TN girl, Delhi man among ‘Eco Oscars’ finalists
THE WINNERS OF THE EARTHSHOT PRIZE, CREATED BY PRINCE WILLIAM, THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE IN 2019, WILL EACH RECEIVE 1 MILLION POUNDS IN PRIZE FUNDING
LONDON: A 14-year-old Tamil Nadu school girl’s solar-powered ironing cart project and a Delhi entrepreneur’s agricultural waste recycling concept will be among 15 finalists competing for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, dubbed the “Eco Oscars” for their carbon neutral setting.
Vinisha Umashankar, with her solar-powered street ironing concept, and Vidyut Mohan, with his cheap tech to convert crop residues into sellable bio-products, will go head-to-head with worldwide finalists as they join the starstudded event virtually.
The five winners of the Earthshot Prize, created by William – the Duke of Cambridge in December 2019, will each receive 1 million pounds in prize funding.
“A truly global event, the ceremony will connect London with the finalists and winners all over the world, showcasing the incredible global community working to repair our planet,” the Earthshot Prize announced on Sunday.
“The ceremony will be a carbon neutral production and broadcast, taking a zero waste to landfill approach, including the set design and staging across all locations,” it noted.
Performances, storytelling, and state of the art technology will make up the one-hour ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London, to be broadcast on BBC and Discovery channel’s Facebook page next Sunday, October 17.
The Earthshot Prize is designed as a global search for the most inspiring and innovative solutions to the greatest environmental challenges facing the planet.
“Over half a century ago, President Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’ programme united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon. Inspired by this, the Earthshot Prize aims to mobilise collective action around our unique ability to innovate, problem solve and repair our planet,” William had said earlier, in reference to the initiative.
The Indian finalists are both competing in the “Clean Our Air” category.