‘Project Inspire: 5 minutes to change the world’ launched

MANILA, Philippines - Applicants must submit a five-minute video detailing how the US$25,000 grant will be used to improve the lives of women and/or girls. Submissions can be made via the Project Inspire website, www.5minutestochangetheworld.org.

The Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard announce the annual launch and call for submissions for Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World. Celebrating five years of supporting young social entrepreneurs around the world, 2015 promises to be an exciting year.

With over 1,800 ideas submitted from 72 countries around the world, Project Inspire is now a multi-award winning initiative and one of the most high-profile corporate social responsibility programs in the Asia-Pacific region. This year’s challenge welcomes back long-term and committed partners to women empowerment and social entrepreneurship, namely knowledge partner INSEAD: The Business School for the World; strategic partner Bain & Company; and supporting partner Hilton WorldWide.

Project Inspire 2015 also welcomes new supporting partner, Top3 Media.

Launched in 2011 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the 25th anniversary of MasterCard in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, “Project Inspire: 5 minutes to change the world” is a global challenge that presents 18 to 35 year olds with a five-minute platform to pitch their inspired idea to the world.

With a US$25,000 grand prize and US$10,000 runner-up prize to turn their idea into a reality, Project Inspire 2015 takes on the theme, “Technology or Design for Economic Empowerment”. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate how they use design or technology as a tool in the work they are doing to enable and empower women economically throughout Asia, the Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

“Celebrating five years of Project Inspire is a milestone that I am incredibly proud of. The strong partnership with our long-standing partner and co-founders is a testament to how much the competition has grown, and continues to grow over the years,” Trina Liang-Lin, president, Singapore Committee for UN Women, said. “The impact that we’ve seen since 2011 through the competition for women and girls around the world has truly cemented Singapore as the perfect environment to profile and catapult young social entrepreneurs on a global stage.”

Georgette Tan, Mastercard group head, communications, Asia Pacific, added, “It’s vital that more is done to empower and encourage women to break the glass ceiling in the traditionally male-dominated fields of technology and design. Careers in these fields afford women the opportunity to be financially self-sufficient and positively impact the world through their leadership and creativity. MasterCard is incredibly proud to partner with the Singapore Committee for UN Women and witness the impact Project Inspire has already had in just five years. We are committed to supporting women of all ages and look forward to helping cultivate the next generation of young social entrepreneurs around the world in 2015 and beyond”.

Applicants must submit a five-minute video detailing how the US$25,000 grant will be used to improve the lives of women and/or girls. The competition commenced last Feb. 25, 2015, and submissions can be made via the Project Inspire website, www.5minutestochangetheworld.org.

The deadline for submissions is on July 1, 2015. This year, Project Inspire will choose 20 semi-finalists to progress to a crowdfunding stage of the competition. From the semifinalists, finalists will be chosen to attend the grand finals in Singapore where they will pitch their inspired idea to a panel of judges. The remaining semifinalists stand a chance of winning a wild-card ticket to pitch their inspired idea at the grand finals in Singapore by securing the most amount of supporters during the crowdfunding stage of the competition. Winners are decided by a judging panel and will be announced at an event in Singapore on Nov. 13, 2015.

To enter or to get more information on Project Inspire, past winners, Project Inspire alumni and judges, along with full terms and conditions, visit www.5minutestochangetheworld.org or join the conversation on Facebook: /ProjInspire and Twitter: @Proj_Inspire using the hashtag #ProjInspire.