The International Olympic Committee (IOC), through its new Olympism365 Innovation Hub, has awarded grants to five community projects that innovatively contribute to advancing the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thanks to a new annual initiative called the Ignite365 Awards, each organization will receive an initial grant of $10,000. The five organizations will also benefit from training, engagement and networking opportunities.
The Olympism365 Innovation Hub is a collaboration between the IOC, Beyond Sport and Women Win designed to support innovators promoting sport for sustainable development. The Ignite365 Awards are the first initiative of the Olympism365 Innovation Hub.
More than 200 applications from 86 countries were considered for the awards. The Ignite365 Award winners for 2024 are:
- Fenikks, founded by 24-year-old Tomás Machuca, is an Argentina-based project that collects plastic waste in 56 disadvantaged neighborhoods across seven regions of the country. It transforms that waste into shin guards for football players. For every pair of shin guards it sells, another is donated to football clubs in those regions.
- The Grass Skirt Project, founded by Tahina Booth, uses sport to drive social change in Papua New Guinea, focusing on advancing gender equality. Through its Gymbox program, shipping containers are repurposed as mobile fitness facilities that help deliver improved health conditions and reduced gender-based violence.
- Never Stop Playing Sports, originally launched in 2020 to support student athletes in Japan affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, has since been working to support female student athletes by providing advice on menstrual health and sporting performance.
- touch2see, which helps visually impaired people follow live sporting events. The French company has developed a touch-sensitive tablet that provides automated audio descriptions and details of the on-pitch action through vibrations and magnetic cursors. The device can currently be used for football, rugby and basketball, with plans to expand the offering to additional sports. Tennis, handball, hockey and American football are already in the pipeline, according to the organization’s website.
- WeSwim, founded by Natasha Fleming, works to increase swimming opportunities for people with disabilities in Great Britain. It provides personalized support to help participants learn to swim, take part in physiotherapy sessions or simply enjoy spending time in a pool.
