Young, local entrepreneurs are being encouraged to participate in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World 2014 Young Innovators Competition.
It will give technologically-savvy persons from around the globe the opportunity to access up to US $10,000 in funding.??The competition will feature a series of challenges which will be launched throughout the coming months, until the hosting of the ITU Telecom World 2014 convention in December, in Doha, Qatar.
The first challenge, sponsored by Qatar telecommunications company, Ooredoo, will focus on ???Local Digital Content???. Open to 18 to 30 year-old start-up founders from across the ITU???s 193 member states, the competition seeks to identify initiatives that inspire the creation, aggregation or digitisation of dynamic local content, particularly in non-latin scripts.
Start-ups involved in script content, resolving the technical challenges of digitising non-Latin scripts through innovative technologies, or pinpointing fresh uses for older technologies, such as optical character recognition, voice recognition or translation software, are welcome to enter.
Last year???s winners included representatives from Trinidad and Tobago, Swaziland, India and the Philippines.??Two start-ups will be selected as winners of this challenge by a selection committee of experts and will be invited to attend ITU World Telecom 2014.
This event will give winners access to an accelerator programme of pitching, hands-on workshops, mentoring and funding.??The deadline for initial submissions for the first challenge is May 30. To apply, visit https://ideas.itu.int or email young.innovators@itu.int.
nekaelia.hutchinson@barbados.gov.bb