Do you have an idea for an original design which advocates for sustainable development while addressing the pressing challenges facing our world, such as environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, climate change, food and water insecurity or energy poverty?

Are you a secondary school pupil or undergraduate or graduate student at university?

If you fulfil these criteria, we encourage you to apply for the 2023 Future Designer International Innovation Design Awards and Science for the Sustainable Development Goals Innovation Contest.

Your innovative design will be evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges consisting of renowned professors and industry experts from various countries.

The winners will be announced on 31 October 2023.

The winners’ achievements will then be celebrated at an award ceremony taking place in late 2023 at which UNESCO and the Organizing Committee for the International Innovation Design Awards will present certificates to honour the remarkable talents that emerge from this contest.

This first edition of the contest is being implemented with the UNESCO-UNITRAIN Youth Competence Development Project.

The 2023 Future Designer International Innovation Design Awards (IIDA) & Science for SDGs Innovation Contest will solicit innovation and creative works from young people around the world to raise awareness of and advocate for the important role of Science, Engineering and STEM in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Organizers

The IIDA is co-organized by UNESCO and the Organizing Committee of Future Designers International Innovation Design Awards & Science for SDGs Innovation Contest, carried out by the UNESCO-UNITRAIN Youth Competence Development Project, supported by the Organizing Committee of National College Digital Art & Design Awards (NCDA).

Important dates

Deadline for submissions: 15 October 2023
Review of entries and jury deliberations: 16 - 30 October 2023
Announcement of the winners: 31 October 2023
Award ceremony: early December 2023

Eligibility criteria

The IIDA welcomes the participation of young people from around the world. However, for this first edition in 2023, the IIDA is exclusively open to college and university students.
In China, only award-winning works of NCDA are eligible to participate.

Eligible entries

We welcome a diverse range of works that advocate Science for the SDGs. These include but are not limited to, posters, videos, GIFs, illustrations, games, apps, interactive designs, as well as sustainable designs such as products, automobiles, packaging, decorations, fashion, architecture, interior design, landscape design, and public art. Entries are categorized into four distinct categories: media design, product design, environmental design, and art & science.

Application procedure

Participation in the IIDA is free of charge. To apply, please fill out the form provided below, ensuring that it is packaged alongside the corresponding work file within a compressed ZIP file. The ZIP file must be labelled as "artist + work title + country.zip". Please submit your comprehensive application via email to the addresses iida@unitrain.org and iida@ncda.org.cn.

Requirements

The requirements for entries are as follows:

Still images: Format: JPG, Resolution: 300 dpi, Size: Not less than A3, Maximum of 5 pictures in JPG format for each work.
Video: MP4, Resolution: HD, Duration: Not exceeding 8 minutes, File size: Not exceeding 500 MB.

For other requirements, please refer to the 2023 IIDA websites iida.unitrain.org and iida.ncda.org.cn.

Certificate

Winners will be presented with a certificate jointly issued by UNESCO and IIDA. IIDA and UNESCO will promote the works of the winners on social media. All of the winners will be invited to attend the award ceremony held in Shanghai, China in early December 2023.