With support from the Rostov-on-Don City Administration and in partnership with local universities, Center-invest Bank has launched the third round of the “Project for My City” competition.
The competition is a new initiative to encourage “creative micro clusters” to find and implement solutions to local issues. The first round of the competition was for students and the second was for higher education institutions. This third round is for entrepreneurs. Its aim is to encourage local businesses to support community initiatives and to establish socially responsible partnerships of entrepreneurs, students, university research teams and local government bodies.
The competition organisers have set the business community two tasks:
- to submit their own projects to address challenges faced by their city;
- to evaluate projects that were proposed in the first two rounds of the competition.
Entries are invited for six categories: the environment, society, the economy, construction and architecture, transport, and housing and communal services (utilities).
“We are confident that with their experience and knowledge, local entrepreneurs can propose new social, environmental and cultural approaches,” said Dr Vasily Vysokov, chairman of the Board of Directors of Center-invest Bank and advisor to the head of the Rostov-on-Don City Administration. Dr Vysokov added that local entrepreneurs could help present Rostov-on-Don as a city that has built a multilevel partnership between non-governmental and non-profit organisations and local government bodies, on the basis of shared interests and mutual trust.
The first round of the Project for My City competition was launched on 4 December 2014. Since then, more than 200 ideas and proposals have been submitted, and more than 13,000 Rostov residents have taken part in voting. Seven leading universities in southern Russia have proposed a total of 28 solutions for the city.
Center-invest Bank will announce the competition results on 26 May 2015 at its head office in Rostov-on-Don.