BE OPEN presented its sustainability initiatives and celebrated the latest competition winners during COP29 in Baku

In her address to the guests of COP29, Founder of BE OPEN Elena Baturina explains BE OPEN's commitment to the programme:  "Every year we collect hundreds of outstanding, well-researched, creative projects from young people all over the world. Every year we get reassurance that educating and motivating young people to become leaders of sustainable change is the best way forward. And every year we try to do more by offering them a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas, offering them opportunities for self-education, boosting their confidence and helping them to see that they matter."

The presentations of the winning teams constituted the core of the session: the Public Vote winners Tshepiso Motau, Tsebo Mokwena and Bongeka Buthelezi, Industrial Design students from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, pitched their Swiftguard Early Flood Warning System. It is a revolutionary integrated communication system designed to provide early flood warnings. The system includes a telemetry buoy, a signal tower, and a solar-powered alarm system.

Emilia Ziolek, a Product Design and Technology student from the University of Limerick, Ireland, the winner of the Third and the Founder's Choice prizes, spoke of her Tidal Energy Turbine Form Redesign with Biomimicry concept - a step to a new design of bladeless turbines. Their streamlined design reduces the impact on marine life by eliminating rotating blades and enhances efficiency in energy conversion.

The First Prize winners Darcy Rincón and Michelle Aljure, Biodesign students of Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, presented their Inspira System. The project aims to introduce the cultivation of spirulina in low-income neighborhoods in Bogotá; it targets combating malnutrition, creating new income opportunities, enhancing sustainability within vulnerable communities. It was an honour to see representatives of the Colombian Embassy in the audience, who came to support these presenters.

After the presentations, BE OPEN invited the students in the audience to join the ongoing Designing Futures 2050, developed to raise awareness about the necessity of urgent sustainable action in the realities of today among the students and upcoming professionals. The competition hopes to contribute to the realistic implementation of sustainability values through identifying and promoting ideas that support global shift to a sustainable future.

BE OPEN will reward the best work with the monetary prizes ranging from €2,000 to €5,000, and trips to major sustainability events. BE OPEN strongly believes that innovative creative approaches and involvement of younger people into meaningful action by offering them education and motivation are key to the shift to sustainable existence.

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