Washington, D.C. - Africa Rural Connect (ARC), a new online community hosted by The National Peace Corps Association, announced today the second round of winning ideas on how to help solve rural Africa's greatest challenges and strengthen agricultural development. The first, second and third prize winners were from Ghana, the United States and Senegal respectively. Powered by a unique software called Wegora, the ARC Web site is revitalizing the international development landscape by helping change the way people around the world share their ideas online and build upon the knowledge of others.
The site (www.AfricaRuralConnect.org) is a resource for discussing issues, identifying problems, and building viable solutions to some of Sub-Saharan Africa's most entrenched problems. To support the growth of these discussions into viable plans of action, ARC is running a contest for the most creative, practical solutions that are formed through the site. This contest will run from August through November 2009, with prizes awarded every month in addition to one grand prize of $20,000 to help implement the winning plans.
"We are excited about the caliber of ideas that have been posted on the site so far and we're really seeing the Wegora technology help foster a whole new way of thinking online about these types of issues," says Molly Mattessich, manager of Africa Rural Connect and a former Mali Peace Corps Volunteer. "The volume of posts from people and groups around the world has steadily increased and we hope to see that trend continue in the coming months."
The second round winners of the ARC online contest are as follows:
1st Prize: $3,000 project seed money | Name: Self-Support Ghanaian Subsistent Farmers
Location: Ghana | URL link: http://arc.peacecorpsconnect.org/view/511
Summary of idea: The Self-Supported Ghanaian Subsistence Farmers Consortiums initiative aims to bring together subsistence farmers help them use of their potentials, opportunities and resources.
2nd Prize: $2,000 project seed money | Name: Acceleration of Innovation Program
Location: United States | URL link: http://arc.peacecorpsconnect.org/view/637
Summary of idea: The Full Belly Project's "Acceleration of Innovation Program" will open channels of communication among groups of people interested in designing simple technologies that can be reproduced in developing countries (project to be piloted in Malawi). The project is working to develop simple, locally produced, income-generating technologies for developing countries.
3rd Prize: $1,000 project seed money | Name: Project Irrigation Initiative
Location: Senegal | URL link: http://arc.peacecorpsconnect.org/view/503
Summary of idea: The Project Irrigation Initiative is a small-scale irrigation project to increase fruit tree and gardening production and promote agro forestry technologies in rural communities in Senegal.
In addition to promoting the contest online and through media channels in the U.S. and abroad, ARC recently set up a short message service, also known as an SMS code. People around the world who may not have immediate access to the Internet can now text message to learn more about ARC and the online contest from their mobile phone by texting the word "ideas" to the following number: 001.202.316.7310. Upon submission, they'll receive an automatic response with the URL for Africa Rural Connect so they can engage at a later date. Additionally they will be added to a list to receive updates on the contest via text message. ARC hopes this new feature will reach out to more people worldwide and encourage them to participate in the online contest.
Through November, monthly winners are chosen based on the number of endorsements they receive from other participants on the site. Each month, the top three ideas are awarded a cash prize of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 respectively to help implement their idea. Winners also receive a prize winner badge that appears on their ideas page on the ARC Web site. All monthly round winners will compete in the final round later this year where one winning idea will be selected by a panel and awarded $20,000 to implement their plan. Last month, the three top ideas selected were from Nigeria, Washington, D.C. and Ghana.
"The contest has spread geographically and transcended borders--we hope to continue receiving ideas particularly from participants on the ground in Africa because we believe they have so much to add to the online discussion," adds Mattessich. "This is a contest that's powered by a unique technology platform that fosters collaboration so that every idea counts."
The NPCA is a non-profit, membership-based alumni organization that serves all returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former staff, as well as Peace Corps family, friends, and supporters.
