Innovation Day Will Come to Kyiv

The World Bank has announced a new initiative for Ukraine, Innovation Day. The event will be held as a part of the Development Marketplace program, a global contest of innovation ideas conducted by World Bank. In addition to Ukraine, such days will also take place this year in Thailand and Peru, Dmytro Derkach, Chief of the Public Relations Service at the World Bank’s office in Ukraine, announced.

The World Bank has defined the following themes for its innovation competition: health care and disease precautions, social defense of the most vulnerable strata of society, environmental protection, and improvement of public administration. As a first step toward participation in the contest, Ukrainian organizations are to submit proposal outlines according to a standard form to the World Bank’s office in Ukraine by April 12, 2001. After reviewing the proposals, a commission of experts will request selected organizations send their full proposals. Projects reaching the finals will compete for subsidies in the form of innovation grants. At the final stage the finalists will be invited to take part in the Innovation and Knowledge Forum Days to be held in Kyiv on June 8-9, 2001. At the Knowledge Forum the participants from Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova will get an opportunity to exchange their experience and to discuss problems.

The best projects taking part in the innovation competition will receive World Bank grants totaling $100,000. It is planned that individual innovation grants will be from $10,000 to $20,000. In Mr. Derkach words, other donating organizations and private companies also intend to contribute to financing such projects.

Simultaneously, the World Bank Office in Ukraine has announced the results of its contest in its second small grants program. This year 365 claims were submitted from all over Ukraine. Ten non-governmental organizations were proclaimed winners, being awarded with grants $5,000 each for conducting projects aimed at solving urgent problems in social development. One of the most interesting projects is purification of a lake near the town of Boyarka, Kyiv oblast. A complicated hydrotechnical arrangement will be conducted by Enerho-Eko civic organization. Lviv based Lad is to create the first educational video game in Ukrainian language, which is to present an alternative for the dominance of foreign ones. Another winner, Kharkiv-based Women’s Mutual Assistance Credit Alliance in close cooperation with a business center is striving to help women not only receive more loans but also attain some practical skills in microlending.