Project Inspire Announces Top 10 Finalists
10 Projects on Women’s Safety to Pitch in Singapore
SINGAPORE, October 31, 2016: Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard announced today the finalists of this year’s Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World campaign. The competition, now in its sixth year, attracted over 270 submissions from the region working on women’s and girls’ safety and security.
"The theme of safety and security this year ties well with UN Women global's flagship initiative 'Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces' programme, which the Singapore Committee is helping to support. According to UN statistics, almost 70% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. Women in particular are vulnerable to this change, bearing a disproportionate share of the burden in times of natural disasters, facing increased gender-based violence as well as increased poverty and health issues. We are thrilled that Project Inspire provides the ten finalists with a platform to propose a variety of sustainable solutions that clearly address the multiple aspects of safety and security for women and girls in Asia Pacific," said Trina Liang-Lin, President of the Singapore Committee for UN Women.
The ten finalists stood out from the pool of innovative ideas with their strong sustainable solutions. Bringing together methodologies ranging from digital to traditional, issues addressed by the ten youth social entrepreneurs included accessibility to safer communities and healthcare systems, financial and livelihood security, and equipping women and girls with essential life skills.
Mastercard continues to support initiatives promoting women empowerment in Asia Pacific, investing a US$25,000 Grand Prize to one project this year. Joining the effort to create lasting impact for many women and girls is new Supporting Partner Mazars, contributing a US$10,000 Financial Inclusion Award to the competition, bringing the total prize pool to US$35,000.
“Safety and security issues remain a palpable threat to women and girls across the Asia Pacific region, yet it is an often overlooked issue. It is also a key inhibitor of socioeconomic gender parity, a factor crucial for economic growth. As we work to empower women and girls, together with like-minded partners such as the Singapore Committee for UN Women, INSEAD, Bain & Company, Mazars and Impact Guru, we are investing in Asia Pacific’s youth. We are proud of them, as they tackle today’s security challenges for a brighter and safer tomorrow,” said Georgette Tan, Senior Vice President, Communications, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.
Denis Usher, Managing Partner at Mazars Singapore added: “We are excited to join forces with the Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard in their initiative of creating a better world for women and girls through inspiring women in Asia Pacific.”
Prior to shortlisting finalists, 20 projects were vying for a finalist spot during the competition’s semi-finalist stage – a crowdfunding contest courtesy of official Crowdfunding Partner, Impact Guru. The online fundraising was introduced to increase exposure for semi-finalists. Village Volunteers, supporting a project in India, was voted as People’s Choice Award by the general public, leading the crowdfunding campaign with 423 supporters and total raised amount of US$12,693 in 30 days, guaranteeing them a spot as a finalist.
Piyush Jain, Co-Founder and CEO, Impact Guru said: “The crowdfunding stage for Project Inspire has been a tremendous success with approximately US$40,000 raised from more than 1,100 supporters from over 30 countries. Beyond raising funds, crowdfunding has helped significantly in increasing awareness about issues affecting women and girls and supporting social innovation to create a safer world for them across Asia Pacific.”
The ten finalists will convene in Singapore in November for a week-long boot camp of mentoring, workshops, and a platform to pitch their ideas live to the general public, supporting organisations and a panel of esteemed judges and industry experts. Finalists stand a chance at taking home Mastercard’s Grand Prize of US$25,000 and a Financial Inclusion Award of US$10,000 thanks to Mazars and Mastercard.
Project Inspire culminates on Thursday 24th November 2016 for the Grand Final at the Responsible Business Forum. The event will take place at Marina Bay Sands from 5.00pm to 8.00pm. Members of the public can register their attendance on Peatix. For those based overseas, the Grand Final will also be streamed live on the Project Inspire website and Facebook.
Project Inspire is co-organised and co-founded by Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard. Knowledge Partner, INSEAD and Strategic Partner, Bain & Company have been long-term supporters of the initiative. Mazars joins the competition for 2016, in support of women’s empowerment and social entrepreneurship. This year, the initiative also welcomes back returning Program Partner, Independent Project Analysis, new Program Partner, Own Your Brilliance, and Crowdfunding Partner, Impact Guru.
Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard PresentsProject Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World 2016 Finalists
Organisation Name: Humanitarian Organization For Migration Economics (HOME)
Project Name: Leaders Amongst Us
Project Location: Singapore
About: Through this project, female foreign domestic workers in Singapore will undergo 40 weeks of training in order to become para-counsellors, ensuring open communication,
better mental and emotional health, safe employment, and reduced risk of abuse and self-harm.
Organisation Name: A New Vision Limited
Project Name: Women's Right to Sight
Project Location: Indonesia
About: This project wants to restore the sights of blind women and girls in Indonesia so that they can go about their daily lives independently, and also educate women who are working or are about to work in community health care services on basic eye care.
Organisation Name: Generation 414
Project Name: Be Her Change
Project Location: Thailand
About: They want to provide economic alternatives and leadership development, educational opportunities, an emergency shelter, rehabilitation, child care and basic necessities to both national and international victims of trafficking and prostitution.
Organisation Name: Colorss Foundation
Project Name: Mission 1000
Project Location: India
About: Mission 1000 wants to empower 1000 under-privileged girls by training and equipping them with self-defence skills.
Organisation Name: CoDesign Studio
Project Name: Street by Street
Project Location: Australia
About: A curriculum and training program that mobilises local women to lead public space improvement projects in their neighbourhood would be developed through this project. Improved spaces would make neighbourhoods safer and more inclusive for women.
Organisation Name: Village Volunteers
Project Name: MUKTI
Project Location: India
About: This project runs a biodegradable sanitary pad company which empowers vulnerable women who have lived a life of abuse, either trafficked or born into inter-generational prostitution, by employing them.
Organisation Name: CareNx Innovations Pvt Ltd
Project Name: Care Mother Pregnancy Care
Project Location: India
About: Through their program, effective antenatal care and better healthcare access to pregnant women living in villages during 0-9 months of pregnancy will be provided by making use of mobile phone technology.
Organisation Name: The Global Women's Project Limited
Project Name: Women Get Mobile
Project Location: Nepal
About: This project provides a skills training program that increases women’s economic security by teaching them to repair mobile phones and supports them to use these new skills to generate an income for themselves and their families.
Organisation Name: Hue Help
Project Name: Swimming for Safety
Project Location: Vietnam
About: This project wants to train girls with a specific set of survival swimming skills via professional swimming instructors. Since drowning is a leading cause of child mortality in Vietnam, providing these skills needed for girls to stay safe around water would reduce their risk of drowning.
Organisation Name: Sport and Leadership Training Academy (SALT Academy)
Project Name: Mighty Girls
Project Location: Cambodia
About: The Mighty Girls program selects girls aged 12 to 18 from rural communities across the Northwest region of Cambodia at risk of trafficking, early marriage or from dropping out of school and who shows promising football skills, to provide them with a safe shelter, quality education and football training.
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About Project Inspire:
A joint initiative by the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard, Project Inspire is a social entrepreneurship challenge for youth to pitch their inspired ideas that empower women and girls in Asia Pacific. Up to 20 semi-finalists will be selected to go through a crowdfunding stage, with up to ten finalists winning an all-expenses-paid trip to Singapore in November, 2016 for the Grand Finals. Finalists will also receive exclusive boot-camp, mentoring sessions, and the opportunity to be awarded grants. #ProjInspire
About Mazars:
Mazars is an international, integrated and independent organisation, specialising in audit, accountancy, tax, legal and advisory services. As of 1st January 2016, Mazars operates throughout the 77 countries that make up its integrated partnership. We draw on the expertise of 17,000 professionals to assist major international groups, SMEs, private investors and public bodies at every stage of their development. #Mazarsforgood
About Impact Guru:
Impact Guru offers a complete crowdfunding solution that combines social or donation crowdfunding, rewards crowdfunding for individuals, non-profits, social enterprises, or start-ups for all their fundraising needs - be it small or large. The company was incubated at Harvard Innovation Lab’s Venture Initiation Program in USA in 2014 and PACT at Impact Hub in Singapore in 2015. Impact Guru has offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and San Francisco.
10 Projects on Women’s Safety to Pitch in Singapore
SINGAPORE, October 31, 2016: Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard announced today the finalists of this year’s Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World campaign. The competition, now in its sixth year, attracted over 270 submissions from the region working on women’s and girls’ safety and security.
"The theme of safety and security this year ties well with UN Women global's flagship initiative 'Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces' programme, which the Singapore Committee is helping to support. According to UN statistics, almost 70% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. Women in particular are vulnerable to this change, bearing a disproportionate share of the burden in times of natural disasters, facing increased gender-based violence as well as increased poverty and health issues. We are thrilled that Project Inspire provides the ten finalists with a platform to propose a variety of sustainable solutions that clearly address the multiple aspects of safety and security for women and girls in Asia Pacific," said Trina Liang-Lin, President of the Singapore Committee for UN Women.
The ten finalists stood out from the pool of innovative ideas with their strong sustainable solutions. Bringing together methodologies ranging from digital to traditional, issues addressed by the ten youth social entrepreneurs included accessibility to safer communities and healthcare systems, financial and livelihood security, and equipping women and girls with essential life skills.
Mastercard continues to support initiatives promoting women empowerment in Asia Pacific, investing a US$25,000 Grand Prize to one project this year. Joining the effort to create lasting impact for many women and girls is new Supporting Partner Mazars, contributing a US$10,000 Financial Inclusion Award to the competition, bringing the total prize pool to US$35,000.
“Safety and security issues remain a palpable threat to women and girls across the Asia Pacific region, yet it is an often overlooked issue. It is also a key inhibitor of socioeconomic gender parity, a factor crucial for economic growth. As we work to empower women and girls, together with like-minded partners such as the Singapore Committee for UN Women, INSEAD, Bain & Company, Mazars and Impact Guru, we are investing in Asia Pacific’s youth. We are proud of them, as they tackle today’s security challenges for a brighter and safer tomorrow,” said Georgette Tan, Senior Vice President, Communications, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.
Denis Usher, Managing Partner at Mazars Singapore added: “We are excited to join forces with the Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard in their initiative of creating a better world for women and girls through inspiring women in Asia Pacific.”
Prior to shortlisting finalists, 20 projects were vying for a finalist spot during the competition’s semi-finalist stage – a crowdfunding contest courtesy of official Crowdfunding Partner, Impact Guru. The online fundraising was introduced to increase exposure for semi-finalists. Village Volunteers, supporting a project in India, was voted as People’s Choice Award by the general public, leading the crowdfunding campaign with 423 supporters and total raised amount of US$12,693 in 30 days, guaranteeing them a spot as a finalist.
Piyush Jain, Co-Founder and CEO, Impact Guru said: “The crowdfunding stage for Project Inspire has been a tremendous success with approximately US$40,000 raised from more than 1,100 supporters from over 30 countries. Beyond raising funds, crowdfunding has helped significantly in increasing awareness about issues affecting women and girls and supporting social innovation to create a safer world for them across Asia Pacific.”
The ten finalists will convene in Singapore in November for a week-long boot camp of mentoring, workshops, and a platform to pitch their ideas live to the general public, supporting organisations and a panel of esteemed judges and industry experts. Finalists stand a chance at taking home Mastercard’s Grand Prize of US$25,000 and a Financial Inclusion Award of US$10,000 thanks to Mazars and Mastercard.
Project Inspire culminates on Thursday 24th November 2016 for the Grand Final at the Responsible Business Forum. The event will take place at Marina Bay Sands from 5.00pm to 8.00pm. Members of the public can register their attendance on Peatix. For those based overseas, the Grand Final will also be streamed live on the Project Inspire website and Facebook.
Project Inspire is co-organised and co-founded by Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard. Knowledge Partner, INSEAD and Strategic Partner, Bain & Company have been long-term supporters of the initiative. Mazars joins the competition for 2016, in support of women’s empowerment and social entrepreneurship. This year, the initiative also welcomes back returning Program Partner, Independent Project Analysis, new Program Partner, Own Your Brilliance, and Crowdfunding Partner, Impact Guru.
Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard PresentsProject Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World 2016 Finalists
Organisation Name: Humanitarian Organization For Migration Economics (HOME)
Project Name: Leaders Amongst Us
Project Location: Singapore
About: Through this project, female foreign domestic workers in Singapore will undergo 40 weeks of training in order to become para-counsellors, ensuring open communication,
better mental and emotional health, safe employment, and reduced risk of abuse and self-harm.
Organisation Name: A New Vision Limited
Project Name: Women's Right to Sight
Project Location: Indonesia
About: This project wants to restore the sights of blind women and girls in Indonesia so that they can go about their daily lives independently, and also educate women who are working or are about to work in community health care services on basic eye care.
Organisation Name: Generation 414
Project Name: Be Her Change
Project Location: Thailand
About: They want to provide economic alternatives and leadership development, educational opportunities, an emergency shelter, rehabilitation, child care and basic necessities to both national and international victims of trafficking and prostitution.
Organisation Name: Colorss Foundation
Project Name: Mission 1000
Project Location: India
About: Mission 1000 wants to empower 1000 under-privileged girls by training and equipping them with self-defence skills.
Organisation Name: CoDesign Studio
Project Name: Street by Street
Project Location: Australia
About: A curriculum and training program that mobilises local women to lead public space improvement projects in their neighbourhood would be developed through this project. Improved spaces would make neighbourhoods safer and more inclusive for women.
Organisation Name: Village Volunteers
Project Name: MUKTI
Project Location: India
About: This project runs a biodegradable sanitary pad company which empowers vulnerable women who have lived a life of abuse, either trafficked or born into inter-generational prostitution, by employing them.
Organisation Name: CareNx Innovations Pvt Ltd
Project Name: Care Mother Pregnancy Care
Project Location: India
About: Through their program, effective antenatal care and better healthcare access to pregnant women living in villages during 0-9 months of pregnancy will be provided by making use of mobile phone technology.
Organisation Name: The Global Women's Project Limited
Project Name: Women Get Mobile
Project Location: Nepal
About: This project provides a skills training program that increases women’s economic security by teaching them to repair mobile phones and supports them to use these new skills to generate an income for themselves and their families.
Organisation Name: Hue Help
Project Name: Swimming for Safety
Project Location: Vietnam
About: This project wants to train girls with a specific set of survival swimming skills via professional swimming instructors. Since drowning is a leading cause of child mortality in Vietnam, providing these skills needed for girls to stay safe around water would reduce their risk of drowning.
Organisation Name: Sport and Leadership Training Academy (SALT Academy)
Project Name: Mighty Girls
Project Location: Cambodia
About: The Mighty Girls program selects girls aged 12 to 18 from rural communities across the Northwest region of Cambodia at risk of trafficking, early marriage or from dropping out of school and who shows promising football skills, to provide them with a safe shelter, quality education and football training.
---
About Project Inspire:
A joint initiative by the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard, Project Inspire is a social entrepreneurship challenge for youth to pitch their inspired ideas that empower women and girls in Asia Pacific. Up to 20 semi-finalists will be selected to go through a crowdfunding stage, with up to ten finalists winning an all-expenses-paid trip to Singapore in November, 2016 for the Grand Finals. Finalists will also receive exclusive boot-camp, mentoring sessions, and the opportunity to be awarded grants. #ProjInspire
About Mazars:
Mazars is an international, integrated and independent organisation, specialising in audit, accountancy, tax, legal and advisory services. As of 1st January 2016, Mazars operates throughout the 77 countries that make up its integrated partnership. We draw on the expertise of 17,000 professionals to assist major international groups, SMEs, private investors and public bodies at every stage of their development. #Mazarsforgood
About Impact Guru:
Impact Guru offers a complete crowdfunding solution that combines social or donation crowdfunding, rewards crowdfunding for individuals, non-profits, social enterprises, or start-ups for all their fundraising needs - be it small or large. The company was incubated at Harvard Innovation Lab’s Venture Initiation Program in USA in 2014 and PACT at Impact Hub in Singapore in 2015. Impact Guru has offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and San Francisco.
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David Nosibor
Innovation Promoter - Singapore
HOMENEWSLATEST NEWS PROJECT INSPIRE ANNOUNCES TOP 10 FINALISTS