{"id":16092,"date":"2021-07-06T07:05:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T07:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/2021\/07\/06\/prudence-foundation-announces-winners-of-the-2021-safe-steps-d-tech-awards\/"},"modified":"2021-07-06T07:05:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T07:05:00","slug":"prudence-foundation-announces-winners-of-the-2021-safe-steps-d-tech-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/2021\/07\/06\/prudence-foundation-announces-winners-of-the-2021-safe-steps-d-tech-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Prudence Foundation announces winners of the 2021 SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Innovative oil spill recovery and dam water level monitoring solutions receive a US$75,000 grant each to help save lives from natural disasters <\/p>\n

HONG KONG SAR –\u00a0Media OutReach<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a06 July
\n2021\u00a0<\/b>– <\/b>Prudence Foundation<\/a>, the community investment
\narm of Prudential in Asia and Africa, together with
\nHumanitarian Partner International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
\nSocieties (IFRC) and Technology Partner Lenovo, have announced the winners
\nof the 2021 SAFE STEPS Disaster
\nTech (D-Tech) Awards<\/a>. The
\nAwards <\/strong>recognise
\nthe essential role that technology plays in protecting and saving lives before,
\nduring and after natural disaster events.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Singapore-based EcoWorth Tech<\/a> and the
\nStimson Center<\/a>
\nfrom the United States are the winners of this year’s Awards. They were
\nselected from among close to 60 entries around the world, and form part of
\neight finalists that took part in a virtual live pitch to a judging panel.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Mr Donald Kanak, Chairman
\nof Prudence Foundation, said Prudence Foundation has been focusing on disaster
\npreparedness and relief since 2011. <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Asia is the world’s most
\ndisaster-affected region. More than 50 per cent of global natural disasters took
\nplace in Asia, including China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.[1]<\/a> \n<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

“The SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards is a
\nnatural extension of our work to help communities recover from natural disasters
\nthrough scalable, preventative technology solutions that can protect and save
\nlives.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

“We believe D-Tech should
\nbe front of mind for innovators, venture capitalists and businesses. The Awards
\nserve as a platform to bring their knowledge, capabilities and investments to
\nsupport D-Tech innovation and make the world a safer place,” said Mr Kanak.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

EcoWorth Tech is awarded
\nthe first prize in the for-profit category. The company’s Carbon Fibre Aerogel
\n(CFA) sponge, made of low-cost natural materials such as waste biomass,
\nrenewable cotton or wastepaper, is capable of cleaning waters following an oil
\nspill. EcoWorth Tech’s reusable, environmentally-friendly CFA sponge can absorb
\noil of up to 190 times its own weight, mitigating the environmental impact of
\npolluting industries.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

“The SAFE STEPS D-Tech
\nAwards provided a launchpad for us to meet like-minded innovators and
\nenvironmentalists around the world. We will use the grant to further develop
\nand deploy our solution, conduct more real-environment testing and encourage upcycling,”
\nsaid Mr Andre Stolz, Co-Founder and CEO of EcoWorth Tech.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

The Stimson Center is the
\nwinner of the non-profit category. Its Mekong Dam Monitor is a satellite
\nimagery solution that leverages remote sensing data to monitor water levels in
\ndams to help communities prepare in advance of flooding events or water supply
\ndisruption caused by upstream dam operations. <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

“Participating in the SAFE
\nSTEPS D-Tech Awards has been a very rewarding experience for our team. We had
\nample opportunities to meet with expert coaches who helped us sharpen our
\nstrategies and brainstorm new ways to scale and evolve our solution. We plan to
\nuse the grant to localise our services and language interfaces for use across
\nSoutheast Asia,” said Mr Brian Eyler, Director of Southeast Asia Programme at
\nthe Stimson Center and co-lead for the Mekong Dam Monitor.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Building resilience against
\ndisasters in the region has never been more critical, as COVID-19 has
\nhighlighted the growing vulnerability of people and communities to disasters.
\nThe pandemic has infected over 37 million people in Asia[2]<\/a>
\nand is expected to cause US$2.7 trillion in economic losses[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Mr
\nAlexander Matheou, Asia Pacific Director, International Federation of Red Cross
\nand Red Crescent Societies, said, “We commend all the finalists and winners who
\nhave come up with such important innovative solutions at a time where we face
\nunprecedented environmental challenges and threats due to climate change. We
\nare delighted to work with the SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards to foster a safer world
\nas we face ever more dangerous disasters in Asia, the most disaster-prone
\nregion in the world.”<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

“D-Tech
\nsolutions have become critically important to strengthening disaster response,”
\nsaid Mr Sumir Bhatia, President of Infrastructure Solutions Group at Lenovo
\nAsia Pacific. “As such, it is of great urgency that technology companies, such
\nas Lenovo, leverage their world-class technologies to collaborate with local
\nentrepreneurs and NGOs to develop tailored solutions that can achieve better
\nnatural disaster preparedness, recovery, and resilience. The focus needs to be
\non collaboration, how we can effectively utilise the power of technology for
\nthe betterment of all.” <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

For
\nmore information about the 2021 SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards, visit http:\/\/www.safesteps.com\/d-tech<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

NOTES
\nTO EDITORS <\/b><\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

The
\nSAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards were judged by an esteemed panel of experts from both
\nthe profit and non-profit sectors, who donated their time and expertise to the
\nprogramme. The final panel was composed of the following experts:<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n