Without the Amazon, the world as we know it ends. With no hyperbole, it is the churning epicenter of weather systems worldwide. It creates rain. It regulates temperature and humidity. It stores carbon dioxide. It regulates trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean and all the moisture they move. It releases around 20 billion tons of water into the atmosphere every single day. It supports ecosystems not found anywhere else on the planet. And we know next to nothing about most of what lives there. The XPRIZE Rainforest competition’s 2024 winner, Team Limelight, aims to change that, to show all of us that the planet’s greatest buried treasure is worth fighting for. And that the time to fight is now.

In this second installment of a two-part special Rio G20 series, host Tate Chamberlin interviews Team Limelight Rainforest’s Dr. Thomas Walla, Professor of Biology at Colorado Mesa University, and Outreach Robotics Cofounder Guillaume Charon, two among the many creative minds intent on tackling the world’s most pressing concerns in XPRIZE competitions around the globe. Here, they break through the Amazon’s canopy to shed light on the world’s most misunderstood treasure and all the sway it holds over the future of literally everything.

Limelight Rainforest

In this episode of WISE On Air, we explore the intersection of innovation and education with Alexander Nicholas, Executive Vice President of Learning & Society at XPRIZE. Drawing from his experience leading educational initiatives at the Gates Foundation and now at XPRIZE, Alexander shares insights on how prize competitions can catalyze transformative solutions in education.

Alexander discusses XPRIZE's unique approach to tackling global challenges, from their first space competition to their current work across seven domains including education. He explains how their "brain trust" methodology brings together diverse experts to frame problems and design prizes that drive real impact. Through examples like their global learning prize that reached millions of students in Tanzania, we explore how prize competitions can validate educational technology and create new standards for efficacy.
The conversation delves into Alexander's vision of democratized education, where high-quality learning becomes "demonetized, delocalized and moving into the fabric of society." He shares thoughtful perspectives on how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies might help realize this vision, while emphasizing the importance of keeping solutions globally relevant and contextual.

Join us as we examine how prize competitions could help transform education systems and create more equitable access to learning opportunities worldwide.

Learn more about XPRIZE: https://www.xprize.org

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105: From Space to Schools - How Does XPRIZE Reimagine Learning? - Alexander Nicholas

This episode is brought to you by Modern Makers.

In this episode of Diverse, engineer, entrepreneur, and space explorer Anousheh Ansari sits down with SWE Executive Director and CEO Karen Horting.

As the first female private space explorer, Anousheh shares her extraordinary journey, delving into how her problem-solving engineering skills have shaped her path, as well as her unforgettable experiences in space that transformed her perspective on global challenges. 

She also shares insights on risk-taking, adaptability, and the invaluable lessons learned from failures. 

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Ep 311: Reaching for the Stars With Anousheh Ansari, Astronaut and CEO of XPRIZE

Welcome to Diverse, a podcast by the Society of Women Engineers. SWE gives women engineers a unique place and voice within the engineering community. On Diverse, we highlight incredible thought leaders and personalities in the STEM community and discover who they are at home, at work and in between.

I Am Interchange, is a must-hear movement that immerses you in the world of adventure journalism, where we fearlessly explore the monumental global challenges of our time. Through raw, unfiltered storytelling, we dive into the tension and share the stories from the front lines of systems change.
THIS SEASON:  It seems, now more than ever, that we have found ourselves on the cusp of monumental worldwide change. Whether we consider the environment, politics, infrastructure, health, economics, or equities across a broad swath of social constructs, the consensus is clear and urgent: all is not as it should be. The United Nations (UN), a consortium of 193 Member States from around the globe, agrees. In 2015, the UN unanimously adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calling for urgent action in global partnership to secure “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” In alignment with the goals, HATCH — a curated network of innovators, artists, activists, and entrepreneurs working together to accelerate positive global change — focused its fall summit impact labs on topics related to their four impact pillars: EQUITY, EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENT, and EMPOWERMENT This series will explore those on the frontlines of transformational systems change, accelerating solutions for these human challenges.

An education podcast where we talk to the world’s leading minds. Brought to you by WISE: The global platform for innovators in education. Join us as we talk to thought leaders, innovators, educators and artists from around the world about any and all things to do with education.

New tracks tagged #XPRIZE