/PRNewswire/ –DESIGN EQUALITY with Innovation is the 7th international competition of the SDG-focused program managed by the BE OPE socio-cultural initiative and its partners. The competition is open to students and graduates from around the world. It aims to encourage the creation of innovative solutions by young people, for a more prosperous and sustainable future.
According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the empowerment of women and girls plays a critical role in accelerating economic growth and social development. BE OPEN recommends dedicating the 2025/2026 competition to SDG No. 5, and thus promoting solutions that promote gender equality, meet the needs of women and girls and highlight innovative and entrepreneurial women.
BE OPEN will award the best works with grants ranging from 2000 to 5000 euros, and will offer training opportunities and trips to attend a major international event focused on sustainable development.
Winning proposals will be selected by an international jury composed of sustainability professionals, academics, designers and experts in environmental policy and practice. On behalf of BE OPEN, founder Elena Baturina welcomed the members of the jury: “We are delighted to have assembled such an extraordinary and diverse panel, and we are deeply grateful to the jury members for the time and expertise they are willing to share with our competitors and the general public throughout the competition. An exciting period awaits us, of intense work and fascinating discoveries.”
This year’s jury is made up of Barbara della Rovere, Community Lead of the Innovation Champions Network at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); Helen Watts, executive director of Student Energy; Anna Kaplina, Head of Environmental Affairs at the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution and Gender Focal Point in the UNECE Division of Forestry and Environment; Peter Gamundani, sustainability specialist with Global Sustainable Solution Agents (GSSA); Anastasia Adamidou from the Office of the Gender Equality Commissioner of Cyprus, Françoise Mlebinge, Program Officer at SOLIFEDE-RDC, and Ajisafe Damilola Ifeoluwa, President of the Foot Impact Unilorin section and founder of TerraYouth Africa.
The announcement of the three main winners selected by the jury will take place at the end of May 2026.