2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Semi-Finalists Announced

The Buckminster Fuller Institute announced the Semi-Finalists for the 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. The jury will select a winner who will be revealed at a public ceremony in New York in early June 2011. The winner will be presented with the OmniOculi sculpture and the $100,000 prize money to honor and encourage further development of their work.

"It's truly an honor," said Bioneers founder and DNM co-director Kenny Ausubel, "for Dreaming New Mexico to be recognized as a 2011 Semi-Finalist among such amazing company by this 'Oscars' of whole-systems applied design innovation."

"I'm honored that I've made it this far, we've been really impressed with the process and the effort [the Review] team has taken to understand and probe our project. Winning the award would give more clout behind FishNET especially during the implementation phase." said Shah Shelbe, project leader with the Center for Ocean Solutions and a 2011 Semi-Finalist.

The twenty-one proposals currently under consideration have undergone a rigorous review for adherence to the entry criteria. "Each project has been vetted up to four times by members of our review team, undergoing extensive analysis and discussion. We also conduct an in-depth interview with the individual or team behind the strategy to get at the more technical aspects of the project as well as to understand the underlying design principles informing the work. It is a very significant achievement to advance to this stage of the selection process", stated Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of The Buckminster Fuller Institute.

"We invite everyone to look deeper into each of these projects, not only do they represent an exemplary body of systems solutions to some of our most pressing global issues around health, poverty, education and post oil conditions, they are full of hope for the future and truly inspire. One project will receive the coveted prize but they all derserve and need our support", expressed Program Manager, JenJoy Roybal.

These are the 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Semi-Finalists:

• A New Economic Model for transition to a low carbon, high well-being future economy, , submitted by New Economic Foundation
• Dreaming New Mexico, submitted by Kenny Ausubel + Peter Warshall + Arty Mangan + Nikki Spangenburg
• Participatory Mapping as a means of protecting forest in the Congo basin, submitted by The Rainforest Foundation UK
• Haiti Onward: Building Sustainable Pathways, submitted by Haiti Onward
• The MicroConsignment Model, submitted by Greg Van Kirk
• Spark MicroGrants, submitted by Sasha Fisher + Neal Lesh + Teddy Svoronos + Moses Unity + Aaron Bukenya
• Educating Entrepreneurs Tool-Kit, submitted by EARTH University
• TARA AKshar+, submitted by George C. Varughese + Col. M.S.Ahluwalia + Irfan Khan + Pushpendra + Pragya Tiwary + Rakesh Khanna + Victor Johnson
• Village Health Promoters: Practitioners as the "Doctors" of their communities, submitted by Marianne Loewe + Curt Wands
• Promoting Health and the Environment through synergy of man and land, Krishna K. Gurung + Lila Thapa Gurung + Rameshor Man Singh
• Maternova: a global marketplace for maternal & neonatal health innovation, submitted by Maternova
• FrontlineSMS, submitted by Ken Banks + Laura Walker Hudson + Alex Anderson + Josh Nesbit + Morgan Belkadi + Ryan Jones + Sarah George
• The Portable Light Project, submitted by The Portable Light Project
• QuaDror Homes, submitted by Dror Benshetrit + Elisabeth Krenkler + Ernst van ter Beek + Alexandra Jenal
• Global Village Construction Set, submitted by Marcin Jakubowski, project leader
• Sanergy, submitted by Ani Vallabhaneni + David Auerbach
• Solar Power Villages, submitted by Jurgen Kleinwachter + Barbara Kovats + Paul Gissler + Nick Winter + Mitra Ardron
• Plant Chicago, submitted by Plant Chicago
• Ecosistema Urbano, sumitted by ecosistema urbano
• Blue Ventures, submitted by Al Harris + Richard Nimmo + Frances Humber + Kathleen Edie + Ben Metz
• FishNET: Protecting Our Oceans, submitted by Center for Ocean Solutions