Enhancing the quality of life for
a 'graying society'    

2005 ICT student design competition

[DEC. 17, 2004]  BERLIN -- As 1.2 million people monthly turn 60 worldwide, new solutions and products are essential for that "Global Sleeping Giant: The Agequake," which is fast approaching. By 2050 the number of people over 60 will reach 2 billion, and older people will outnumber children age 1-14 by a ratio of 2-to-1. In response to this, the International Council for Caring Communities has organized an initial worldwide competition in information and communication technologies, focused on "ICT for All Generations."

The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students and aims to:

• Stimulate a bridge between research and practice.
• Promote dialogue and solutions concerning older people.

Students from around the world are being asked to develop solutions toward integrating older people into the fabric of the community and fully including them in all social, cultural and productive activities.

Competition entries are to:

• Emphasize the message that the next generation must, and can, proactively plan for a society of diverse ages.
• Harness information technologies as instruments of social cohesion and social inclusion.

Entry forms are due by May 31, 2005, and entries are due by Sept. 1, 2005.

Awards are $10,000 for first prize, $5,000 for second prize and $2,500 for third prize.

An exhibition of the project and the winning entries will be on display in various related venues worldwide. The first exhibition is to be at the World Summit on the Information Society in November 2005 in Tunis, Africa. A further exhibition will be at U.N. Headquarters in New York during the Commission for Social Development in February 2006, to be attended by 200 government delegations from both the public and private sectors.

For competition guidelines, go to www.international-iccc.org.

[Good News Agency]