Parinaam Foundation, 3Space, Fundación Calicanto and SeeClickFix honoured as regional winners

NEW YORK: The Financial Times and Citi are pleased to announce that Sanergy has been named the global winner of the 2013 FT/Citi Ingenuity Awards: Urban Ideas in Action programme. The Nairobi based non-profit organisation was selected by a distinguished panel of judges, including last year’s winner, for developing a sustainable and hygienic sanitation system that recycles human waste to generate electricity and fertilizer for local farmers.

Regional winners were also recognised for their work in fuelling urban progress:

The global awards programme, sponsored by Citi and in collaboration with INSEAD, was created to recognise the most innovative and ground-breaking solutions to urban challenges. The awards were presented last night in New York by Financial Times’ US managing editor Martin Dickson and Ed Skyler, executive vice president, global public affairs, Citi.

“We are excited to be recognising organisations from around the world, both large and small, for their incredible work tackling some of society’s greatest environmental, social and economic challenges,” said Martin Dickson. “Now in its second year, this important award continues to shed light on the tremendous issues cities face in their efforts to thrive and house an increasing number of people.”

“We congratulate all the winners and finalists for developing solutions to urban challenges that are innovative and replicable,” said Ed Skyler. “In the face of rapid global urbanization, their ingenuity and leadership is critical. They are true progress makers with whom we share a commitment to help cities thrive and grow.”

Submissions were received from 44 countries and judges selected the winners based on the most innovative solutions enabling urban progress across city administration, transport systems, energy and utilities, education and resource management, housing, health, social services, mobile technologies, community engagement and collaboration platforms.

The judging panel included:

For more details on the FT/Citi Ingenuity Awards, please visit www.ft.com/ingenuity or follow the conversation at #FTCitiAwards.

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AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST

Sanergy

Sanergy provides sustainable, hygienic sanitation inNairobi’s slums through an innovative toilet franchise system that generates additional income by recycling human waste to create electricity as well as organic fertiliser for farmers.

The initiative involves establishing networks of small-scale high-quality water-free toilets, manufactured using local materials and operated in the slums on a pay-per-use basis by resident micro-entrepreneurs.

Waste is safely collected into sealed 30-liter airtight containers and transported every day to a central processing facility. Sanergy converts the waste into safe and reusable by-products, including organic fertiliser sold to farms and electricity sold to the grid. The program creates jobs and business opportunities, while tackling serious environmental, social, and economic challenges.

ASIA-PACIFIC

Parinaam Foundation

The Urban Ultra Poor Programme, initiated by the Parinaam Foundation, aims to economically and socially empower women who live in extreme poverty in the slums of Bangalore.

The programme covers four critical components delivered over a period of 12 months to enable participants to establish a more stable lifestyle — Livelihood Development, Healthcare Support, Childcare and Education, and Financial Literacy and Social Services Support.

The aim is that upon completion, participants should be able to earn a stable income, have a form of identification, provide their children with education, access good health care and manage finances.

EUROPE

3Space

3Space is a London-based charity that works with landlords and leaseholders to unlock the value of empty commercial properties — making them available for a limited period to other non-profit organisations free of charge for start-up projects benefiting the community.

3Space has managed the short-term use of property in 45 buildings across the UK since 2010, giving space to 140 charities, community groups and social enterprises. Landlords benefit from reduced insurance, maintenance, business rates and security costs and can take their properties back at short notice.

3Space provides a scalable approach to the management of vacant commercial space, reducing waste while delivering tangible social and economic benefits and driving urban renewal.

LATIN AMERICA

Fundación Calicanto

Fundación Calicanto, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring the historic and human heritage of Panama City’s Casco Antiguo (or old town), has created CAPTA, a programme that provides the area’s many unemployed and underprivileged women with vocational training for entry-level jobs in the hotel and tourism industry, as well as entrepreneurial skills training for self-employment.

A five-week course in personal and psychological development is followed by a two-week hotel internship, assistance with resume preparation, and job placement. The goal is not only to help women find jobs, but also to give them the inspiration and self-esteem they need to bring their families out of poverty.

Launched in 2006, CAPTA trains 120 women per year, with over 80 percent of graduates securing permanent employment, even in businesses outside the Casco Antiguo.

NORTH AMERICA & CARIBBEAN

SeeClickFix

SeeClickFix — launched in New Haven, Connecticut four years ago and now used in more than 130 cities across the US — is a website and mobile app that empowers citizens to address everyday problems in their neighbourhood by publicly documenting and routing them to their local government.

At the same time, it facilitates a more efficient and transparent response from governments to these requests through a customized dashboard.

In addition to hundreds of thousands of issues that have been resolved by local governments through the program, SeeClickFix has led to citizens solving problems on their streets they would previously have left to the city.

SeeClickFix enables municipalities and citizens to interact in a collaborative and transparent way that builds trust and enhances civic spirit, while pragmatically improving their communities.

Ryann Gastwirth
Financial Times
T: + 1 917 551 5094
E: ryann.gastwirth@ft.com

Tyler Daluz
Citi
T: +1 212 793 5234
E: tyler.b.daluz@citi.com

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of almost 629,000 (Deloitte assured, Q3 2013). Mobileis an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving more than 40% of total traffic and a quarter of digital subscriptions. FT education products now serve 32 of the world’s top 50 business schools.

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Citi for Cities is an initiative that harnesses the best of Citi across the globe to enable cities to become more efficient, by providing financing that facilitates commerce and modernization, and by empowering citizens to access services that enhance liveability and prosperity. Citi aims to help cities achieve their ambitions across the key ecosystems that power a city including administration, roads and transit, ports of entry, energy and utilities, workplace and education, health and safety and regeneration and development. Citi’s span of engagement with cities includes public and private sectors, the financial sector and citizens and the communities in which they live. For more information, please visit www.citiforcities.com.

More than half the world’s population lives in cities today, a number that is expected to rise in the decades ahead. As a result, cities have a pressing need to address the challenges of urbanisation and find solutions that modernise infrastructure, improve efficiency and enhance quality of life and foster sustainable growth and development.

The FT/Citi Ingenuity Awards: Urban Ideas in Action, a global programme sponsored by Citi, was developed to recognise leaders, teams, organisations and community groups who have developed innovative solutions to urban challenges that benefit cities, citizens and urban communities.

Top candidates were profiled in two FT global magazine supplements and invited to participate in events to further dialogue on urban challenges and solutions. Finalists were selected by region. One winner was chosen for each region and a global winner was chosen.

Submissions were reviewed based on a range of criteria, including originality, impact, efficiency and outcome. Criteria were developed by INSEAD, one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools. All entries were reviewed by the FT and INSEAD for qualification. A panel of global subject matter experts selected winners. As sponsor, Citi did not review or judge submissions. Eligibility criteria and additional program details were available at www.FTCitiawards.com. Follow the conversation at #FTCitiAwards.