Award Awakens Great Interest in Municipal Governments and Civil Society

November 12 is the closing date for those interested in participating in the Experiences in Social Innovation Award, created by the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with support from the Kellogg Foundation. The project, which will reward innovative forms of management and action in the social arena, has awakened enormous interest among the region’s municipal authorities and civil society.

Its purpose is to identify and recognize the merit of innovations in the area of social development that can be analyzed and systematized to identify the lessons learned and make these experiences better known.

The contest is open to projects carried out by municipal or local governments, community and religious associations, national and international non-governmental organizations, and other private, non-profit institutions. Profit-oriented bodies can apply only within the corporate social responsibility section.

The first prize will be US$10,000, second prize US$8,000, the third US$5,000, the fourth US$3,000 and the fifth, US$2,000. Another 15 finalists will receive honourable mentions.

ECLAC and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation have established six categories for the competition: community health; basic education; youth programmes; rural development, nutrition and food safety; income generation; and corporate social responsibility and volunteering.

The most innovative models are those that have introduced quantitative and qualitative changes in practices constantly used; those with a positive impact on the beneficiaries’ quality of life; those that contribute to creating, broadening or consolidating the principles of true citizenship; those that can be replicated in other populations or countries; and those that are both sustainable and durable.

Read more about Experiences in Social Innovation Award

10/29/2004