5 MINUTES TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World is a joint initiative by the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard to help young changemakers create a better world of opportunities for women and girls in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Project Inspire 2012 invites youth (18-35 years old) from around the world to submit their life-changing ideas for the women’s empowerment grant.

The winning pitch team will be awarded a US$25 000 Women’s Empowerment grant to empower disadvantaged women and girls in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East or Africa. The winning project must help women and girls achieve sustainable livelihoods through entrepreneurship.

Why women’s empowerment?

In an effort to empower women in the region, Project Inspire 2012 is calling on inspired youth to take action and create a better world for women and girls through entrepreneurship.
Women all over the world are facing obstacles to advancement that restrict their ability to play significant roles in their communities and the broader society;
For a long time they have lagged far behind men in key socio-economic indicators that place them at a huge disadvantage;
Two thirds of the 774 million adult illiterates worldwide are women, the same proportion for the past 20 years and across most regions, according to the United Nations’ World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics.
Building a better future

To take part in Project Inspire 2012, any youth (18-35 years old) must submit a 5-minute video pitch (or one-page written proposal) that details their inspired idea to the world in order to qualify for the US$25 000 Women’s Empowerment grant.

The winning project must show creativity and sustainable impact in the lives of women and girls across Asia/Pacific, the Middle East or Africa – and meet the following requirements:
The programme must enable disadvantaged women and girls to attain sustained livelihood through entrepreneurship;
Beneficiaries must be women or girls in Asia/Pacific, Middle East or Africa;
Must be an existing women’s empowerment programme;
Submissions can take form as 5-minute pitch video or 1-page written proposal;
Participants can be men or women from anywhere in the world.
To submit your entry online, refer to www.5minutestochangetheworld.org/get_involved.php.

For media enquiries, terms and conditions, e-mail: media@5minutestochangetheworld.org.

For more about the Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World, refer to http://5minutestochangetheworld.org/about.php.