DESIGN EQUALITY with Innovation is an international design competition, developed and held by BE OPEN and our partners. It is open to students and recent graduates/young professionals internationally.

The competition hopes to reach a number of goals:

• to raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals and the necessity of urgent action among the young and upcoming professionals
• to involve younger creatives into the SDGs agenda on a day-to-day basis, and encourage them to take a larger part in the implementation of the sustainable actions plan
• to encourage and reward creation of innovative solutions by younger creatives, for a more prosperous and sustainable future
• to contribute to the implementation of the SDGs through identifying, showcasing and promoting creative ideas that support global shift to a sustainable and efficient future.

Design-thinking has a crucial role to play as an instrument or vehicle for the implementation of a more sustainable future. BE OPEN and all of the stakeholders involved in this international competition programme strongly believe that creativity is integral in the shift to sustainable existence.

BE OPEN strives to make the competition programme more beneficial for students and graduates:

• the participants can expand their knowledge in sustainable practices and action plans
• the participants can compete for money prizes ranging from €2,000 to €5,000
• the participants can get international publicity as talented creatives and innovators
• the winners will go on a trip to a major international UNSDG-related event and pitch their ideas to international audiences

TIMELINE

• Open for submissions — September 15, 2025
• Deadline for submissions — December 31st, 2025
• Announcement of winners — March to April 2026
• Celebration of winners — TBC

SUBMISSIONS

DESIGN EQUALITY is open to students, graduates and young professionals aged 18-35.

SUBMISSIONS CATEGORIES

DESIGN EQUALITY has three categories for the submissions to relate to, to help contestants choose their approach to the challenge:

• Solutions to advocate and advance gender equality
• Solutions that meet the needs of women and girls
• Solutions to promote women as innovators and entrepreneurs

INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM SUBMISSIONS

Participants may enter as individuals or as part of a multidisciplinary team, (there is no limit to the number of members in the team). Individuals are invited to submit one project. They can also submit on team project for the total of two projects entered in the competition.

MENTORSHIP AND COLLABORATION WITH EXTERNAL INSTITUTIONS AND/OR ORGANIZATIONS

Participants are encouraged to seek academic and professional mentorship/advisement/sponsorship. Any supporting party will be mentioned alongside the project/author if included into publicity materials.

PRIZES

BE OPEN will reward the best work with the following monetary prizes as well as with honorary mentions.

• First prize — €5,000
• Second prize — €3,000
• Third prize — €2,000
• BE OPEN Founder’s Choice prize — €3,000
• Public Vote prize — €2,000

The jury will select top 50 honourable mentions, then decide amongst the strongest submissions and name the winners of the First, Second and Third Prizes out of all submissions within the three submission categories.

The Founder’s Choice prize is allocated by the Founder of BE OPEN Elena Baturina who will select the awardee out of 50 honourable mentions. The Public Vote prize winner will be decided upon by the majority of votes in an online open vote from 50 honorary mentions.

The Competition partners may decide to reward any submitted project with non-cash prizes.

WINNERS’ NOTIFICATION

The winners of the competition will be notified by email of their prize category award and/or honorary mentions. The winner(s) will need to confirm the acceptance of the award. Failing such confirmation within a period of 14 days from BE OPEN making contact, the entrant(s) selected will be considered to have simply relinquished the prize and it may be awarded to another entrant with no reward for those deemed to have relinquished it. The public announcement of the winners will be made through digital channels and will be accompanied by an online exhibition of the winning submissions and honorary mentions.

AWARDS AND EXHIBITION

AWARD CEREMONY

BE OPEN will undertake to hold an award ceremony in 2026. At least one representative (in case of team submissions) of each prize category shall participate in the award ceremony.

MONETARY AWARDS

BE OPEN will issue the monetary prize award to the winner(s) by name(s) shortly after the winners are notified. The award is non-transferable. In the case of a team winning, the monetary award is transmitted to the lead submission entrant. He/she will be responsible for any further transactions to disseminate the award to other team members. The award may not be altered, exchanged or reimbursed. The value of the award is determined at the time of writing these rules and it may not be disputed in any way with regard to its valuation or amount. The award may not be the subject of any request for financial compensation not provided for, any exchange or any return for any reason whatsoever.

TRAVEL GRANT

In case an award ceremony is held, a travel grant will be issued to the winners and the winning teams. The travel grant for an individual winner will amount to EUR 1,000.

In the case of winning teams, a maximum of EUR 2,500 for the team will be awarded.

Travel grants for the awards ceremony will be processed in 2023. BE OPEN will issue the travel grant to winners in the form of a bank reimbursement. The travel grant recipients are responsible for the delivery of receipts and proofs of payment to BE OPEN if requested and within the deadline that will be indicated. A travel grant issue is not applicable in case of cancelled travels or no show to the awards ceremony.

The travel grant that is given to the winners is intended to partially cover expenses that will be incurred when participating in the conference. The travel grant can be applied to cover transportation (air, train) or/and accommodation/housing during the conference, travel insurance and if needed, a visa. Winners are encouraged to apply for additional travel support from the home university or any other source available to them. Winners are responsible for any taxes that may be associated with their prize award and travel grant, if any. Costs not related to the conference participation, such as any other travel than the route between home institution and conference venue, free-time activities, travel equipment, etc. are not covered nor organized by BE OPEN unless additionally specified in email communication with the winners.

Winners waive any and all claims of liability against BE OPEN, its employees and representatives, for any personal injury or loss which may occur from the conduct of, or participation in the program, or from the use of the travel grant. No responsibility is assumed by BE OPEN for any injury and/or damage to other persons, property as a matter of liability, negligence, or otherwise recognized reason caused by the participant or the institutions or any third party participating in the program.