WASHINGTON, DC - August 19, 2010
-- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), NASA, the
U.S. Department of State, and NIKE, Inc. have partnered on a unique
initiative called LAUNCH. The idea behind LAUNCH is to identify,
showcase and support innovative approaches to humanity's sustainability
challenges through a series of forums, each focused on a specific
sustainability challenge. The second event in the LAUNCH series,
LAUNCH: Health, will focus specifically on health issues related to the
first 20 years of life.
"USAID is excited to team up with NASA,
NIKE and the Department of State for this unique forum," said Alex
Dehgan, Director of USAID's Ofice of Science and Technology. "We see
LAUNCH as a great opportunity to support innovators and entrepreneurs
who are helping provide sustainable solutions to today's biggest
development challenges."
The LAUNCH forums focus on key
sustainability challenges our planet and society face including water,
health, energy and air.
LAUNCH:
Health, will bring together
entrepreneurs from around the world who will be selected based on their
innovative approaches to addressing health issues. During the
two-and-a-half day forum, the winners will discuss their proposed
solutions to health issues with 'council members' who represent
business, policy, engineering, science, communications and
sustainability sectors. The sessions are designed to identify
challenges and discuss future opportunities for the entrepreneurs'
innovations.
LAUNCH: Health is seeking transformative innovations to
improve health and quality of life on Earth - both in the developed and
developing world - specifically in the first 20 years of life, in the
following categories:
- Nutrition and food
- Physical activity
- Preventive health care
People
can submit their ideas through the InnoCentive website, which allows
hundreds of thousands of problem solvers throughout the world to
collaborate on the posted challenges. Innovators can submit their
health related proposals via the LAUNCH Health challenge at:
https://gw.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/9625880 Proposals will be
accepted until September 13, 2010 when the challenge will close and the
winners will be selected.
Those who are selected will be invited
to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Oct. 30-31 where the
LAUNCH:
Health forum will take place.
"NASA's interest in technology
development and problem solving in the area of human health issues
makes hosting this discussion among innovators and thought leaders a
natural fit," said NASA's Deputy Administrator Lori Garver. "Solutions
to health issues here on Earth have the potential to benefit space
explorers of the future as well as humankind overall."
Journalists
are invited to attend the two-day forum. In addition to regular Kennedy
Space Center media credentials, reporters must register in advance. To
RSVP, reporters should contact David Steitz at 202-358-1730 or
david.steitz@nasa.gov by Sept. 24.
To learn more about LAUNCH, visit: www.launch.org For more information about USAID and it's programs around the world, please visit:www.usaid.gov .
For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.govFor more information about the U.S. Department of State, visit www.state.gov For more information about NIKE, visit www.nikebiz.com The
American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development,
have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly
50 years.
For more information about USAID's programs, please visit:
usaid.gov.
To read IMPACT blog, see blog.usaid.gov.