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Come join us and be a part of the ClimathonBLR 2021!
Inspired by EIT-Climate KIC’s Global Climathon movement, a global community of change-makers and innovators around the world are working in their communities to help humanity solve its most pressing issues through ideation and innovation. Over 150 cities across the globe are engaging stakeholders across the board to develop novel ideas on how to tackle climate-related challenges at the local level.
Climathon Bangalore is back again this year as a 48-hour online ideation marathon, where diverse minds converge to brainstorm and develop practical prototypes to combat climate change and contribute towards molding a resilient ecosystem.
Our theme this year focuses on pulling attention to the question, “How can we be more resilient against what is to come?”
We welcome you to join us and encourage all participants to focus on solutions that will help improve climate quality and contribute to overall social goodness.
The event will unfold from Oct 29th to Oct 31st, 2021, with a 50-hour online idea marathon, where students and researchers from educational institutes and universities will brainstorm and develop practical prototypes to combat climate change, and build Climate Resilience!
Come join us and be a part of the ClimathonBLR 2021!
This year’s theme for ClimathonBLR is,
The ClimathonBLR 2021 seeks participants to explore solutions to build Climate resilience through myriad approaches. Solution ideas can be from any of the guiding categories given below:
Participants are encouraged to build cross-domain sustainable solutions in diverse teams for a climate-resilient future!
There are numerous reasons why you should participate in ClimathonBLR. Here are a few of them:
Prizes
Winning teams from this year’s #ClimathonBLR will be awarded funding to bring their projects to life!
In addition, winning teams stand a chance to earn a scholarship from Complexity University to join the Gigatonne Challenge and develop their project ideas and bring them to life with support from our partners!
The Climathon is open to participation for people of all ages, across all sectors and demographics. What do we seek from participants?
A desire to participate actively, ability to work in teams, develop a lean prototype for a solution idea to be submitted in the form of a short video pitch at the end of the ClimathonHow to Participate?
Registration to the Climathon happens on an individual basis. Following the registration deadline, you will receive further instructions including the schedule, activities, and technologies deployed during the event. And then, the challenge is on: you will be asked to form an interdisciplinary team with the other registrants and, together, develop a solution idea and/or prototype, which you will present in the form of a short video pitch at the end of the event.
Applications close, no registrations past the deadline will be accepted.
Welcome to ClimathonBLR! Participants get to know more about the event, platforms used, each other and more. This session will kick start the event and get right into team formation mode!
18:30 - 20:00: Kick- Off (zoom)
20:15 : Launch Phase 1 - Team Formation
21:30-22:30: Virtual Lounge (60 min) - Chill out zone (zoom)
Teams continue their work after registering with guided input sessions, mentoring, and support on a need-basis. Impulse Recordings will be released through-out the day at multiple intervals, to enable the participants to build on their ideas.
15:00: Team Formation Deadline
18:00-19:00: Mentoring Hour 1 (zoom)
21:30-22:30: Virtual Lounge for Participants - Reflection & Connection Zone (zoom)
All teams are also expected to prepare a pitch video of their problem statement and solution, and submit the same before the Climathon showcase and closure.
10:30-11:30: Mentor Hour 2 (zoom)
13:00-14:00: Mentor Hour 3 (zoom)
15:00-16:00: Mentor Hour 4 and TroubleShooting (zoom)
17:00: Deadline for Solution Idea Submission (2-min video pitch + submission form)
17:30-18:30: Round-Up with participants (zoom)
09:00: Open Climathon Leaderboard
18:30-19:30: ClimathonBLR - Award Ceremony
Come join us and be a part of the ClimathonBLR 2021!
Mentor
An engineer by training, Hari is a generalist problem-solver at heart, with a decade of rich and varied experience in sustainability and social impact. He has worked on clean energy product development & research, off-grid energy access, water in industry and agriculture, food-security and participatory governance and more. Some of these projects have been recognised globally for impact and innovation, including twice by the United Nations. Hari cofounded FluxGen, a sustainable technologies company in Bengaluru. He later worked with MicroEnergy International (Germany) on the concept of swarm electrification, and further headed research & product development at Solshare, an international joint-venture social enterprise creating clean energy marketplaces in rural off-grid areas of Bangladesh. Following this, he researched systems issues at Public Affairs Centre, a 25-year old nonprofit think tank focused on the SDGs in the Indian context. He now works with non-profits and startups addressing sustainable development challenges through a recently founded company, Sustainability Problem Solver.
Mentor
Mentor
Vigneshwar is a Senior Fellow of the Melton Foundation and a member of the MF Grant Committee with experience in Consulting, Corporate Strategy, and Performance Management in the Indian Financial Services Industry.
Host - Climathon Showcase
Mourya has always been an inquisitive explorer. He is an engineer turned HR professional with a keen eye for human side of business workings has always been interested in social issues since his childhood. He is an extrovert with a fun vibe and is interested in the field of coaching in the future.
Mentor
Mahi is a senior fellow of the Melton Foundation and a member of the MF Grant Committee. He has experience with designing and building software solutions for Indian startups, and enjoys tackling new challenges across different domains.
Meet the judges and evaluators of Climathon Bengaluru 2021!
Meet Vidushi Kamani
Judge and Panelist
Read Bio
Meet Nickhil Sharma
Judge and Panelist
Read Bio
Meet Reema Banerjee
Judge and Panelist
Read Bio
Meet Dr. Indu K Murthy
Judge and Panelist
Read BioJudge and Panelist
Judge and Panelist
Nickhil is a 29-year-old Energy Engineer from Delhi/Bangalore, India. He currently calls Norwich, England, his home, and works as a PhD researcher on an EU-funded project on AI and Smart Home Technologies. His research areas include sustainability transitions, stakeholder management, social justice and social sustainability. During his Master’s in sustainable development, Nickhil explored several sustainability topics and developed a passion for them. These included circular economy, sustainable urban futures, renewable energy policies, and sustainable electricity production. One of his most rewarding experiences was working with the local transport authority in Gothenburg, Sweden, and other stakeholders in the transportation sector to understand and envision the future of sustainable transportation in that part of the world. He hopes for an integrated, green, equitable and accessible future for all, and most importantly hopes that people realize the true environmental cost of their actions.
Judge and Panelist
Currently heading the eastern region of Centre for Environment Education, a non-profit organization established in 1984 as Centre of Excellence in EE by MoEF&CC, Govt of India. Ms Banerjee has over two decades of experience in strategy planning and management of projects on Education for Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Waste Management, Air Pollution and Biodiversity Conservation across various cities of India. A seasoned and experienced leader on the circular economy trained as global leader by Green Industries South Australia at Adelaide. She is a dynamic member of the active citizen network of British Council and is also a trained policy advocate on education for sustainable development in Asia South-East Asia Pacific by ASPBAE. She has been involved in implementation and management of projects focusing on climate change resilience with women farming communities on climate adaptation and resilience education, circular economy concepts with focus on plastic waste management, air pollution , temple waste management, integration of informal ragpickers and civic governance. She is also leading the capacity building team for training the master trainers of 125 ULBs of West Bengal on IEC for Solid Waste Management.Presently Ms Banerjee is heading the community hosting project for WB for the Global Assembly that will take place in the run-up to COP-26 in November 2021. This assembly will support a group of globally representative citizens to make recommendations to COP26 and get an official response from the UN’s COP26 process (i.e. the core assembly). The purpose of the Global Assembly is to accelerate action to address the climate and ecological emergency in ways that citizens see fit. Women’s participation in such decision-making processes will lead to highlighting many issues which still may not have found significance in negotiations or action plans.
Judge and Panelist
Dr. Indu K Murthy is the Principal Research Scientist leading Adaptation and Risk Analysis vertical at Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP). She was formerly a Consultant Scientist the Indian Institute of Science for more than 2 decades. Her major areas of research and policy advocacy include; Climate Change, Natural Resource Sector, particularly forests, and Ecosystem Services. She is an expert for the UNFCCC for Greenhouse Gas inventory review process, a member of the Commission on Ecosystem Management of the IUCN, and a Member of the REDD+ Cell of the Govt. of Karnataka. She is the Land Use Change and Forestry expert involved in National Communications of India to the UNFCCC. She is a forestry and climate change consultant to the United Nations, the World Bank and other multilateral and bilateral agencies. She is a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports on Greenhouse Gas Inventories and Good Practice Guidance for Land Use and Forest Sector, a Coordinating Lead Author for Global Environmental Outlook-6 and a Lead Author for GEO6 Asia Pacific Reports on Land and Atmosphere. She has published extensively in peer reviewed journals and also authored several newspaper articles and blogs.
Meet The Melton Foundation
Organizer
Read Bio
Meet CSTEP
Knowledge Partner
Read Bio
Meet EIT Climate-KIC
Climathon Founder
Read Bio
Meet Complexity University
Partner
Read Bio
Meet Indian Youth Climate Network
Outreach and Knowledge Partner
Read Bio
Meet WEPLANTREE
Partner
Read Bio
Meet Sustainability Problemsolver
Partner
Read Bio
Meet U-Solar
Outreach and Knowledge Partner
Read Bio
Meet Centre for Environment Education
Organizer
The Melton Foundation has been a prominent organization working in the field of global citizenship for more than 25 years. We believe in drawing the wisdom of multiple cultures to shape fresh and creative narratives of global citizenship. Our global network of Fellows collaborates across boundaries to exchange, learn, and develop ideas and carry forward the discourse on global citizenship. In consonance with our endeavor to ‘Think Global, Act Local’, we have involved themselves in numerous projects and missions spread across the globe, to advance the 17 UN SDGs, while fostering Sustainable Development.
Learn more about the Melton Foundation here.
Knowledge Partner
The Center for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP) is one of India’s leading think tanks, with a mission to enrich policymaking with innovative approaches using science and technology for a sustainable, secure and inclusive society.
Learn more about the CSTEP here.
Climathon Founder
EIT Climate-KIC is a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon, climate-resilient society. Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, we identify and support innovation that helps society mitigate and adapt to climate change. We believe that a decarbonized, sustainable economy is not only necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change, but presents a wealth of opportunities for business and society.
Learn more about the EIT Climate-KIC Climathons here.
Partner
Complexity University is a global community focused on learning how to tackle the world’s most complex social, environmental and political challenges. They host the Gigatonne Challenge, a bold, bottom-up, at-scale, at-pace response to the climate crisis. The Gigatonne Challenge trains, supports and funds teams around the world to reduce CO2e emissions while benefitting the most vulnerable in the community. New teams can join in November and December to take action now!
Learn more about the Complexity University here.
Outreach and Knowledge Partner
IYCN was founded in 2008 as a coalition of young people & youth-oriented organizations to take action on climate change. IYCN considers its biggest achievement to be the personal transformation of each individual who participates in the network’s activities as well as its contribution to bringing the climate debate to the mainstream.
The purpose of IYCN is to bring the voice of Indian youth on the global platform as South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions affected by potentially catastrophic climate change and environmental issues.
With the country as large and diverse as India, establishing the necessary linkages is important to the formation of a holistic “Indian Youth Perspective on Climate Change” to support national & amp; state governments in formulating people-friendly, achievable policies.
Partner
WEPLANTREE plants the seeds of hope on your behalf – by planting trees strategically, scientifically, and with a single-minded focus to uplift the environment and the lives of farmers. They work with farmers to plan fruit-bearing trees which enhance their revenue while also increasing green cover. All this, while resolving farmer issues of fruit-bearing trees being too time and capital intensive – a key reason why these trees are some of the least planted. Our partnership enables us to not only restore green cover, but aids farmers in planting fruit bearing trees and maintaining them until their growth is self-sustained. Learn more about their work here.
Partner
Sustainability Problem Solver (OPC) Pvt. Ltd. (www.solvesustain.com) works to research, design and develop models & solutions for enabling and accelerating sustainable development outcomes. The intention is to apply flexible and dynamic ‘network problem solving’ in collaboration with relevant stakeholders (industries, government, academia, startup companies, nonprofits, communities, etc.), to address the emergent ‘nexus’ challenges of sustainability. Towards this, the company engages in explorations of problemspace; systems thinking; developing strategy & for-impact theories-of-change; market research, business model development & design thinking; technology development; advocacy and marketing.
Outreach and Knowledge Partner
U-Solar Clean Energy Solutions is a solar developer in India that provides complete solar power solutions for Industrial, Commercial, Institutional and Residential clients. Driven by a desire to start a socially relevant enterprise, U-Solar was founded in 2010 with the idea of reducing fossil fuel consumption and promoting the use of renewable energy. Learn more here.
Centre for Environment Education (CEE) was established in 1984 as a Centre of Excellence of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. As a national institution, CEE’s mandate is to promote environmental awareness nationwide. CEE develops innovative programmes and educational material and builds capacity in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It is committed to ensure that Environmental Education (EE) leads to action for sustainable development. It undertakes field projects that demonstrate and validate the role education can play in sustainable development.
What is Climathon?
The Climathon serves as a power-packed session of a specialized version of an Ideathon, specifically meant to raise issues pertaining to climate change. The approx. 48 hour-long event is filled with interaction, deliberation, creation, and fruition of disruptive ideas. For more information on the genesis of the Climathon movement worldwide, visit here!
How do I participate? Should I pay fees in order to register?
To register for the ClimathonBLR, you may click here. We do not charge any fees for registration/participation. Please refer to the ‘Who can participate’ section for more details.
When is the Climathon scheduled for?
There are limited slots for participation, so hurry and apply now!
Is the participation on an individual basis, or do I need to form teams?
Registration to the Climathon happens on an individual basis. Once you have registered for the Climathon, on the first day, you will be asked to form an interdisciplinary team with the other registrants. The idea is to facilitate collaboration, cross-functional teamwork, and build strong communication skills.
How are teams formed?
The teams of 4-6 people form in the early hours of the Climathon (see ‘schedule’ section to learn more). The organizers will publish a list of participants and their skills through a participants registry. Then, participants will be invited to join a Slack platform. Here all participants are encouraged to mingle and voice their gives, wants, ideas as well as ask for or offer to support ideas to organically form teams. Our organizers will guide this process and there will be facilitated online sessions, starting with the Kick-Off, to help you find your tribe!
Team formation is an integral process of Climathon BLR and teams should be interdisciplinary to encourage diversity of perspectives during the process. Teams will have to formally register themselves by the deadline to continue with the Climathon.
How do I prepare myself for the event?
More than anything, we ask that you bring your motivation to the event! Additionally, you can familiarize yourself with tools like Slack, Zoom, Gmail, Miro online white-boards, video editing, graphic design, and YouTube among other online collaboration tools.
What kind of prototypes are built during the Climathon?
We acknowledge that developing a tangible prototype in this virtual setting can be quite challenging. The solutions at the end of the Climathon should be at least a low or medium-fidelity prototype. This means that participants have tangible constructions of the idea they were working on. You should think of it as a visual mock-up of your idea. If done well, the prototype – or visual mock-up – you develop will put you in a good position to get good feedback and bring your ideas to life. Your prototypes will make a great basis for your final solution idea pitch.
What are low/medium-fidelity prototypes?
Low-fidelity prototypes may include rough sketches, paper models, simple storyboards, or rough paper prototypes of digital interfaces. You would base your choice of the type of prototype on the type of solution you are seeking to create. Medium fidelity – slightly more detailed, still rough but closer to the solution. Read this article to learn more.
What happens to the prototypes post the event?
The adjudged winners will be given the opportunity to apply for grants with suited organizations to work further on their prototypes. All solutions built during the Climathon will be documented, so anyone can move the idea up further by continuing the collaboration. Participants can implement the solution as part of our #100Acts of Global Citizenship or continue to tackle it together in a project team. Best ideas and prototypes to come out of the Climathon will be showcased on our blogs, website, and social media channels, as well as on the Climathon global platform.
Who chooses the winners? When will results be announced?
A panel of judges will be in charge of evaluating the projects. The winning groups will be chosen according to the degree of innovation of the proposal, the diversity of the team, the level of the presentation, and the degree of the tangibility of the implementation. Results will be declared in the weeks after the Climathon based on popular polls and judges’ evaluations.
More questions?
Write to us at: climathon.bengaluru@gmail.com
