Thabo Mgomezulu, a fellow from South Africa who works to convert waste into biogas to address energy needs in rural areas, will be at beVisioneers: Mercedes-Benz Fellowship Global in Stuttgart. I will be speaking at Summit.
The summit will be held from February 26th to 28th and will consist of a collective of 50 young eco-innovators aged 16 to 28, including environmental experts, businesspeople, investors, academics, and the 1st beVisioneers Global Summit. Government representatives will also participate.
This annual gathering is based on the vision of beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship. The program is tailored to develop young environmental innovators, providing essential training, mentorship, expert guidance, and resources to advance planet-positive initiatives. Notably, the fellowship extends its acceptance to young individuals, regardless of previous entrepreneurial endeavors or economic background.
Conceived and implemented by the DO School Fellowship and generously underwritten by a donation from Mercedes-Benz, beVisioneers identifies fellows based on their leadership ability and practicality of their project concept and provides financial assistance to those who cannot afford the program. To do.
The summit will spotlight these emerging ecopreneurs and highlight their local responses to the climate emergency, as well as facilitate connections with sustainability leaders and thereby support environmental stewardship. The aim is to foster a global network.
In addition, the summit will give fellows the opportunity to present their projects in front of an esteemed panel of judges and the broader community, and up to 20 grants will be allocated to advance their efforts. .
Among the prominent presenters, Chaitanya Thakre from India will share his insights on the development of porous asphalt that can absorb floods caused by climate change and be used in daily life.
“We are excited to work directly with young people who are passionate about innovating earth-friendly solutions to problems observed in their communities and around the world.” says Mariah Levine, executive director of beVisioneers. “Our goal is to build the world's largest community of eco-innovators centered around youth action.”
The growing beVisioneers community includes current and future Fellows, as well as experts and allies in sustainability and environmental activism. The summit will include business leaders, investors, funders, academics, government and iNGO stakeholders representing this community. This includes Dr. Kriti Karanth, his CEO and chief conservation scientist at the Wildlife Research Center in Bangalore.
“We are delighted to be joining the beVisioneers Global Summit as it is important to increase the innovation and performance of young people around the world to achieve sustainability and conservation goals.” Dr. Currans says.
Currently in its pilot year and with 100 fellows from 10 countries, beVisioneers is building the world's largest fellowship program for young environmental innovators. The program is expected to attract 500 fellows from 35 countries in the summer of 2024 and 1,000 fellows from around the world each year in the summer of 2025.