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.
In the 2024 Sustainable Development Goals Report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres states that “only 17 per cent of the SDG targets are on track, nearly half are showing minimal or moderate progress, and progress on over one third has stalled or even regressed. The scarring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and growing climate chaos are hitting SDG progress hard… This report highlights the urgent need for stronger and more effective international cooperation to maximize progress starting now.”
In view of that data, the latest Designing Futures 2050 competition aimed to foster the realistic application of sustainability principles by identifying, showcasing, and promoting creative ideas that facilitate a global transition toward a sustainable and efficient future. It involved younger creatives into updating the SDG agenda in the light of the realities of today, and encourages them to take a larger part in the actualization and implementation of the realistic sustainable actions plan.
Participants could choose their approach to the challenge from three submission categories: Battling the Problems of Today; Creating the Visions of Tomorrow; and Adjusting the Sustainable Development Goals.
The evaluations for the main three prizes will be done by an international jury panel comprised of the Futures studies experts and academia, such as
- Professor Jennifer Gidley, PhD, former President of the World Futures Studies Federation, a Futures Researcher on the Forbes “World’s Top 50 Female Futurists” list;
- Victor Vahidi Motti, a co-founder and President of the Alternative Planetary Futures Institute, and the Executive Director of the World Futures Studies Federation;
- Ashton Margarete Moseley, an industrial designer and full-time Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, who previously served on the World Design Organisation’s Young Designers Circle Committee;
- Grace Young, Student Energy’s Events and Strategy Manager, one of Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 list;
- Michelle Aljure Duque, a designer and a member of the Corporation for Social and Sustainable Entrepreneurship (CORPDES);
- Darcy Rincon, a microbiologist and a co-founder of Inspira System, a lecturer at Universidad de los Andes and a contributor to the Emphasis in Biodesign course.
In addition to the money grants, all the winners will be awarded access to relevant educational opportunities and a fully paid trip to a major sustainability-related event in order to be able to present their projects to decision makers and global audiences