Through CauseTech, an online crowdsourcing platform, UNICEF's Global Innovation Center wants to provide startups, venture capitalists, research labs and tech-related firms and individuals with a space where they can share and compare ideas and projects.
The U.N. organization partnered with Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and Business Performance Innovation Network, two companies with strong contacts and footprints in Silicon Valley, to capitalize on the tech industry's potential to come up with savvy solutions.
Donovan Nealy-May, CMO Council's executive director, told Xinhua news agency that UNICEF is looking for ideas that can address key humanitarian issues that affect children and women, such as clean water, nutrition, education and health. "We launched this pro bono initiative in May after UNICEF asked us to set up a platform that could serve as a link between the tech industry and them."
UNICEF screens all projects and ideas submitted at CauseTech, which are then posted for crowdsourcing on the platform. If the projects are deemed viable, the U.N. organization provides inputs and resources to make them happen.
By Ruchi Singh
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