Backstory
The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town, along with Douglas Knowledge Partners, are thrilled to announce the third annual Youth Innovation Essay Prize.
Young people between the ages of 18 and 30 are invited to write a 1,500–2,000 word essay about a great idea they have for South Africa’s future. This year, our theme is “Innovations for Planetary Health”. We want to hear your thoughts on how we can promote human health and social justice, while preserving the environment that allows us to thrive. Planetary health highlights the interdependence of human health and wellbeing, equity, and environmental sustainability; including issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
You might describe a new business that stewards our natural resources or biodiversity to safeguard health, or a non-profit or public sector innovation that addresses local climate risks to health and social wellbeing, or creative and artistic endeavours that could enrich our understanding of South Africa’s living heritage of connectedness to nature.
We’d love to read about your great idea that would enable South Africans, including young people, to flourish, while bringing benefit to people elsewhere in the world. Be creative, even surprise us—but also be pragmatic, showing us in detail the interconnection of health and the environment, and how the idea could really work in the South African context and beyond.
