Successful projects in social innovation, selected among 2,600 entries, will be showcased at the upcoming Innovation Fair, to be held from 8 to 10 November at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Xochimilco, Mexico City.
Twenty stands – including past winners of the regional Experiences in Social Innovation contest and the 16 current finalists – will be on display, allowing visitors to learn first-hand about the activities and achievements of these outstanding initiatives, and the difficulties they have faced.
The Experiences in Social Innovation contest is organized by ECLAC with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
José Luis Machinea, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, will inaugurate the Innovation Fair on Wednesday 8 November at 11: 00 a.m., and will be joined by Francisco B. Tancredi, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; José Lema, Rector General of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; and Cuauhtémoc Vladimir Pérez, Rector of the Unidad Xochimilco.
The Innovation Fair will open to the public on Wednesday 8 November, in the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana – Unidad Xochimilco (Calzada del Hueso 1100, Col. Villa Quietud Delegación Coyoacán, Mexico City). This year’s 16 finalists –from Argentina (2), Bolivia (1), Brazil (3), Colombia (4), Paraguay (1), Peru (4) and Uruguay (1) – will be presented to Selection Committee during the Fair.
The five winning projects will be announced at the Awards Ceremony, to be held Friday 10 November at 5:30 pm.
The first-place winner will receive a prize of US$ 30,000; second prize, US$ 20,000; third prize, US$ 15,000; and fourth and fifth prizes, US$10,000 and US$ 5,000 respectively. The remaining finalists receive an Honourable Mention.
All 20 projects at the Innovation Fair are making valuable contributions in their home communities to the fight against poverty and inequality, contributing new ways to improve health, education, nutrition, environmental protection, income-generation, gender equity, youth programmes and social responsibility.
The Experiences in Social Innovation project aims to identify, analyze, recognize and promote the creative replication of innovative social initiatives rooted in active community participation to strengthening citizenship and democracy.
The application process for the upcoming round of the Experiences in Social Innovation project, corresponding to the 2006-2007 cycle, opens on 10 November 2006.
See list with the 16 innovative projects. 
The Role of Journalism in Latin American and Caribbean Social Development – A round table discussion on “The Role of Journalism and the Mass Media in Regional Social Development” will take place on 8 November at 12:30 p.m. at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Xochimilco (Auditorio Francisco Javier Mina, Edificio Central UAM, Calzada del Hueso 1100, Col. Villa Quietud Delegación Coyoacán, D.F.) in Mexico City. The event takes place during the Innovation Fair organized by ECLAC, with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Gabriela Frías, journalist from the CNN Spanish-language network; Engel Paschoal, columnist for Universo Online and O Globo, Brazil; Jaime Abello, Executive Director of the Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano; and Antonio Paoli Boglio, UAM-Xochimilco professor and member of the Chiapas Human Development programme, are the featured panelists. Moderating the discussion will be Francisco Tancredi, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Visitors to the Innovation Fair, open to the public from Wednesday 8 to 10 November, will see first-hand the activities, achievements and difficulties faced by the 21 project finalists from nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Read more
- Experiences in Social Innovation Award
- Presentation
- 2005-2006 Cycle
- 2004-2005 Cycle
More information about the Experiences in Social Innovation Award: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
