SECTION 2 -
"I'M INTERESTED"

SECTION 2: "I'M INTERESTED"

This section provides a top-line overview of key elements of this global prize competition. Not too much unnecessary detail if you are still deciding whether or not you'd like to participate, but enough for you to make an informed decision. This section provides a summary of:

  • Program Goals & Objectives

  • Competition Scope: "Who, What, How"

  • Competition Judging & Evaluation Criteria (high-level list)

  • Prize Award & Scope

  • Program High Level Approach & Summary Timeline

  • Program Collaborators: Brought to you by Exponential Destiny with support from the United Nations ITU agency, and additional collaboration with the Virtual World Society


Still interested? Also check-out the Frequently Asked Questions Section (FAQ), specifically the answers to these two questions:

  • "I'm interested in potentially participating, but what should I expect and how do I even get started?"

  • "The Competition is about 'Bringing-to-Life' an SDG in 'Immersive & Experiential VR Metaverse Environments'? - Can You Explain What You Mean?"


COMPETITION JUDGING & EVALUATION CRITERIA

The winning teams will be those that develop an experience for their selected SDG that is ranked the highest in terms of:

(per two age group categories: 14-18 age, and 19+ age)

  • Creativity & Imagination

  • Use and effectiveness of “Immersive and experiential” engagement techniques and elements in Virtual Reality

  • Educational effectiveness for SDGs

  • Overall effectiveness as a tool for building interest and empathy for the SDG(s)

  • Team's Ability to "Do More with Less"

  • Originality of Design & Creation of Digital Assets

  • NOT A COMPETITION TO SOLVE THE SDG - It should be noted that this competition is not looking for teams to build VR experiences that help Solve the SDG. Although it is acceptable and appropriate to share some potential solutions and progress associated with the SDG, the judging will not specifically be focused on whether the experience described a good approach for solving the SDG. Judging is more focused on education, awareness, and ability of the experience to "inspire action", versus an evaluation of specific solutions (that perhaps could be the next competition!).

    Beyond this brief summary of evaluation criteria, please see the detailed "JUDGING & EVALUATION CRITERIA" within the "I'm Ready to Participate" section 2 of this site for further explanation of the list above.

PRIZE & AWARD SCOPE

  • Each of the 17 SDGs are eligible for prize sponsors who contribute funds for a Prize purse: Top finalist winner from 14-18 age-group, and 19+ age group, thus up to 34 (17x2) finalist teams who will receive a cash prize award.

  • There will also be an “Overall Best Experience of Show" awarded and additional cash prize to the top team across all 17 SDGs): The grand finalist teams- one for 14-18 age group, and one for 19+

  • Prize Sponsors (individual or organization) need to apply & qualify. Only sponsors who have shown an affinity to one or more SDGs as part of their core values will be selected. Sponsors and prize purse amounts will be identified and announced throughout the competition timeline (March 2022 to March 2023). At the start of this competition, there are already Sponsors that have contributed hundred of thousands of dollars (USD) for the prize purses of this competition.

  • A portion of a Team’s prize purse (winnings) will be allocated to the school of their choice for further VR education

  • Teams that qualify (economic need) may apply for funding of a VR headset, and some of the the sponsor funding will be used to purchase headsets for those in need (note: funding is capped). Most design software is free or nominal in price, and teams may select the Metaverse platform they desire.

  • The top team per SDGs (per age group) will be awarded and recognized by attending an ITU United Nations summit in May 2022 (virtually and/or in-person) in order to demo their environments for UN ITU summit attendees, who will then vote on the overall “Best of Overall Show SDG Metaverse Experience". This top performing team (per age group) will receive the cash prize award, to be determined as sponsors are added. (Current prize award amounts per SDG and overall may be viewed in real-time on the "Prize Purse" sections)

  • For details of the potential prize purse monetary amounts (as well as details about being a sponsor) please see the "Guidelines" Section, specifically "PRIZE PURSE AWARD MODEL / AMOUNTS"

PROGRAM HIGH LEVEL APPROACH & SUMMARY TIMELINE

The prize competition is officially announced and launched during a keynote at the UN Digital Transformation summit (GSS/WTSA) in Geneva Switzerland on Feb 28th, 2022, with teams forming and registering for the SDG of their choice starting March 14th, 2022, with final awards to 34 (2 per SDG per age group) top finalist in October 2022 at a United Nations ITU summit, in which UN summit attendees will experience VR demos of the top finalist in order to vote on the overall "Overall Best of Show Experience" winner (per age category).

Beyond this brief summary of approach and timeline above, please see the detailed "JUDGING & EVALUATION METHOD, PROCESS, & MILESTONES" within the "I Want to Participate" in Section 3 within this site for further explanation.

PROGRAM COLLABORATORS

Exponential Destiny ("ExpoD")

Prize design, competition operations, team support, general administration -
 Exponential Destiny is a 501c3 non-profit founded and led primarily by youth entrepreneurs from South Central Los Angeles, focused on mentoring youth and adult learners from under-resourced communities through up/reskilling into new economy careers as Metaverse creators. We work with public schools to introduce Metaverse/VR to improve education & learning www.ExponentialDestiny.org (see recent podcast with the Exponential Destiny team describing their mission and non-profit objectives using the Metaverse:

International Telecommunication Union ("ITU")

Prize launch, venue, and final evaluation/awards ceremony support -
The ITU is the United Nations specialized agency formed to deliver on the promise of the digital economy, focusing on topics and standards for the global internet, technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, and include over 193 member states and 900+ companies, universities, and international organizations across various private and public sectors who are working together to put in place the right standards to drive investment, innovation, and collaborative opportunities. ITU Video: https://youtu.be/EBPiWhp4KG4

Additional support provided by the Virtual World Society, who will be partnering with Exponential Destiny to support team outreach and recruiting, VR education for teams, and Judging and Evaluation procedures of team experiences

Virtual World Society (VWS)

The Virtual World Society is an international non-profit founded in 2015 and based in Seattle, with a mission to lift humanity by unlocking intelligence and linking minds to address the pervasive problems of our world. Our founders and members are pioneers in the development of immersive technologies. We collectively realize that we are unleashing enormous power that can grow human potential like no other technology in the history of our civilization. With this power we advocate the application of this emerging technology to lift rather than to debase people. For these reasons, we organized the Virtual World Society to guide technology development and push applications that inspire, educate, connect and unify people across the world.


Still interested? Also check-out the Frequently Asked Questions Section (FAQ), specifically the answers to these two questions:

  • "I'm interested in potentially participating, but what should I expect and how do I even get started?"

  • "The Competition is about 'Bringing-to-Life' an SDG in 'Immersive & Experiential VR Metaverse Environments'? - Can You Explain What You Mean?"

HAVE A PASSION FOR ONE OR ALL OF THE SDGs AND INTERESTED IN HOW TO BECOME A PRIZE SPONSOR?