WIT announces the 2021 Shortlist
Brussels, January 11, 2021
Wholistic World Innovation Trophy – WIT – announces the shortlist of nom-inees for its first ever season in 2021:
• Design Beku (India)
Inclusive design, aimed at exploring how technology and design can be decolonial, local and ethical
• Indigital (Sydney)
Connects teaching of digital skills with cultural education, specifically cultural heritage of in-digenous people
• SumArth (India)
SumArth/MICROX Foundation is a non-profit social enterprise headquartered in Gaya, Bihar, India, aimed at supporting farmers in their economic growth
• Vion Lab (Sweden)
Specialises in Content Discovery, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. It analyses content to optimise the media recommendation and advertising experience for SVOD
In times of recovering from the Corona crisis, the WIT is THE annual independent, highly exclusive global award on technical, social or in short wholistic innovation. How can it be utilised to sustainably improve our societies via the telecommunication, internet, media, and entertainment (TIME) industries?
The shortlist was compiled from a total of 14 suggestions that were nominated independently by the jury board members’ networks under supervision of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VUB. Only the board members’ networks representing a continent contributed each with up to three suggestions to the list. Board members named an independent representative in charge of collecting the suggestions.
The continental board representatives were: Omdia’s Daniel Sutton for Europe, Zara Khan of Hindustan Times for Asia, Jennifer Hagedorn from Sidney University for Australia, Berthine van Schoor for Africa and Rosemary Scalabrino of Cadence 13 for the Americas.
The board members in a first round of voting narrowed down the list to four shortlisted candidates.
We want to thank Karen Donders, who is leaving VUB end of January to become director public policy at the Flemish public broadcaster VRT, for her great support starting this award. We wish her the best for her future. In the board she will be followed by Wendy Van Den Broeck.
by Dieter Brockmeyer, DWI Director for Innovation and TIME