The #IdeasForChange challenge is calling for the submission of potentially implementable ideas that can make Stellenbosch more sustainable, according to Hanli Brink, operations director at Stellenbosch Network. PHOTO: William Brederode
The Stellenbosch locals who submit the winning concepts to the #IdeasForChange sustainable Stellenbosch ideas challenge stand to split R30 000 in prize money. This was according to Hanli Brink, operations director at Stellenbosch Network.
#IdeasForChange is hosted by Stellenbosch Network together with the Regional Innovation Support Program and the Stellenbosch Sustainability Institute (SI), which is participating for the first time this year.
When the project was launched for the first time in 2020, the theme was improving accessibility to services in the town in the remote conditions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, said Brink, who added that In 2021 the challenge called for ideas to make Stellenbosch a smarter city by integrating digital technology to improve services.
This year’s competition was officially launched on 1 June and entries must be in by 8 July to be considered, said Brink.
The winner of the #IdeasForChange competition will receive R20 000, with the participants in second and third place receiving R6 000 and R4 000 respectively, according to Hanli Brink, operations director at Stellenbosch Network. “Everyone who enters will get a lecture and a tour of the Sustainability Institute. We run a [online value proposition] Masterclass as well,” said Brink. PHOTO: Supplied/Hanli Brink
Sustainability through innovation
With this year’s sustainability theme, the organisers hope to address issues such as ecosystem degradation, climate change, inequality, food insecurity and the overconsumption of natural materials, according to information on the #IdeasForChange application portal.
The hope is to uncover deeper sustainability issues in Stellenbosch, according to Vanessa von der Heyde, co-director of the SI.
Through the challenge, the organisers hope to find innovative and impactful ideas to make Stellenbosch more sustainable, which are potentially implementable, said Brink. Ideas can address an array of problem areas including spatial development, energy, agriculture, biodiversity and education according to the application portal.
“When thinking about how to frame the challenge, it was essential that ‘sustainability’ was grounded in the African context [and] inspired creative and innovative thinking,” said Sam Hale, learning experience designer at SI in written correspondence with MatieMedia.
Local is lekker
Entries are open to people living, studying or working in Stellenbosch who, Brink said, want to “make a difference [in Stellenbosch] and they want to work together and collaborate”.
“The best ideas come from people that have first-hand experience of the problem and how it affects the bigger community,” said Von der Heyde.
The hope is that the ideas which are submitted will provide a Stellenbosch-specific solution to a wider sustainability issue by “thinking global, [and] acting local”, said Hale.
Past participants
Lunga Hamilton Momoza, who was the winner of the #IdeasForChange competition in 2020, developed an idea with his business partners that addressed some of the issues faced by informal traders in the agricultural industry. Momoza said that developing an idea ‘with’ the community instead of ‘for’ the community, is crucial. PHOTO: William Brederode
The winner of the competition in 2020, Lunga Hamilton Momoza, who is a final-year politics, philosophy and economics student at Stellenbosch University, said that his company spent the R20 000 that they received in prize money to further develop their business plan. Momoza was named Stellenbosch Networks entrepreneur of the month for May, and is looking to start working full-time on his start-up when he graduates.
Lunga Hamilton Momoza, winner of #IdeasForChange in 2020, said that applicants to the challenge need to be patient and resilient. AUDIO: William Brederode
“It’s not necessarily about winning. It’s about what comes out of it,” said Rinae Musekene, who participated in the challenge in 2020. Musekene said that the contacts he made and the skills he developed through the #IdeasForChange competition in 2020, helped him to develop his business idea.