Invent Something!

I always wanted to be an inventer, but the best I could do was a silly project called the "Jean Join" which involved sewing velcro into jeans pockets to keep them shut so that when you take your pants off, change doesn't fall out.

I told you it was lame. I'm sure you have better ideas, which is why, if you're between the ages of 12 and 20, you should enter this challenge (Deadline: March 15, 2009).

Through the Invent Your World Challenge, Ashoka GenV and the Lemelson Foundation will help fifty young inventors use their creations to address a local or global challenge and create positive change.

Young people are invited to submit their ideas for a new technology or the adaptation of an existing technology that will help make life easier, the planet greener, or the world better.

If your idea is selected, you'll receive an action plan so that you can apply for funding. You will then submit your action plan and present your project to a panel of mentors to receive feedback and advice. Once your idea is approved, you will receive a grant.

Fun, right?

The challenge is open to all individuals between the ages of 12 and 20 in North America and Europe, and 12 and 24 everywhere else. Each participant will be required to submit an action plan showing what activities will be carried out and how the grant will be spent, and will need to form a team with at least two other youth to qualify for funding.

A panel of distinguished judges will choose five of the best invention ventures to participate in a global roundtable on climate change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Judges will also award one team a $20,000 scholarship for college.

The last day to submit a project idea is March 15, 2009. Visit GenV for complete program information.