Dutch inventor wins BBC World Challenge
Auke Idzenga’s water pump project “The Only Way is Up” has won the BBC World Challenge 2010 Award for sustainable innovation.
Alternative Indigenous Development
The official name of the organisation is Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc.. Mr Idzenga founded the organisation in the Philippines 20 years ago to provide villagers in mountainous regions clean drinking water by means of hydraulic ram pumps, which use the power of a river's flow to push water uphill without any other energy input.
Auke Idzenga’s project currently provides 170 villages with clean drinking water.
BBC World Challenge
The World Challenge is a global competition aimed at locating projects or small businesses worldwide that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grassroots level.
World Challenge is organised by BBC World News and Newsweek, in association with Shell and champions rewarding projects and businesses which make a difference in the world. Visit the World Challenge Website for more information.
Finale in Amsterdam
The BBC World Challenge 2010 finale was filmed in Amsterdam with newsreader Zeinab Badawi announcing the winners and presenting the 20,000 US dollar prize to Mr Idzenga. This year's keynote address was by Erik Solheim, Norway's Environment and Foreign Aid Minister. Norway is one of the key financiers of a global plan to conserve tropical forests. From the 800 nominations for this year’s competition, there were 12 finalists, one winner and two runners-up.
Two other projects each received 10,000 US dollars: “Pass it On”, a Peruvian initiative aimed at teaching farmers organic farming methods, and “A Class Apart”, a Guatemalan project involving a school built from recycled waste materials.
Innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship
The finale was held at Felix Meritus, the European centre for art culture and science in the centre of Amsterdam. Alderperson Carolien Gehrels attended the event and was invited to give a short speech.
In her speech, Ms Gehrels highlighted the striking similarities between the idea behind the World Challenge and the way in which Amsterdam was founded and has developed over the last centuries. Both the World Challenge and the City of Amsterdam have innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship as core values. Amsterdam was the birthplace of the world’s first multinational corporation (the Dutch East India Company).
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