ITU Telecom World Launches 2014 Young Innovators Competition

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The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom has begun receiving entries for the fourth edition of the ‘Young Innovators’ competition which it is organising in partnership with Ooredoo. The competition is searching for talented young thinkers and social technopreneurs across the world and encourages these young individuals to showcase their innovative ideas at the upcoming ITU Telecom World.

The 2014 edition of the competition which is for development of local digital content will take place from December 7 to 10, 2014 in Doha, Qatar.

Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, CEO, Ooredoo
Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, CEO, Ooredoo

The annual competition, which was launched in 2010, offers young people the chance to take part in workshops on entrepreneurial skills. It provides them with opportunities to meet and network with leading ICT players, and to showcase their projects at the Innovation Space, a dedicated show pavilion at ITU Telecom World.

The competition is open to 18-30 year-old start-up founders from across ITU’s 193 member states. The competition is searching for the most promising tech start-ups that are inspiring the creation, aggregation or digitization of dynamic local content, particularly in non-Latin scripts.

Two start-ups will be selected as winners of this challenge by a Selection Committee of experts and invited to attend ITU Telecom World 2014.

Prize money of up to USD 10,000 in the form of seed funding will be awarded to implement and bring to scale winning start-ups.

Entries can be submitted by start-ups that are involved in script content, resolving the technical challenges of digitizing non-Latin scripts through innovative technologies, or pinpointing fresh uses for older technologies, such as optical character recognition, voice recognition or translation software.

Hamadoun Toure, ITU Secretary-General, said: “I am delighted to announce the first challenge of the latest edition of the ITU Telecom World 2014 Young Innovators’ Competition. Last year’s competition brought us inspirational concepts and projects from innovative young people around the world, all of which had significant potential social impact and impressive business potential. I look forward to exploring the latest innovations at ITU Telecom World 2014 this December in Doha.”

Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, CEO, Ooredoo Qatar, said, “We’re excited to support this first challenge in the Young Innovators’ competition. We know that new digital content can inspire people and open new opportunities in their lives, and we believe strongly that each and every market deserves relevant content in their own languages that is tailored to their interests.”

Entries close on May 30, 2014. For more information please visit: https://ideas.itu.int