You’re invited to a final work session to refine your solutions for Climathon 2020 before the submission deadline on DevPost!
Over 100 participants have already registered to participate in Climathon Houston 2020! Maybe you already attended the info session or the kick-off event… or maybe you just found out about this opportunity!
Everyone is welcomed to continue working on your #ClimateAction solutions.
We’re coordinating one more opportunity for you to work on your solutions before the Nov 18th submission deadline. Zoom Breakout Rooms will be set up for each team so you can collaborate one last time!
Featured Challenges
Transportation
This Challenge will be led by the team at EVolve Houston. EVolve Houston has set short- and long-term targets to increase the awareness, affordability, and availability of electrified transportation in the Greater Houston area. The Electric Vehicle Roadmap, developed in collaboration with over 40 stakeholders, sets forth the goal for 30% of new car sales to be EV by the year 2030.
Energy Transition
#1 – Make Houston the leader in carbon capture technology and energy innovation.
#2 – Restore, protect, and enhance Houston’s natural ability to capture and store carbon.
Building Optimization
#1 – Reduce building energy use and maximize savings.
#2 – Expand investment in energy efficiency.
Materials Management
#1 – Reduce waste and transform the circular economy.
#2 – Optimize waste operations and create power from waste.
Realizing Houston’s Climate Action Plan
On Earth Day this year, the City of Houston published its first Climate Action Plan. The plan is the culmination of thousands of volunteer time from industry professionals, policy stakeholders, and community advocates. Together the working groups have laid out a concise plan to address the climate challenges that Houston faces along with maintaining a leadership role in the energy transition.
This year’s Climathon will look to realize some of the goals of the plan through design sprints led by local subject matter experts in the areas of Transportation, Energy Innovation, Building Optimization, and Materials Management.
Join us in addressing these issues with real-world solutions to these pressing problems we face together!
Entrepreneurs, Investors, Innovators & Changemakers: Join us for more #THIS2020 Events! See the full calendar of 35+ *virtual* talks, panels, hackathons and more at https://thehoustonimpactsummit.com/
Learn about Houston’s climate and environmental impact ecosystem and how you can get involved!
Learn about Houston’s climate and environmental impact ecosystem and how you can get involved, from Rachel Powers, Executive Director of the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (CEC).
CEC’s MISSION: To foster dialogue, education, and collaboration on environmental issues in the Houston / Gulf Coast region.
Our vision is an environmental community recognized as a vital part of the fabric of our society. We connect concerned citizens and community leaders with well over 100 diverse environmental organizations. We share, support, and enhance their efforts and environmental advocacy. We do this through our programs, which include events that enhance understanding, and publications that give a balanced perspective on environmental issues.
Entrepreneurs, Investors, Innovators & Changemakers: Join us for more #THIS2020 Events! See the full calendar of 35+ *virtual* talks, panels, hackathons and more at https://thehoustonimpactsummit.com/
Meet the organizations that are working towards an intentional, inclusive and international entrepreneurial ecosystem for Houston!
Did you know that although Hispanic business owners represent the fastest growing share of entrepreneurs in the United States, they represent only 3% of those who have scaled?
Hispanics make up nearly 44% of the population in Harris County, making them the largest ethnic group, and make up about 38% of small business owners are in the Greater Houston area, a figure that doubled within the last five years. These enterprises cover a wide range of industries including professional services and hotel and restaurant ownership, but when it comes to resources and funding to Latino entrepreneurs, relative to other demographic groups, the Small Business Administration shows this ethnic group have the lowest loan funding for their enterprises.
Researchers agree there is a great need for resources and access to support for Hispanic entrepreneurs. Join us for this diverse and international panel to learn from several organizations who are working to do just that, with a variety of entrepreneurial, training and upskilling programs that bridge cultural and opportunity gaps.
Entrepreneurs, Investors, Innovators & Changemakers: Join us for more #THIS2020 Events! See the full calendar of 35+ *virtual* talks, panels, hackathons and more at https://thehoustonimpactsummit.com/
THIS AMA will explore what’s hot and happening in Houston — as well as touch on the shifts and trends that have emerged over the years since InnovationMap first launched. We invite you to ask Natalie anything about Houston’s innovation ecosystem during … and learn about the can’t-miss events of the week!
Entrepreneurs, Investors, Innovators & Changemakers: Join us for more #THIS2020 Events! See the full calendar of 35+ *virtual* talks, panels, hackathons and more at https://thehoustonimpactsummit.com/
*** Please NOTE: This AMA will be recorded by Impact Hub Houston and YAWP Records for future use by InnovationMap, potentially as content for their website and/or podcast. Attendees who choose to participate in the AMA consent to such recording and use and release all parties from future claims.
TEDxHouston COUNTDOWN Watch Party & Climate Action Series Kick-Off
Countdown is a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis, turning ideas into action. The goal: To build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 in the race to a zero-carbon world – a world that is safer, cleaner and fairer for everyone.
The TEDxHouston community invites you to a series of watch parties, TED Circles, and project nights to learn from the world’s leading thinkers and doers about what a healthy, abundant, zero-emission future can look like, connect with changemakers and concerned global citizens like you, and start ideating and collaborating on new solutions to help us activate our communities and accelerate Houston’s energy transition for a regenerative future.
The ongoing health and economic crises are reminding us of an important fact: We’re all part of the same fragile system, dependent on nature and one another. As we look to the future, we must work to be better ancestors to the next generations of Houstonians and start building a more sustainable, regenerative, and resilient future for them!
The second of four #CrossBorderConvos explores the role of institutions & advocacy in building safe, healthy & empowered communities.
Cross-Border Conversations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a series of virtual dialogues that showcase strategies and stories from the frontlines of SDG action – in Canada and the United States.
On October 13, the series returns for a discussion with Camden, NJ’s police chief on how his city overhauled and rebuilt its police department in 2013. We’ll hear from him and local leaders about the role of institutions and advocacy in building community trust and safety, and invite questions and insights from participants about what safe, healthy, and empowered communities mean to them.
Why this conversation? Systemic racism, violence, and over-policing are longstanding challenges in communities across Canada and the United States, brought into focus most recently by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, and many others. The death of Abdirahman Abdi in Ottawa has reverberated throughout the city since 2016, and people are reexamining the relationship between institutions and communities, including the delivery of police and mental health services.
What can you expect? Through lightning talks and breakout discussions, we aim to create a brave space for honest dialogue among participants and panelists about what it takes to build safe, healthy, and empowered communities. While we won’t be able to address the full complexity of these issues in 90 minutes, our hope is to bring together a range of perspectives so that we may learn from what’s worked, what hasn’t, and continue to chart a way forward together.
Tickets
In an effort to make this event as accessible as possible and remove cost as a barrier to participating, we’re offering a tiered pricing system with a limited number of fully-subsidized tickets. Upon checkout, please select the option that best suits your needs – no questions asked.
Accessibility
Impact Hub Ottawa and our partners are committed to hosting accessible events. To that end, here are a few things to note:
This event will be held virtually, on Zoom
This event will be recorded – you will not be required to use your webcam
A recording will be sent to all who register via Eventbrite.
Automatic closed captioning in English will be provided
Please identify your accommodation requirements during the registration process and be aware that while we endeavor to address all requirements, it may not be possible to fulfill all requests.
More on the series
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address serious global challenges, which won’t be solved without major changes to the way we live, work, and interact with our environment. Cross-Border Conversations on the SDGs is a virtual event series highlighting strategies and stories from the frontlines of SDG action.
Hosted by Impact Hub Ottawa, the series showcases social justice and sustainability leaders from Canada and the US, sharing their stories on how to work strategically towards the Goals.
The series includes four events:
February 25: The SDGs as a Blueprint for Building Liveable Cities (SDG 11)
October 13: Building Safe, Healthy & Empowered Communities (SDG 16)
November: Decolonizing the Way We Work (SDG 10)
December: (Re)Centring Anti-Racism & Indigenous Tradition in Sustainability (SDG 13)
November and December dates to be announced. Sign up here for updates!
Impact Hub Houston and Sketch City invite you to connect and collaborate with Houston at our virtual Open Project Night focusing on “Climate Action.“
Let’s connect and collaborate (virtually) with passionate people who are working on projects, ventures, and collaborations to improve the resilience and quality of life in Houston. If you have an idea, are working on something, or are looking for ways to collaborate with people who are doing work at the intersection of innovation and impact this event is for you! The event requires both a mixture of presenters and people from the community to support, listen, and collaborate with the presenters.
EVENT SCHEDULE: 5:00-6:00 PM
5:00-5:10pm Group Introductions
5:10-5:25pm Guest Presentations + Q&A
5:25-5:45pm Virtual Breakout Rooms to discuss potential solutions for the topic.
5:45-5:55pm Report Back! Your Open Pitch should be max of 2 mins each and answer the following questions before the community can provide feedback:
Brief personal introduction + What is your project/idea?
What stage are you currently at? (idea/testing/implementation etc)
What are your next series of steps?
What are you currently looking for in the way of talent/skills from the community?
We’ve been in this pandemic for a while now, in this workshop we’ll revisit your business model to identify where you can make timely updates and implement strategies to continue updating as things change. These FREE workshops are about exploring ways to adapt to this new reality. Together, we will explore the steps necessary to make sure that your passion doesn’t go to waste by building resilience skills and tools to help weather this storm.
THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL CONVENING! WE’LL BE HACKING SOLUTIONS FROM HOME, TOGETHER!
Impact Hub Houston and Sketch City invite you to connect and collaborate with Houston at our virtual Open Project Night focusing on “Climate Action.“
Let’s connect and collaborate (virtually) with passionate people who are working on projects, ventures, and collaborations to improve the resilience and quality of life in Houston. If you have an idea, are working on something, or are looking for ways to collaborate with people who are doing work at the intersection of innovation and impact this event is for you! The event requires both a mixture of presenters and people from the community to support, listen, and collaborate with the presenters.
EVENT SCHEDULE: 5:00-6:00 PM
5:00-5:10pm Group Introductions
5:10-5:25pm Guest Presentations + Q&A
5:25-5:45pm Virtual Breakout Rooms to discuss potential solutions for the topic.
5:45-5:55pm Report Back! Your Open Pitch should be max of 2 mins each and answer the following questions before the community can provide feedback:
Brief personal introduction + What is your project/idea?
What stage are you currently at? (idea/testing/implementation etc)
What are your next series of steps?
What are you currently looking for in the way of talent/skills from the community?
Dakota currently serves as the chairman of the student board for the Johns Hopkins University Energy Policy and Climate program, while also serving as a leader of a grassroots network of over 2000 energy industry employees tackling the energy transition. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Technicology, L.L.C. and Footprint App, Inc., and is a well known environmental activist on social media. He has represented the United States as a facilitator of a United Nations innovation lab addressing the sustainable development goals (UNLEASH), and is also on the committee for the Gaia campaign for sustainable change within the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He has founded six organizations and served on the board of over ten community and educational associations across the United States, including Global Environmental Brigades and a Keep Texas Beautiful affiliate. Within these roles, Dakota has lead numerous successful sustainability campaigns, including a food waste reduction campaign, a carbon emissions reduction campaign, and an energy efficiency campaign that received state-wide recognition from the Texas Environmental Excellence Awards. Aside from leadership and activism, Dakota has also worked on multiple innovation projects, including the solar tracking project that eventually won Shell Ideas360, an international innovation competition. He has been featured multiple times in the Houston Chronicle and was nominated by a Vice President of Shell for Forbes Under 30.
Impactathon for Future Flourishing is an interactive hackathon experience to innovate inclusive solutions to global poverty amid covid-19.
Calling all changemakers and social entrepreneurs driven to find new ways to uplift communities and alleviate poverty in a post-pandemic world.
Join participants from hubs around the world for a two-day virtual Impactathon® where you have a chance to deepen your understanding about what causes poverty locally and globally and work in teams to develop solutions.
Poverty, in this moment
Since launching this unique Impactathon in early June, covid19 cases have surged and systemic racism has emerged as a global movement. Poverty is a critical part of this story. Estimates for global poverty have been increased by 50M attributed to covid-19 (Brookings).
An Impactathon focusing on the mindset of “building an inclusive future”
For this 16th Impactathon® Innov8social is partnering with Join the Journey, an international empowerment organization, to take participants on a journey of discovery– diving into realities much of the world faces living day-to-day without stable electricity, water, and paved roads–and exploring how covid-19 affects these issues. Teams will work together to ask questions, research existing solutions, identify gaps, and brainstorm and build approaches to build a thriving future using innovative strategies and existing technologies in a sprint-to-the-finish 24-hour push. Teams with the best solutions can earn cash prizes.
Hear from a handful of speakers and mentors who have started social enterprises and impact organizations that have helped hundreds of thousands of people. You will hear their candid experiences in how they navigated unique challenges with an entrepreneurial mindset.
No background in social impact is required. Bring a deep curiosity, a sense of empathy, and a problemsolving mindset. We will walk you through design-thinking approaches to understanding a problem and developing solutions. If you have ever felt a deep desire to create positive impact, whether locally in your city or globally for the world, this event was designed for you
Don’t have a team? Don’t worry. You’ll have an opportunity to pair up either in the lead-up to the event or in the first few hours. This Impactathon is about inclusion…and we want you to feel included!
Agenda*
Friday, Aug 21st 2020
12:00 pm EST | 9:00 am PST | 7:00 pm Nairobi — Kickoff & welcome
12:30 pm EST — Release of scenarios + Impact Talks
1:15 pm EST — Virtual speed networking & team formation
2:00 pm EST — Impact Workshop + teams complete Milestone 1
3:15 pm EST — Pitch deck overview
4:00 pm EST — Impact Catalyst informal panel talks and OH + hackathon group time
Saturday, Aug 22nd 2020
10:00 am EST | 7:00 am PST | 5:00 pm Nairobi — Day 2 welcome + Milestone 2 + Pitch slot signup
10:45 am EST — Impact Talk
12:30 pm EST — Team tech checks
1:00 pm EST — Final pitches
4:00 pm EST — Winners announced + Judges’ comments + closing remark
*agenda is subject to change
Impact Talk Speakers include
Mike Sehzue, Partner at Global SouthxSouth, Founder of Miseh Distilling Company. Social Entrepreneur, Impact Investing Advisor.
Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza, Founder & Executive Director of the African Education Program. Systems thinker in poverty alleviation.
Impact Catalysts and Panel Speakers include
Ezenwayi Amaechi, PhD,Assistant Professor, Entrepreneurship, Johnson & Wales University, Market Strategist. Social Entrepreneur.
Heather Arora, M.S. in Organizational Behavior, Founder of Purple Plants. Impact Ecosystem Builder.
Marc Alain Boucicault, Founder and CEO at Banj. Impact Ecosystem Builder.
David Babbs, PhD Social Work (Social Innovation), Activist, Macro, Veteran. Educator.
Brendan Barbato, Startup pitch expertise, Brand & Partnerships. Social Entrepreneur.
Chuck Brown, Founder of Orion Consulting, Social Enterprise Alliance Board Member. Impact Ecosystem Builder.
Nick Brown, Founder at Clear Purchase. International Payment System Expert.
Theresa L Carpenter, Navy Public Affairs Officer, Communication Professional, Advocate for women and companion animals.
Adam Cole, Founder of Join the Journey, US Navy Servicemember. Social Entrepreneur.
Gloria Ferrer, International Economic Development Specialist, Partner at COMPETITIVENESS. Founder of KINADONA. Social Entrepreneur.
Miloni Gandhi,Founder and Principal International LLC, Adjunct Faculty Foothill College. Impact Ecosystem Builder.
Andrew Hening, Co-founder Opening Doors Marin, Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach San Rafael. Systems Thinker.
Prasad Jaladi, Chief Facilitator of Suraksha.Social Entrepreneur.
Radha Basu, CEO of iMerit Technology Services, Founder of Frugal Innovation Lab at Santa Clara University.
Will Harris, CEO of Willpower Consulting, Chairman of Willpower Humanitarian Foundation.
Grace Rodriguez, CEO/Executive Director of Impact Hub Houston, Advisor to Social Enterprises
Eric Van Trump, Board Member at Join the Journey, Entrepreneur.
Cash Prizes
Join the Journey is awarding cash prizes of $2,000+ to top teams.
Who Should Attend
Social entrepreneurs with proven ideas and traction who are looking to scale their work.
Student changemakers
Young Professionals looking to learn more about social enterprise
Experienced/retired professionals seeking to leverage expertise for social good
The veteran tech community
Faith-based groups seeking to serve through social innovation
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
SDG Goal 1 is Eliminating Poverty. From the UN, “The decline of global extreme poverty continues, but has slowed…. People who continue to live in extreme poverty face deep, entrenched deprivation often exacerbated by violent conflicts and vulnerability to disasters. Strong social protection systems and government spending on key services often help those left behind get back on their feet and escape poverty, but these services need to be brought to scale.”
Open to All
This event is open to all participants and is not based upon participant race, religion, ethnicity, socio-economic background, sexuality, and gender.
Financial Aid
Please email [email protected] or [email protected] in case in need of financial support. Early bird rates are also available until 8/7/2020.
Outreach/Ecosystem Partnership
We welcome aligned partners to share Impactathon with their communities and be featured in our marketing efforts. To learn more about how to become a media partner, email [email protected] or [email protected]
Impact Report + Sponsorship
Read the Impact Report to learn more about this event and the impact we seek to co-create! We welcome community and corporate sponsors to make this event come to life. Contact us to sponsor a team, sponsor an award, or be an in-kind supporter. Email [email protected].
