Here is information about an interesting opportunity to enter a global online competition and to be showcased to a network of like-minded community members, funders, NGOs, thought leaders, universities, governments, and enthusiasts.

Below is our competition announcement. We would be very pleased if you could circulate this to your network.

ENTER ONLINE GLOBAL COMPETITION, "Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities"

ENTRY DEADLINE: May 13, 2009.

COMPETITION FOCUS: In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ashoka's Changemakers is looking for innovative solutions that span the entire agricultural value chain – from seeds to sales. Three-quarters of the world’s poorest people—the 1 billion who live on $1 a day or less—rely on agriculture to feed themselves and their families, yet many cannot grow enough to sell or even eat. If you've come up with strategies, tools and opportunities for small farmers to boost their productivity, increase their incomes, and build better lives for themselves and their families, enter now! For more details on the competition, please visit http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/agriculture

PRIZES:

• Three top winners get $5,000 each
• CyberMedia, Asia's largest media house, will do TV programmes on select entries from India
• Rural Innovations Network has offered to mentor and incubate select entries from India
• Nominator Prize: If you nominate people/organizations who could enter the competition, you stand to win a special prize! A nominator's link is up on the site. Just click, and nominate.

Please also note that the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Government of India, is interested in working with Changemakers in mobilizing post-competition investment based on mutual interest through their Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) and Rural Business Hubs (RBH).

More prizes will be announced in the coming weeks. Do keep checking this link for more information on prizes: http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/node/18948/competition/guidelines

For more information or media queries, please contact Ms. Purti Simon, Consultant, Ashoka's Changemakers. Tel. No. 033-6535-8647; Mobile: 98301 56824 (Kolkata, India). Email: changemakers.competition@gmail.com