A call for projects from the French-based Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) closes on the evening of 18 June 2023, with the theme of sustainable development in African and overseas countries.
Based in Paris, France, the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) wants to make its contribution to green growth in countries affected by climate change. The scientific organisation is therefore launching the “Innovation Trophies”. For its first edition, the call for projects focuses on the implementation of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These include initiatives focusing on gender inequality (ODD5), cities (ODD11), natural disasters (ODD13) and terrestrial biodiversity (ODD15). Interested researchers, particularly doctoral students, must submit their sustainable solutions by 18 June 2023. “We want to highlight innovative solutions based on science and aimed at meeting sustainability challenges linked to the needs of people in developing countries and overseas territories,” explains Valérie Verdier.
According to the IRD’s President and CEO, two winners will be awarded €10,000 at the Emerging Valley Summit to be held on 27 and 28 November 2023 in the French city of Marseille. They will also benefit from coaching sessions led by professionals in their field of expertise, particularly in North Africa, as well as interviews with financial backers.
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In addition to the “Innovation Trophies”, the IRD is supporting the “ePOP sustainable cities” project launched in 2017 by Radio France Internationale (RFI) via its official RFI Planète Radio cooperation antenna. The concept enables the selection of young African volunteers, notably from Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Benin, with the mission of collecting testimonies from local populations on green practices in urban areas. In November 2022, 27 “ePOPers” were trained in Abidjan in the basics of audiovisual production on eco-responsible subjects using a smartphone.
For more information on the IRD’s call for projects, click here.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
