14 Jun Swarovski Foundation seeking young innovators with sustainable designs for our future
Creative young people around the world have been invited to apply for a €20,000 grant, part of the Swarovski Foundation Creatives for Our Future program, designed in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships to identify and accelerate the next generation of creative leaders in sustainability.
The program is open to creatives worldwide, aged 21 to 30, from across disciplines including fashion, design, art, architecture, and engineering. Successful applicants should be working on an owned project or product that uses the creative process to accelerate awareness, technology or solutions for sustainable development and drive progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations.
Previous successful applicants include:
Sejal Budholiya, a 22-year old from Bengaluru in India who, after graduating from the Creatives for Our Future program, collaborated with another program alumna, Polish graphic designer Agnieszka Doczynska, to raise awareness about women’s health and menstruation by creating an open-source educational kit called Menstrupedia.
Joshua Ichor, a 22-year old from Nigeria, survived a severe Thyroid infection which was caused by contaminated water use. With the help of Creatives for Our Future, Joshua developed a hand pump monitoring system and built a clean water kiosk for his communities.
Aradhita Parasrampuria, a 24-year old from New York, has taken her algae-based fashion/textile embellishment to the next level through the Creatives for Our Future program by setting up her algae-cellulose beading company, promoting the use of Bio Embellishment – which are embellishments made from a range of biopolymers and natural pigment – in the fashion industry and biodegradable beads in the cosmetic industry to reduce microplastic pollution and carbon emissions.
This year, six successful applicants will receive financial support of €20,000, along with an education program in collaboration with top international institutions, tailored one-on-one mentorship, and industry networking opportunities to advance their innovation and career.
Entries for this year’s program are now open until 27 June 2023 (23:59 pm BST) at www.sfcreatives.org. Successful applicants will be notified and announced publicly in September 2023, at a reception hosted at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Marisa Schiestl-Swarovski, Chair of the Swarovski Foundation said:
“The Swarovski Foundation believes education is the most valuable gift we can give back to the world. Our mission is to promote sustainable livelihoods through education to reduce inequality.
“This is the third year we’ve run Creatives for Our Future – having so far helped 15 successful applicants with the skills, tools and opportunities to develop their ground-breaking ideas and turn them into reality.
“We believe in the power of young creatives to lead sustainable development by unlocking innovative new approaches and trying to draw in a diverse pool of applicants globally to bring new voices and perspectives to the creative process.
“Having received over 600 submissions from 90 countries in the past 2 years we’re excited to see what this year’s applicants have to offer”.
Annemarie Hou, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships states: “It’s the midpoint of the Sustainable Development Goals, and we’re running behind. To turn things around, we need young, creative talents to reimagine a winning strategy, and design a better future for all.”
