The Coca-Cola Company and World Economic Forum Announce Winners of the Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Grant Challenge

The Coca-Cola Company today announced the 2015 winners of the Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Grant Challenge – a competition exclusively for members of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community. Global Shapers are young leaders between 20 and 30 years old who are organized into a network of nearly 500 city-based hubs. For the competition, Global Shapers launch projects that address the world’s most challenging issues, with the opportunity to win seed money to expand their initiatives. 

This year’s Grand Prize Winner from Kathmandu, Nepal will receive a $20,000 grant for its “Nepal Earthquake Relief Project.” 

In the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal, the rural area of Sindhupalchowk was left with only one functioning health post to serve an estimated 40,000 villagers in the region. The Global Shapers took swift action in organizing a collaborative earthquake relief effort to rebuild this important community resource. With their acceleration funding from Coca-Cola, the Sindhupalchowk Health Post will become the first fully operational health post in post-earthquake Nepal. Furthermore, they will install new medical equipment, train additional medical personnel, and implement clean water and sanitation community education programs in the region. 

“Three years ago we founded the ‘Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Grant Challenge’ because the most powerful thing we can do for self-starting young people is to help bring their innovative, solutions oriented projects to scale,” said Clyde Tuggle, Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “Being a change agent has no age limit, and we are proud to partner with the Global Shapers Community.” 

Adrian Monck, Head of Public Engagement and Foundations at the World Economic Forum, said, “The Coca-Cola Company’s Partnership with the Global Shapers Community is helping Global Shapers to make a lasting impact. The Global Shapers have passion, dynamism and an entrepreneurial spirit, and together with our partners, we hope to improve the state of the world, one city at a time.” 

The Coca-Cola Company has also awarded four $10,000 grants for the following projects: 

• Cartagena, Colombia: Increasing the community’s access to clean drinking water. The “Water for Life” project is distributing water filters that are portable and require no electricity to function to at-risk communities in the region. 
• Chandigarh, India: Addressing gender-based violence in India. The “I Break My Silence” project creates an ecosystem of community based education and awareness programming to create safer environments for women. 
• Gaza, Palestine: Installing solar lighting systems in rehabilitation centers for the disabled. The “Solar Power Lighting Disabled Lives” project ensures consistent access to the center’s therapeutic services for this high-need community during power outages in the area. 
• Geneva, Switzerland: Increasing access to educational materials through the distribution of repurposed solar powered e-devices, such as e-book readers, laptops and MP3-players. The “Reading 4 Change” project reduces e-waste, while simultaneously helping those in need.