Call for projects: bring your groundbreaking creativity to tackle pressing energy issues

We need to change the way we power our daily lives. Burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of climate change, yet this is still our main source of energy. Much of this energy is used in our ever-expanding cities: cities and metropolitan areas thus offer a huge opportunity to transform the way we generate and use energy. How can our notion of waste be transformed so that we will see it as a valuable resource or source of energy, rather than simply trash?

To trigger creative talents from all over the globe, design platform What Design Can Do & Ikea Foundation recently launched the Clean Energy Challenge. Focussing on 5 cities – São Paulo, Delhi, Nairobi, Mexico City and Amsterdam - this global competition invites designers and creative entrepreneurs to redesign the way we produce, distribute and use energy in metropolitan areas.

How can we ensure that clean energy technologies and practices enrich the public space in Amsterdam? How can we encourage people to treat waste as a resource in homes and workplaces across Mexico City? How can we encourage green mobility in São Paulo? These are the pressing questions that call for creatives to imagine new narratives, services, products, spatial interventions and systems that help set out a path towards the future that is rewarding for both humanity and the planet at large.

And there's more: 25 winners, selected from 5 cities by an international jury, will have a chance to win a production budget and join a tailor-made accelerator programme. There are separate tracks for students, creative professionals and start-ups, so don’t hesitate to pitch your idea!

Note: The pitch is open to all, don't let geographical boarders restrict your creative thought.

You have until 5 december 2018 to join the Clean Energy Challenge. For more information and to submit your idea, head to Clean Energy Challenge.