Our Earth Day 2012 Competition:  Partnerships for Good: Creating a Healthy Sustainable Workforce

I Need Websites and I Need Qualified Sales Leads launched this online competition to find the world’s most innovative market-based solutions that create economic opportunity and provide safe drinking water or renewable energy for disadvantaged populations.

In our increasingly interdependent world, a healthy, agile and sustainable global workforce has never been more essential, or more possible.

With billions living with marginal access to water and energy there is an urgent need to create profitable economic opportunity and generate employment in the delivery of sustainable off-grid fresh water and clean energy around the world.

We need creative, collaborative approaches and technologies that advance broad-reaching skills and job development strategies; disseminate and leverage employment information; and open access to new markets and jobs, to ensure today’s workers are prepared to meet the rapidly changing needs of the world’s economy.

Unexpected and creative innovations are emerging across all geographies, from every corner of the world. Changemakers are rising to the challenge of building lasting architectures for employment, and working together to create tomorrow’s job markets today.

We invite you to participate in our international competition: Partnerships for Good: Creating a Healthy Sustainable Workforce.

This competition seeks market-based innovations that are developing employment opportunities for vulnerable populations. The best entries will be those that have demonstrated impact, are prepared to scale-up, and have sought partners to expand their reach.

Each month we will select a winner from one of our solution categories: Fresh Water, Solar, Wind and Biofuels. The winner will be invited to present their entry in a live webinar that we will promote to our global audience of water and clean energy professionals. In addition, the winning entries for 2012 will all be invited to participate in a live panel discussion to promote their efforts to create a more sustainable environment for global growth.

Join us in collaborating to power the marketplaces of the future by overcoming barriers to create economic opportunity and generate employment. Winning solutions may include those that create:

• Increased access to fresh water or clean energy among marginal populations;
• Innovations in creating a profitable mechanism for delivering water or clean energy to marginal populations;
• Connections between local entrepreneurs and global markets;
• Systems to promote awareness of affordable fresh water and clean energy solutions.

Have you launched an organization that expanded the horizons of underserved citizens? Do you know someone who has?

Make a difference! Submit your solutions or nominate a project today using our Contact Us form!

John Malone
President
I Need, Inc.

http://www.ineedrenewableenergy.com

http://www.ineedfreshwater.com

http://www.ineedqualifiedsalesleads.com

http://www.ineedwebsites.com

We are very pleased to welcome Q-Drum to the I Need Fresh Water websites. Q-Drum has found a way to reduce the time and energy required to gather water. Their elegantly simple solution caught our attention and we hope it will capture yours as well. We look forward to learning much more about how Q-Drum and solutions like it may gain traction in the global marketplace.

From Q-Drum - "In rural areas around the world particularly in Africa, millions of people live miles away from their nearest reliable water source. The burden of fetching water is usually a cumbersome and time-consuming one which often affects young children or women, resulting in debilitating neck injuries from carrying heavy loads on their heads. The Q Drum was designed to ease the burden of conveying potable water in these areas. It is a durable device which when full holds 50 litres. The uniqueness of the Q Drum lies in the idea and design of the longitudinal shaft or donut hole, through which a rope can be tied to roll or drag the drum along all terrain types. Easy to stack and therefore effectively stored, this simple and effective design is poised to improve the lives of millions of people across the globe."