Rohit Bhargava, a blogger for Social Media Today, posted 100 social media ideas to protect our environment. Here are the top 4, including engaging impacted communities in participatory video production.

IMB_DevelopmentMarketplace09
For the next three days the World Bank here in Washington DC is hosting a world changing event that few people know about. Called the Development Marketplace - it is a gathering of organizations behind 100 innovative ideas from 50 different countries on how to save the planet. The ideas can affect everything from a small village of 60 to a large population of millions. The only requirement is that the funding request from organizations participating must be less than $200,000. As I went through the list of projects that are being featured in the marketplace, there were 10 that stood out to me not only for the creativity of their solutions, but also the lessons that anyone might take away from the idea.

The best ideas solve big problems, but also offer a lesson that could apply to much more than just the situation at hand. Reading the stories of all the innovative organizations presenting at the Development Marketplace gives you a sense of hope about the world that can sometimes get lost in our daily lives. Check out the stories below, and the rest of the great projects from Development Marketplace 2009 … these are stories and ideas worth sharing:

1. Wave Energy Converter to Mitigate Ocean-Wave Damage and Beach Erosion
Country: Dominican Republic - Project #4949
Organization: Universidad Nacional Pedro Henrique Urena (UNPHU)
Description: Waves currently cause a large degree of the devastation from storms, including destroying bridges, roads and other vital infrastructure. This project is about using wave energy converter (WEC) technology to lower the power of waves and convert some of this power into usable electric power.
Lesson: Your greatest source of energy can come from the same thing that also causes the most destruction.

2. Rate-and-Shame Project Would Raise Media Pressure On Public Officials
Country: Ukraine - Project #4886
Organization: Resource and Analysis Center “Society and Environment”
Description: Local governments in the Ukraine tend to rely on central government to take adaptation steps to deal with climate change, however the results of action (or inaction) are most felt at the local level. This effort involves creating a public rating system for climate change initiative and rating local officials on their performance, in an effort to use transparency to shame inactive officials into action.
Lesson: Giving people someone to blame can encourage action.

3. Saving Glaciers: Artisanal Industry Aims to Stop the Melt and Save Water
Country: Peru - Project #4311*
Organization: Glaciares Peru
Description: Increases in global temperature are causing the world’s largest freshwater reserves — glaciers, to melt. Tropical glaciers are most at risk, which includes those high in the Andes. This project is to build a production facility that will create a paintable white cover material that can be applied to existing black rocks near the glaciers so they do not absorb as much heat and the glaciers melting will slow.
Lesson: The best way to deal with a problem is to sometimes focus on what is right beside it.

4. Global Voices: The Vulnerable Make Videos to Speak Out on Climate Adaptation
Country: Bangladesh, Colombia, and Sri Lanka - Project #3768
Organization: Institute of Development Studies
Description: Use participatory video (PV) training to allow people without strong voices in the community to share their stories and thoughts about climate change through video to the world.
Lesson: Video can help amplify voices that are usually silent on an issue.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 9:38 am and is filed under Related Organizations.