Finalists announced for hotly-contested “Jakarta Urban Challenge” competition

• “Jakarta Urban Challenge” aims to champion effective solutions to traffic problems in Jakarta
• Three finalists and five semi-finalists picked out of 226 applications
• Each finalist to present at the New Cities Summit in Jakarta (June 9 -11) and win a share of $20,000 to implement their project in Indonesia’s capital
• The international judging panel includes: Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Prize recipient and Founder of Grameen Bank and Sutanto Soehodho, Jakarta’s Deputy Governor for Industry Trade and Transportation

Jakarta Indonesia – May 26, 2015. The New Cities Foundation and Connect4Climate announced the names of three outstanding project ideas that made it to the final stage of the Jakarta Urban Challenge, a US$20,000 contest aimed at tackling Jakarta’s mobility problems with homegrown solutions by young innovators. The finalists were selected from among the 226 applications that came from across Indonesia and from Indonesians living abroad.

The three finalists are:

Cyclist Urban System: A plan to create dedicated “cyclist hubs” across Jakarta, where cyclists can park their bikes, get dressed, buy refreshments, repair their bikes, obtain first aid assistance and route information, and eventually rent bikes.

Jalan Aman (Safe Passage): A mobile application that focuses on the safety of female commuters, allowing users to share their location, report incidences of assault and access information on safe transportation options from other users.

Squee Mobile App: A sharing app that unifies pedestrians and cyclists to travel together on shorter, safer non-motorized routes across Jakarta's urban kampongs (villages).

The three finalists will be invited to present their projects to an audience of 800 urban leaders and thinkers from around the world at the New Cities Summit, the leading event on the future of cities. The Summit is taking place for the first time in Jakarta on June 9 – 11.

Each finalist will have five minutes to present their idea on the main stage of the Summit on June 9, where they will inspire the audience and compete to win approval from the international judging panel.

The judging panel will allocate the US$20K prize money into US$4,000 and US$6,000 amounts for the runners-up and US$10,000 for the winner. Projects will be judged according to the quality, content and impact of the presentations.

The winning line-up will be announced on June 10 and all three finalists will be required to use their prize money for the implementation of their projects in Jakarta.

The Judging Panel Includes:

Ke Fang, Lead Urban Transport Specialist, The World Bank Group

Sarwo Handayani, Head of Governors team for Development Acceleration, City of Jakarta

John Rossant, Chairman, New Cities Foundation

Sutanto Soehodho, Jakarta's Deputy Governor for Industry, Trade, and Transportation

Neli Triana, Senior Editor/Deputy Head of Metropolitan Desk, Kompas Muda

Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and Founder, Grameen Bank

The finalists were selected for their outstanding responses to the Challenge criteria, which called upon young Indonesia-based innovators to come up with new and fresh solutions that demonstrate the capacity to improve traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and/or improve transport safety and accessibility in the city.

Applications covered a spectrum of categories including: behavior-changing campaigns, apps, bike sharing systems, ride-sharing systems, public transport infrastructure projects and air filtering mechanisms.

In total, 226 applications were received between March 16 and May 8. Due to an astounding number of excellent applications the New Cities Foundation and Connect4Climate also recognize five semi-finalists for the Challenge:

WeWalk: A mobile game aimed at encouraging Jakartans to move around by foot. Users are given challenges, and can accumulate points and obtain rewards for different ranges of walked distances.

Working Proxy: An online platform enabling people to find remote office locations in close proximity to their neighborhood, helping workers avoid long commutes. The platform also incorporates ride-sharing options, further alleviating congestion.

Project Karta: A one-stop solution app integrating Jakarta's public facilities, events, transportation services and e-commerce to reduce traffic and pollution. The app helps users find the most effective commuting options by integrating all existing transportation apps.

Jampang: A mobile and web application that provides daily guidance for Jakartan commuters. It offers information on all possible transport options, as well as details on weather, arrival times and calories burned when choosing different modes of transport.

CekPolusi.org: A website that provides real-time information on pollution in Jakarta through monitoring stations located in nine locations across the city. Users can learn about the air quality in their area as well as the impact of particular pollutants.

These five semi-finalists will be invited to participate in the New Cities Summit in Jakarta.

 John Rossant, Chairman of the New Cities Foundation, said: “We are truly inspired by the ingenuity and creativity of the 226 applications we received. It is evident from their detail and vision that young Indonesians are fully engaged with the urbanization challenges faced by their country. We look forward to seeing the three finalist presentations at the New Cities Summit, as well as the five semi-finalists – and to witnessing the impact of these projects in Jakarta in months and years to come.”

Lucia Grenna, Program Manager, Connect4Climate, said: “The Jakarta Urban Challenge is an excellent platform to harness local intelligence from young innovators. We were extremely humbled to see the diversity of concepts and thoughtful proposals that tackled mobility within Jakarta. Many of the submissions not only aimed to improve congestion, but also took climate change into consideration, and offered sustainable solutions. We look forward to working with the finalists to help them to realize their ideas.”

For further updates on the Jakarta Urban Challenge visit www.newcitiesfoundation.org. Twitter: #JKTUrbChallenge.

Ends

International press contact:
Marina Bradbury
Communications & Media Relations Manager
New Cities Foundation
mbradbury@newcitiesfoundation.org
33 6 17 79 17 72

Local press contact:
Wulan Suling
Edelman Jakarta
wulan.suling@edelman.com
newcities@edelman.com
62 21 721 59000

About the New Cities Summit

Organized by the New Cities Foundation, the New Cities Summit is the premier global leadership event on the future of cities. Fostering positive urban change, the high level gathering advocates cross-sector collaboration through network building, cutting-edge forums and lively discussion. The Summit showcases and disseminates the best ideas on the future of cities and generates concrete, scalable solutions capable of being adopted and replicated across the world. The speaker program is constructed by the New Cities Foundation, with the support of its members and partners, to reflect the most incisive, innovative thinking on the future city. The New Cities Summit 2015 will be hosted in Jakarta, Indonesia from June 9 – 11, following past editions in Dallas (2014), São Paulo (2013) and Paris (2012).

www.newcitiessummit2015.org
Twitter: #ncs2015

About the Jakarta Urban Challenge

The Jakarta Urban Challenge is a USD $20,000 contest championing the most effective solutions to mobility and traffic problems in Jakarta.  As Jakarta grows, mobility is becoming increasingly challenging while congestion is worsening, an issue that many large metropolises face. The Challenge is designed to find local solutions to improve mobility in Jakarta, one of the world’s most congested cities. The Challenge is organized by the New Cities Foundation in collaboration with Connect4Climate.

Jakarta Urban Challenge: Application Timeline

May 8: Application Deadline
May 27: Three finalists announced
June 9: Finalists pitch their idea to the audience at the New Cities Summit
June 10: Winner announcement during the New Cities Summit

http://bit.ly/JKTUrbChallenge     Twitter: #JKTUrbChallenge

About the New Cities Foundation

The New Cities Foundation’s mission is to shape a better urban future for all by generating and scaling ideas and solutions through events, research and urban innovation projects.  In all of its activities, the Foundation works with leaders from business, government, academia, civil society, the media and the arts. Each year, the New Cities Foundation organizes the New Cities Summit, the leading global event on the future of cities. An independent, non-profit organization, the New Cities Foundation was created in 2010 and is financed by its members and partners. Overall, its members include some of the most forward-thinking companies, universities, cities and city organizations from around the world. The New Cities Foundation’s Founding Members are Cisco and Ericsson. The Foundation is based in Geneva and its head office is in Paris.

www.newcitiesfoundation.org
Facebook: /NewCitiesFoundation
Twitter: @newcitiesfound

About Connect4Climate

Connect4Climate is connecting to take on climate change. Launched by the World Bank Group and the Italian Ministry of Environment, Connect4Climate (C4C) is a community with more than 200 partners worldwide including  media networks, international organizations, academic institutions, youth groups and the private sector. With over a million individuals participating on Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr and other social media channels, C4C interacts with a global audience.

www.connect4climate.org
Facebook: /Connect4Climate
Twitter: @Connect4Climate #Film4Climate

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