The creation of the first modern diving watch in 1953 constitutes a milestone in watchmaking history and a highlight in the long list of horology innovations presented by Blancpain over its 280 year long past. Having defined the characteristics of the diving watch, Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms completed autonomous diving gear and provided safety to divers. Thus it is also a milestone for the history of diving as a contribution to the exploration of the ocean and by extension to our knowledge of this fascinating universe and to our motivation to protect it.
The Ocean Innovation Challenge calls for pioneering minds to offer solutions which actively alleviate the tension between growth and sustainability. The Economist and Blancpain invite scalable, economically viable and environmentally sustainable innovations that strive to create or enhance business practices, industries or technologies that contribute to the long-term health of the ocean.
Innovations meeting criteria are invited to submit a 2-minute video proposal for a chance to an expenses paid trip to the World Ocean Summit 2015 to showcase the project to global thought-leaders and practitioners building a blue future. A Blancpain commemorative timepiece will be rewarded to the final winner selected at World Ocean Summit.
The Criteria:
- Entrants may be individuals or companies
- Entries will be assessed by The Economist’s judging panel.
Innovations must:
- Demonstrate inspiring, breakthrough processes or technologies that contribute towards building a sustainable blue economy
- Be market-ready or near-market with a working prototype
- Be scalable
The Process:
- The expert judging panel will review each submission and assess merits based on the outlined criteria
- The top 3 innovations will be selected as finalists to attend the World Ocean Summit 2015
- Each innovator will present his/her innovation to a live-judging panel and audience at the Summit, with the panel selecting the ultimate winner
- Submission deadline: March 13th 2015
- Announce the top three finalists: April 13th
- Winner selected: At the World Ocean Summit, June 3rd-5th 2015, Cascais, Portugal
For more information: http://www.economistinsights.com/content/ocean-innovation-challenge
