First European wins in ARC contest

ARC, an online community, aims to foster collaborative thinking to engage users with each other to share ideas to help solve rural Africa's greatest challenges. NPCA created the four-month contest when they launched the ARC website in July 2009 to encourage people to sign up and post their ideas.

“This just shows the global interest and reach of our initiative,” says Molly Mattessich, manager of Africa Rural Connect and a former Mali Peace Corps volunteer. “We have people on the site sharing their ideas from practically every nation in the world.”

The top three winners of the fourth round receive a prize winner badge that appears on their ideas page on the ARC website and just as in previous rounds, the first, second and third prize winners receive US$3,000, US$2,000 and US$1,000 respectively, to help implement their plans. The seven runners-up receive a round winner badge that is affixed to their page.

The top three fourth-round winners of the ARC contest are as follows:

• Sweden - 1st Place - US$3,000 seed money: The Ndekero Challenge: A Systems Approach to Rabbit Keeping by a Rural Community in Partnership with a Commercial Rabbit Farm
  
• Malawi - 2nd Place- US$2,000 seed money: Bamboo Lota: The Dream for a Sustainable Malawi
  
• Tanzania - 3rd Place - US$1,000 seed money: Rainwater Harvesting in Rural Tanzania

All four round winners of the ARC online contest, including runners-up, will compete for the final prize where a panel of judges will select the best idea from the final pool and award one winner US$20,000 to implement their idea. The champion of the final competition will be determined by 15 December 2009.

“We look forward to the final competition where the best of the best ideas from around the world will face off against each other for the grand prize,” adds Mattessich. “This truly has been a worldwide contest.”

To share ideas on Africa and be part of the ARC online community, go to www.AfricaRuralConnect.org.