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W EEKLY EDITION OCT 18, 2017 The Younger Generation Fights For Global Sanitation A youth competition that provides solutions for sustainable development goals honors a portable sanitation proposal as a top 5 finalist For the last three years the Worl d Bank Group and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania have joined forces to host their Ideas for Action (I4A) initiative. I4A is a competition that "encourages youth to develop and share th eir ideas for innovative approaches to solve development challenges, through the smart use of technology and financing solutions, and to take ownership over [sustainable development goal or] SDG implementation." This competition is specifically meant to ac t as a catalyst for "a global conversation among young people all around the world… for international development." Those who wish to enter the competition must submit a proposal under two different categories: High School (if they are 14 - 18 years old) or Young Adults (if they are 18 - 35 years old). Teams consist of two to six members and their proposals are to be submitted by predetermined deadlines. For the 2016 - 2017 competition, the entrants were required to address an issue that falls under one or more of the following "solution areas." The guidelines for the contest instructed teams to develop a "creative yet realistic and implementable solution that will increase the financing available and/or improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing funds. " The categories they could choose from included: • Domestic Resource Mobilization: I mproving the ability of countries to collect and direct public resources generated from taxes and/or improve efficiency of public spending • Better and Smarter Aid: I mproving how aid is structured and disbursed in light of a rapidly changing donor environment • International Private Finance: I mproving businesses environments to attract investment • Domestic Private Sector: M obilizing domestic private capital • Business and Developme nt Innovations: I mproving business environments in developing economics via innovative private/public partnership models The guidelines for this contest have remained vague over the past three years to allow teams plenty of creative freedom. The 2017 winn ers were recently announced in a report published by the World Bank, highlighting the top proposal, along with four other runners - up – with all five being equally creative and groundbreaking. One in particular, however, sheds light on the global sanitation crisis, using portable toilet solutions to bring basic sanitation to the poorest populations of the Laguna Province in the Philippines. This winning proposal was created by "Team SAVE: Sanitation Availability for Various Economies." The Members of this team are employees of a company called Laguna Water, A Manila Water Philippine Ventures Company. They work to "provide the province of Laguna with water, used water, and environmental services which will empower people, protect the environment, and enhance sustainable development." It seems fitting, then, that the young members of their company decided to tackle the sanitation crisis in Laguna by creating their proposed solution titled "Portable Toilet Solution: Sustainable Sanitation for the Base of the Py ramid." PAGE 9 CONTINUE D ON PAGE 10