Yle Beta Challenge seeks ground-breaking solutions

Yle Beta Challenge 2017

How can we enhance mutual understanding and appreciation and create hope for the future?

For the first time in the history of our country the majority of the Finns believes that the future will be worse than the present. What can we do to make the future seen in a positive light and worth waiting for? How could different opinions give rise to a constructive dialogue instead of tearing bickering?

Finland has many strengths that create excellent conditions for people to succeed in accelerating global change. These include education, confidence in the functioning of society and its infrastructure. However, the public debate raises uncertainty about the direction in which the changes take us. There are threats and risks in the highly fragmented and complex world, all of which we do not even know. Unpredictability makes it difficult to plan for the future everywhere - even here in Finland.

Although new technology brings huge possibilities and development is progressing in giant leaps and bounds, there are also those who do not have time or can not adapt to changes. This makes people's behavior unpredictable and can take us by surprise more than a technological revolution alone. During economically uncertain times, a mutual sense of solidarity is being tested and constructive compromises, let alone innovative solutions, have been difficult to find.

Open-minded society needs visionaries to create something that doesn’t yet exist

Through the Yle Beta Challenge collaboration we are looking for ideas and concepts that will build hope for the future and mutual trust and appreciation in all areas of life.

A better understanding and courage to question the familiar and lessons learned, new ways and places for better dialogue, deeper encounters, new services, products, research data and technical solutions.

What might the idea concepts be? You tell us. We do not want to crop out any idea, so go for it!

The competition schedule and the progress:

Yle organizes Beta Day in Helsinki on 24.4.2017 at 2:00 PM. The event will focus on Yle Beta Challenge and its themes. Keynote speaker is the futurologist Ilkka Halava.
Matchmaking event on 3.5.2017 at 2:00 PM in Helsinki (link to registration). If you have an idea, but not a team, you can search for partners to join the competition
You can also search for partners at Hack4FI event 5.-7.5.2017 at Yle Studiotalo in Pasila, Helsinki.
The deadline to apply is 15.05.2017 by 4:00 PM.
The selected finalists to join the idea accelerator programme will be informed of the choice on 19.5.2017 by 4:00 PM. The selected teams commit to participate for the idea accelerator programme.
Idea accelerator week from 29.5.2017 to 2.6.2017.
Winner of the challenge competition will be release at the latest by 7.6.2017.

The winning team gets € 20,000 to implement their idea concept. The Yle Beta Challenge 2017 is realized by Yle Beta, the incubator at the national broadcaster in Finland, in cooperation with Creative and Inclusive Finland and the City of Helsinki.

More info here.

Apply for Yle Beta Challenge 2017: bit.ly/ylebetachallenge2017

Additional information and questions: info.beta@yle.fi