Energy for All

Designers and videomakers can play a basic role in the promotion of everyone’s access to modern energy services at sustainable prices, thus contributing to the achievement of the eight development targets of this millennium:
– to increase farming productivity
– to educate
– to relieve women and girls from toils
– to save lives
– to advance in medicine and healthcare
– to contribute to the independency of communities
– to construct bridges to the future.

The unavailability of clear, accessible and reliable energy sources hinders any human, social and economic growth. This is attested by the resolution 65/151 of the General Assembly of the United Nations and is restated by the IEA – International Energy Agency – where it maintains the urgency of coping with the severe problem of energy scarcity and making energy an available resource for all.
In the present time – the century of the most advanced technology and endless race for development – there is not sufficient embarrassment before this data: more than 1.3 billion people have no access to electricity (approx. 20% of world population) and 2.7 billion (40% of population) have not a clean place to cook food and are obliged to use dirty sources (mainly different kinds of biomasses). 95% of these people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and in those countries which are still defined developing countries.

Eradicating energy scarcity is a moral must, says Maria Van der Hoeven, the Executive Director of IEA, speaking of the negation of the rights for study to children living without electric light. Also the World Health Organization (WHO) makes reference to the indoor pollution generated by the combustion of biomasses for food cooking and considers this as one of major causes for the early deaths – two million cases a year – due to pollution. Finally: speaking of energy is speaking of life.
Sustaining 2012 – the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All – means studying and developing solutions, so that the world is no longer divided into a part where light is continually on and a part without electricity. Health, food and water safety, education, employment, communication efficiency and any other man-centered fields are strictly dependent on energy access and use. As stressed by the UN, the concept of sustainability becomes decisive to generate change, growth and development, respect for life, opportunities and the environment.

Let’s recognize the right of everybody to have access to energy, for the protection of human rights and the safeguard of our planet and let’s join the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All by promoting the design contest: Energy for All.

This is an opportunity to unite the world and sensitize governments, citizens, enterprises, industries and the whole society to make energy the actual engine of universal ethical development.

The Mission

To promote access to energy as a prerequisite for the protection of human rights through graphic design, industrial design and the new video category.

The participants

The following individuals can participate: Graphic design, industrial design and video editing students, videomakers, in-training and professional designers, teachers, trainers.

There is no age limit and no nationality restriction.

Below attached are the participation regulations. Good luck.