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SA finalist in ITU young innovator contest

HiYP, a South African-developed app using Quick Response (QR) codes to identify counterfeit medicine, has been named as one of 12 finalists in the ITU’s Young Innovators’ Competition.

ITU has announced the finalists of the Young Innovators Competition. Open to young social entrepreneurs between ages 18 and 25 from around the world, the competition seeks innovative digital solutions in the form of initial concepts or early-stage projects meeting real-world development challenges within the core theme of ‚”Youth Innovation for Development‚”. The finalists will be heading to ITU Telecom World 2012, the key global networking and knowledge-sharing event in Dubai, 14-18 October.

From nearly 400 entries from 77 countries worldwide, 12 submissions were selected as having the greatest possible social impact and potential for business success within each category, demonstrating both the breadth of young innovation geographically and the depth of technological applications:

At ITU Telecom World 2012 in Dubai, 14-18 October, the Young Innovators’ Competition finalists will receive one-on-one mentorship sessions with high-level industry representatives, hands-on workshop training to develop entrepreneurial skills and the opportunity to showcase their projects to the event’s influential audience at the InnovatorSpace on the showfloor. Networking and building relationships with leading ICT stakeholders from industry, government and academia will provide the young innovators with exposure, support and investment to move their projects forward and realize their visions. The finalists will also be competing for up to CHF 5,000 prize money for great concepts, and up to CHF 10,000 for innovative projects.

‚”Successful innovation rests on combining technology with human ingenuity, a resource which the youth of today around the world have in abundance‚”, said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Tour√©. ‚”This competition enables young digital innovators to demonstrate their ideas for tackling development issues, and commitment to changing the world, on a truly global stage. Let us not forget that the young social entrepreneurs of today are the business, government and technology leaders of tomorrow‚”.

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