupts this storyline, putting youth front and center. Youth can and will make a difference!” said Dr Joseph Tucker from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Entries may be in Bahasa Malaysia or English and can be submitted individually or in groups of three to four persons.
For more information and to submit entries, please visit http://bit.ly/ITWA2021