Today the United States announced the launch of the third annual Making All Voices Count Global Innovation Competition (GIC 2016). Submit your idea for a project that uses technology – of any sort – to improve the relationship between government and citizens in 12 countries, including Indonesia. Ideas must tackle one of the following themes: better governance, transparency and accountability, and decreased corruption.
“The Global Innovation Competition will support innovative solutions and harness new technologies to help grow the global movement for good governance, open government, transparency and accountability,” said U. S. Agency for International Development Indonesia Mission Director Andrew Sisson. “We hope this competition will help amplify the voices of citizens and enable governments to listen and respond to the people.”
Everyone is invited to participate and the deadline for applications is Sunday, October 4. Public votes and nominations submitted between Monday, October 12 and Wednesday, November 11, will determine which entries progress in the competition. Finalists will fly to Accra, Ghana for Global Innovation Week, a program of intensive networking and mentorship. Winners will receive grants from a pool of GBP 450,000 to support their projects, plus expert mentorship. To apply, visit http://bit.ly/MAVCideas.
This past April, ten teams of innovators from across Africa and Asia competed in the GIC 2015 finals held in Jakarta. Two of the five winning teams were from Indonesia. Siti Nurjanah from Surabaya received more than GBP 67,000 and mentorship to develop a mobile and online platform that facilitates dialogue between government and citizens on the Village Law legislation. The project’s goal is to promote a more accountable local government that is responsive to citizens’ needs, especially women.
Making All Voices Count is an initiative supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the Swedish International Development Cooperation, and the Omidyar Network.
For more information, contact USAID Communications Officer Janice Laurente at jlaurente@usaid.gov.
