Gates Alumna Leda Smith is a finalist for the BBC World Challenge competition 2010.
Gates Alumna Leda Smith has been working for a marine conservation organisation which has been selected out of 800 nominations worldwide to become one of the 12 finalists for the prestigious BBC World Challenge competition 2010.
Blue Ventures focuses on promoting public health through subsidising solar and fuel efficient stoves in rural Madagascar and South Africa through carbon offsets. Its researchers and volunteers are dedicated to empowering coastal communities to manage their own resources by developing marine protection initiatives designed to sustain local fisheries and safeguard marine biodiversity. These initiatives have guided fisheries policy and legislation, which have been replicated by dozens of villages, NGOs, and government agencies across hundreds of kilometres of coastline.
The BBC World Challenge is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grassroots level. The winner will receive a US$20,000 grant from Shell to invest in their work, with two runners-up’s each receiving US$10,000. Voting ends at midnight (GMT) on 12th November 2010.
As part of the World Challenge, Blue Ventures’ work is being featured on BBC world television is and receiving broad scale global coverage in the online competition.
The BBC’s video can be seen online at www.blueventures.org and http://vimeo.com/15944635
