The Audi Environmental Foundation is enabling scholarship holders from all over the world to participate for the third time in succession. To apply for the scholarship, the young people pitched their ideas, their startup, or their organization, and outlined the solution they developed for a specific challenge. Jacqueline Mukurakundo, who founded “Wastezon,” is one of the scholarship holders. Her app is built around the idea of “from trash to cash,” and it helps connect households and recycling companies in Rwanda to increase the amount of trash that is recycled and prevent improper disposal. “A waste-free world is our vision and what drives us. So far, our app has diverted more than 460 tons of electronic waste from landfills,” she says proudly. Another scholarship recipient is Laís Higashi from Brazil, who is competing with his project “Liter of Light.” The global grassroots movement relies on low-cost, readily available materials and creates simple tutorials so that people from regions without reliable electricity can build light sources and thus use solar-powered lighting for their everyday lives.
The Audi Environmental Foundation’s involvement in One Young World
Since 2018, the Audi Environmental Foundation has made it possible for talented young people to participate in the One Young World Summit through a scholarship program. This year, Prodip Chatterjee, cofounder of the startup Nunam and former One Young World Foundation fellow, will give a presentation about his startup Nunam together with an Audi employee. The Indo-German nonprofit is also developing innovative solutions to bring solar power to areas with a lack of electricity. Initially, Nunam developed “Smart Energy Power Storages” from old laptop batteries. Since then, the company has even deployed a prototype solar nanogrid made out of two battery modules from an Audi e-tron* battery, which it continuously tracks. “If we really want to make a difference, we need to inspire others to join us on this journey. Education, networking, and dialogue all play a key role. We want to help ensure that talented young people from around the world can participate in the dialogue about an equitable and sustainable future, which is why we are a proud supporter of One Young World,” said Rüdiger Recknagel, managing director of the Audi Environmental Foundation.
Click here to view an overview of the Audi Environmental Foundation’s scholarship recipients.
About One Young World
The One Young World Summit connects young thought leaders and talents from around the world with the goal of bringing the most informed, most educated, and most connected generation in human history into a dialogue about the global challenges of the future. The international sustainability forum addresses issues related to climate change mitigation, social justice, and sustainable economic success. One Young World’s vision is to help create a better world with more responsible and more effective leadership. At the summit, delegates from more than 190 countries will be advised by influential political, business, and humanitarian leaders such as Justin Trudeau, Paul Polman, and Meghan Markle, among many other global figures. The 2021 One Young World Summit will be held in Munich, Germany, from July 22 – 25, 2021, with Tokyo, Befalst and Montreal among the host cities in subsequent years. AUDI AG first participated in the One Young World Summit in 2016 and sent young employees as delegates.
For further information, please visit oneyoungworld.com.