Press Release – BeOpenFuture

Congratulations to the last two winners of the Designing Futures 2050 competition!

4 July 20254 July 2025Lilia Valieva

BE OPEN has identified the winners of the Public Vote and Founder’s Choice Prizes in Designing Futures 2050, our sixth international competition for students, graduates, and young professionals within the programme to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals..

The competition programme was established by BE OPEN in 2019 to raise awareness among young professionals in creative and engineering fields about the urgent need for action regarding the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to this one, BE OPEN has held 5 competitions and covered SDGs 2, 7, 11, 12, and 13.

BE OPEN at the 18th session of the Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships at the UN in Geneva

1 July 20251 July 2025Lilia Valieva

On June 25, BE OPEN attended the 18th session of the Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships organised by the Economic Commission for Europe in the UN headquarters in Geneva.

The aspect of the session that presented particular interest for BE OPEN was “Unleashing the Power of Innovation for Climate Action: Policy Recommendations for ethical and sustainable Artificial Intelligence”. The session explored the potential of AI for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Experts highlighted opportunities, challenges, and risks, ultimately proposing policy recommendations for action.

BE OPEN announces the winners of Designing Futures 2050: International Competition for Young Creatives Centred on the UN Sustainable Development Goals

29 May 20259 June 2025Lilia Valieva

BE OPEN has identified the winners of the First, Second and Third prizes for “Designing Futures 2050,” its sixth international competition for students, graduates, and young professionals. This initiative seeks to inspire the creation of innovative solutions by young creatives for a sustainable and prosperous future, aligning with the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Programme.

The jury panel for Designing Futures 2050 has been assembled

18 April 20259 June 2025Lilia Valieva

Designing Futures 2050 is our sixth international competition for students, graduates, and young professionals. This initiative seeks to inspire the creation of innovative solutions by young creatives for a sustainable and prosperous future, aligning with the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Programme.

In 2019, BE OPEN established the competition programme to raise awareness among young professionals in creative and engineering fields about the urgent need for action regarding the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to this one, BE OPEN has held 5 competitions and covered SDGs 2, 7, 11, 12, and 13.

BE OPEN at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2025 at the UN in Geneva

5 April 202525 April 2025Lilia Valieva

On April 2-3, BE OPEN joined the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2025 at the UN offices in Geneva. The theme of the forum was “Advancing Sustainable, Inclusive, Science- and Evidence-based Solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs”. The forum brought together UN governments, international organizations, civil society, academia, youth, the private sector and other stakeholders to discuss strategies for accelerating the insufficient progress towards the SDGs.

BE OPEN launches ART LIMITLESS: a celebration of inclusive arts and artists

3 April 20259 June 2025Lilia Valieva

Art Limitless is a new project of BE OPEN Art online gallery tailored specifically to display the competition, publications, webinars, master-classes and other sources of knowledge and guidance on sustainability in arts.

Inclusive arts practice is a flexible, creative process that ensures equal access to the arts for all marginalized and discriminated groups, including people with disability, as audiences, artists and participants.

BE OPEN Art launches the second regional competition of 2025 to support emerging artists of Oceania

1 April 202528 March 2025Lilia Valieva

BE OPEN Art, an online gallery set up by Elena Baturina’s humanitarian think-tank BE OPEN, continues to run BE OPEN Regional Art, the regional competition for emerging artists aimed to support those whose art best represents their regional, cultural and ethnic identities, for the third year now.

BE OPEN debuts at the 4th annual Sustainability Week Asia conference

28 March 20259 June 2025Lilia Valieva

On March 25, BE OPEN visited Thailand, as The Economist Group’s signature sustainability summit returned to Bangkok for the fourth time. Sustainability Week Asia rounds off a series of global conferences – from Cape Town to New York – which bring together the world’s foremost experts and industry leaders shaping the transition to a more sustainable future.

BE OPEN Art congratulates the winners of the Regional Art Competition in Southern Africa

5 January 202518 December 2024Lilia Valieva

BE OPEN Art is ready to announce the results of the last stage of BE OPEN Regional Art in 2024 which covered the countries of Southern Africa: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

BE OPEN Regional Art is a region-based competition for emerging artists, aimed to support those whose art best represents their regional, cultural and ethnic identities. Throughout 2023 and 2024, BE OPEN expert community have been selecting artists to feature them in the BE OPEN Art gallery, offer greater visibility and encourage the public to vote and thus select the monthly and the regional winners. The winner of each regional stage receives a money grant from the foundation.

BE OPEN Launches BE OPEN Cultural Tapestry Open Call to celebrate the richness of diversity and cultural identities

1 December 202412 December 2024Lilia Valieva

BE OPEN is launching its next global open call across social media. With open calls, by asking the participants to share their vision with pictures and photographs, BE OPEN aims to support creativity as a universal approach, and build bonds between people around the globe.

BE OPEN believes that the ability for creative interpretation is not confined within the art and design industry. The series of online challenges reach out to those creative minds around the globe, who keep their eyes open, see inspiration in everyday life, and are able to transform it with their own unique vision.