WC135 MarApr 2024 - Magazine - Page 33
FOSTERING INNOVATION: THE INGENIUM INNOVATION CHALLENGE
Photo credit: Musée de la civilisation du Québec
“Our bio waste is an incredibly
valuable resource that can serve to
teaches us about science, medicine,
culture, innovation and the
environment. It is also a powerful
window for understanding clean
water and sanitation - one of the
great societal challenges of our
time. Addressing the inequalities
surrounding access to the most
basic, safe water conditions is
a problem that calls for a huge
amount of public awareness.
Understanding the complexities of
the issue - from all angles - is a first
step in tackling this issue in hopes
of imagining a more sustainable
future for our planet. The Oh Crap!
exhibition points to this crucial need
for awareness in an educational and
accessible way.”
THIS SPRING, Ingenium is tapping into
the creativity of young Canadians in
order to help encourage action about
clean water and sanitation.
Currently over half the world’s population does not have access to safe
sanitation facilities, causing unnecessary
disease and death. In Canada, ensuring sustainable management of water
and sanitation services is critical and
requires meaningful action, unconventional thinking and bold courage.
That’s where the Ingenium’s
Innovation Challenge comes in.
For its second edition, the Ingenium’s
Innovation Challenge is taking place
May 3-5, 2024, bringing together young
adults early in their career aged 18-35
from all over the country to build a
digital prototype to help inspire positive
solutions around clean water and
sanitation.
The objective of the challenge is
simple, but the issue that needs tackling
is anything but.
This year, participants are asked
to design a digital product that will
bring to light the disparities many
communities face around clean water
and sanitation – in Canada, and globally.
The product should be designed to
enable young Canadians aged 9-12
(grades 4-7) to better understand how
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
their actions affect wastewater systems,
and help them find ways to contribute
to sustainable water and sanitation
habits, leading to positive action.
With registration running from late
February through April, participants will
need to round up into teams and think
up innovative ways to inspire action
that leads to meaningful change. Over
the course of the weekend, selected
teams will draw inspiration from Ingenium’s extensive collection of artifacts
and archives that speak to Canada’s
instrumental legacy of science and
innovation, workshops led by experts,
and one-on-one guidance from industry
professionals. Participants will have
the opportunity to learn new skills,
network with private and public sector
professionals, and showcase their talent
in front of a national audience and prospective employers.
The winning team will be awarded a
financial prize in addition to a grant, inkind funding, and mentorship guidance
for the development of their proof-ofconcept prototype into a marketable
product for use by the general public.
With ongoing opportunities to
expand, the results should serve to
support our future generations in
learning the role innovation plays in
shaping our shared future.
David Pantalony, Curator, Science
and Medicine at Ingenium – Canada’s
Museums of Science and Innovation
Through participatory
engagement opportunities
launching this spring, Ingenium
hopes to make more than a
drop in the bucket in raising
awareness and changing public
perceptions around the impact
of clean water and sanitation.
As public institutions, museums
have a unique platform to
spark reflection among its
participants on significant
environmental and social
issues we must collectively
tackle in hopes of imagining
a more sustainable and
equitable future. To learn
about Ingenium’s work in
educational programming,
visit ingeniumcanada.org.
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