What will you do today, for tomorrow? This is the question being asked in a global initiative seeking ideas to generate positive change in the world.
The http://www.thisisyourplanet.com" target="_blank">G Project, powered by G Adventures and its non-profit foundation Planeterra, encourages people to submit ideas that will help solve social and environmental issues at a local level.
Submissions will be collated and showcased on the http://www.thisisyourplanet.com" target="_blank"> G Project website and the four people with the ideas with the greatest potential will be invited to pitch to a panel of high-profile judges in Costa Rica. The person with the idea the judges believe will have the most positive impact will receive a US$25,000 development grant and the backing of Planeterra to bring their project to life.
Participants can http://www.thisisyourplanet.com/submit" target="_blank">register their ideas up until June 3, 2013 in one of four categories: Community, Freedom, Beauty or Knowledge. Entrants must complete a questionnaire identifying the critical need, the impact their idea will have and the feasibility of execution. Opinions on the ideas submitted will be publicly canvassed online and a list of 16 will be announced on June 4, 2013.
A panel of thought leaders, innovators and social entrepreneurs, including Lonely Planet’s Tony Wheeler and Dr. Jane Goodall, will then select a shortlist of four finalists based on a set of criteria that favour small-scale, sustainable ideas that focus on local communities and have a strong social element.
The four finalists will be announced on June 24, 2013 and they will then be flown out to the inaugural http://www.thisisyourplanet.com/summit" target="_blank">Summit in the Jungle in Costa Rica in September. Here they will hone their ideas before pitching them to G Adventures’ founder Bruce Poon Tip and a selection of judges.
“The G Project is more than traveller philanthropy or charitable giving. It’s a unique initiative designed to bring people from different backgrounds together to lead, build and foster positive change all over the world,” says Poon Tip.
“The G Project was devised as a means to help and enable aspiring change-makers to take their idea from conception to action and impact.”
Meet the Panel
• Braulio Dias – Assistant Secretary General of the UN & United Nations Executive Secretary on Biological Diversity
• Jane Goodall – Founder, Jane Goodall Institute; Humanitarian; Primatologist; Conservationist; Author
• Jonathan Tourtellot – Founding Director of National Geographic Centre for Sustainable Destinations; Writer Editor
• Cameron Sinclair – Co-founder, Architecture for Humanity
• Tony Wheeler – Co-founder of Lonely Planet; Traveller; Entrepreneur
• Les Stroud – Star of the TV series Survivorman; Filmmaker; Outdoor Adventurer
• Wade Davis – Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic; Anthropologist
• Jennifer Adams – Founder & Executive Director of Places We Go; Filmmaker
• Jordan Romero – Youth Health Advocate; Mountaineer; Fundraiser
The winner will be announced on September 24, 2013 at the http://www.futourism.org" target="_blank">Future of Tourism event in Toronto, Canada.
For more information please visit: www.thisisyourplanet.com.
About G Adventures
G Adventures is an adventure travel pioneer offering the widest selection of affordable small-group tours, safaris and expeditions to more than 100 countries on all continents. It was the first adventure travel company to offer 100% guaranteed departures in 2013. Powered by an international team of passionate travellers, the award-winning trips embrace authentic accommodation, exotic cuisine and local transport to put travelers on a first-name basis with the planet’s people, cultures, landscapes and wildlife. The intimate, authentic and sustainable approach to small-group travel introduces travellers to the highlights of a destination while offering the freedom to explore it on their own. Whatever age, interest, ability or budget, G Adventures has a genuine life-changing experience. For more information please visit www.gadventures.com.
About the Planeterra Foundation
Established in 2003 by adventure travel tour operator G Adventures, Planeterra is a non‐profit organization that supports social and environmental solutions in destinations around the world via its global network of travellers. The foundation focuses on local education, health, small-business development, emergency relief and conservation work. For more information please visit www.planeterra.org.