DO YOU HAVE DIGITAL
SOLUTIONS
THAT ADDRESS THE
EFFECTS OF THE
COVID-19
PANDEMIC IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH?
The International
Telecommunication
Union (ITU)
and the
United
Nations Office for
South-South
Cooperation (UNOSSC)
have jointly
launched the Digital
Innovation
Challenge, in
response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The Challenge will
identify scalable
innovative digital
solutions that will
enable countries,
societies,
communities,
institutions and
individuals from the
Global South to deal
with the cascading
effects of the
pandemic – across
governance, economic
and social sectors,
and wellbeing – and
contribute to the
organizations’
respective focuses
on South-South
cooperation and
digital
technologies.
South-South and
triangular
cooperation, through
facilitating
knowledge exchange,
interaction and
establishment of
networks, building
capacity and
deploying working
solutions and
innovations on a
broader level, will
help us tackle
challenges brought
upon by the current
pandemic.
Governments,
intergovernmental
organizations, NGOs,
private sector and
start-ups, research
institutions,
academia and civil
society
organizations (CSOs)
with a digital
solution that
addresses the
effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic
are invited to apply
for the Challenge.
The Challenge is
supported by the
Global
South-South
Development Center
Project (GSSDC)
which is jointly
initiated by UNOSSC
and China
International Center
for Economic and
Technical Exchanges
(CICETE), with
funding support from
the Government of
China to the UN Fund
for South-South
Cooperation.
Objective of the
Challenge
The Challenge seeks
to promote
South-South
cooperation by
replicating or
scaling up existing
Southern innovations
with a potential
partner/ country in
the South. It seeks
to identify,
recognize and
support digital
innovation solutions
in the Global South
and harness its
potential to
accelerate digital
transformation in
the developing
world.
The Challenge will
provide a mentorship
scheme to increase
the potential/
capabilities of the
selected proposals/
teams to scaling up
innovations across
developing
countries.
Topics covered by
the Challenge
Innovation topics
covered by this
Challenge include:
·
Enabling governments
and communities to
suppress the
transmission of the
virus
·
Mitigating the
socio-economic
impact and
safeguarding people
and their
livelihoods
·
Recover Better:
covering areas of
preparedness
measures, skills
development and
digital literacy
solutions,
e-governance
solutions and
renewable energy for
health care
solutions
Eligibility Criteria
Only legally
registered
organizations/institutions
from developing
countries are
eligible to
participate in this
Challenge. The
Challenge is open to
governments,
intergovernmental
organizations, NGOs,
private sector and
start-ups, research
institutions,
academia and civil
society
organizations (CSOs).
Applying
organizations/institutions
must have an
existing project or
minimum viable
product (MVP) that:
1.
promotes
South-South
cooperation by
replicating or
scaling up existing
innovations with a
potential
partner/country in
the South,
2.
demonstrates
a new innovative
project/prototype,
outlining its
potential for
scaling up through
South-South
cooperation, and
3.
is a digital
solution
Next Steps
Learn more about the
Challenge, assess
your eligibility to
participate,
understand the
selection process,
and how you can win
up to $25,000
dollars,
access mentoring support, participate in a Bootcamp for winners and much
more!
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 15 JULY 2021.
Click
here for more
Information