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Media Release

Only 3 weeks left to join the CEC Youth Innovation Challenge

Enter our challenge to compete for $5,000 in seed funding and present your green growth idea to North American environmental leaders in Oklahoma City

Montreal, 13 March 2018—North American environmental ministers are calling on youth to champion bold ideas for green growth to address the complex sustainability challenges we currently face. Visit cec.ideascale.com to submit your science, technology or business innovation and get the chance to present your idea to North America’s top environmental officials, receive C$5,000 in project seed funding, and meet with experts at the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The closing date to submit an idea for the CEC Youth Innovation Challenge is only three weeks away on 3 April 2018, so don’t delay!

“Innovation is the key to North American sustainable growth, enabling us to use our natural resources to grow our economies and quality of life while preserving the environment, ecosystems and human health. North American youth are creative and innovative and we are looking forward to their ideas on green growth,” said Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency and CEC Council Chair.

The CEC Youth Innovation Challenge is open to residents of Canada, Mexico and the United States (and its territories), aged 18-30. Participants are encouraged to look beyond incremental solutions and propose bold ideas to leapfrog to solutions that address the complex sustainability challenges facing North America. Ideas will be evaluated based on four criteria: innovation, impact, feasibility/replicability, and profitability. Students and young entrepreneurs are invited to propose ideas on a broad range of green growth topics.

The challenge opened on 15 January 2018 and idea submissions are due by 3 April 2018.

This is your chance to make a difference! Ideas can be submitted in English, French or Spanish. For more information and guidelines, visit <http://cec.ideascale.com/>.

Make sure to tell us about your green idea on Facebook or Twitter using the #Youth4Innovation hashtag. Follow the CEC on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ceconnect or our Twitter @CECweb.

2018 CEC Youth Innovation - sustainability and green growth

About the CEC

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in 1994 by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a parallel environmental agreement to NAFTA. As of 2020, the CEC is recognized and maintained by the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, in parallel with the new Free Trade Agreement of North America. The CEC brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the general public, Indigenous people, youth, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the business sector, to seek solutions to protect North America’s shared environment while supporting sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations

The CEC is governed and funded equally by the Government of Canada through Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of the United States of Mexico through the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency.

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