Design Equality International SDG-Focused Design Competition 2025 (up to €15,000 Prizes)

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Applications are open for Design Equality International SDG-Focused Design Competition 2025. Design Equality 2025 is a global design competition that invites students, recent graduates, and young professionals to create innovative solutions that help advance gender equality and support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In a rapidly evolving world, global challenges are becoming increasingly complex and interlinked. Innovative approaches are needed in order to improve the way we respond and adapt to this changing environment, where established methods do not always ensure impact. Achieving the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals – and notably the goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment – requires transformative shifts, integrated approaches and new solutions.

BE OPEN will focus the competition on innovative solutions that:

advance gender equality,
integrate gender issues within innovation,
promote women as innovators and entrepreneurs,
promote technology-driven innovative solutions that meet the needs of women and girls,
remove the barriers to the advancement of women and girls in innovation, technology and entrepreneurship.

SDG-Focused Design Competition Categories

DESIGN EQUALITY has three categories for the submissions to relate to, to help contestants choose their approach to the challenge:

Solutions to advocate and advance gender equality
Solutions that meet the needs of women and girls
Solutions to promote women as innovators and entrepreneurs

Prizes

First prize — €5,000
Second prize — €3,000
Third prize — €2,000
BE OPEN Founder’s Choice prize — €3,000
Public Vote prize — €2,000

Eligibility Criteria for SDG-Focused Design Competition

It is open to students and recent graduates/young professionals internationally.

BE OPEN strives to make the competition programme more beneficial for students and graduates:

the participants can expand their knowledge in sustainable practices and action plans
the participants can compete for money prizes ranging from €2,000 to €5,000
the participants can get international publicity as talented creatives and innovators
the winners will go on a trip to a major international UNSDG-related event and pitch their ideas to international audiences