Registration is now open for the 2023 Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge, a competition created to give young inventive minds the chance to present innovative ways to protect, and possibly even save, the world’s oceans.
Being a coastal nation, Monaco has always had ties to the seas, and modern leaders of the country have striven to raise awareness on their related issues. One of the many ways the Principality seeks to be part of the solution to the world’s ocean woes is through action as well as campaigns that get people thinking about what can be done. The Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge, a collaborative project between the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, the International University of Monaco, the Monaco Impact Association and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, is one such event.
This year marks the sixth edition of the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge, and the fourth year since it has gone from being a local event to an international competition, bringing together university students and young professionals from around the world to find creative ways to solve the multi-pronged crises facing the oceans.
To enter in the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge, teams must be registered by 24th March, handing in an executive summary along with a Power Point presentation on the proposed project. Judges will then select a group of semi-finalists to present a business plan and a one-minute video explaining the project by 2nd May. The judges will chose finalists by 11th May, before going on to decide the winners in June.
To date, over 200 participants have taken part, with winners including: Watch Your Anchor, an app that allows captains to know where they can anchor without harming sea beds; Hy-Plug, an initiative to develop hydrogen charging stations in ports; and Wype, a company that eliminates the need for environmentally-unfriendly wet-wipes on boats with a gel alternative.
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Photo source: Hiroko Yoshii for Unsplash