Promoting and sourcing innovation from Arctic youth for the Danish Foreign Ministry
The challenge
The Danish Foreign Ministry was looking for a solution to promote, encourage and support innovation and build bridges between the youth and the existing innovation ecosystems across the Arctic.
The solution
A white label competition, together with a new brand (conceptual and visual) and a competition framework, was created, powered by the proprietary IT software of XO.company and the relevant network from Global Startup Awards.
The result
Through the competition, a comprehensive map of the Arctic innovation scene was created together with a collection of unique data, while upcoming startup founders were recognized, and the foundation of a more integrated Arctic Startup Ecosystem was laid.
The future of the Arctic is in the hands of the youth
The key to future cooperation in the Arctic lies in the hands of the youth. The younger generations of the Arctic will be responsible for the future sustainable development of the region, and their skills in innovation and entrepreneurship are a precondition for future economic growth and social development. Therefore, the Governments of Denmark, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland have chosen to acknowledge youth as a key political priority.
Launch video in collaboration with the Danish Foreign Ministry
Launched on the political stage
Arctic Future Challenge was created, and the concept of the idea was launched at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland in October 2019 by the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jeppe Kofod. The aim of the competition is to strengthen entrepreneurship and innovation among the Arctic youth and to create awareness of the Arctic as a region with entrepreneurial business and investment potential.
Project Partners
Creating concept from scratch
The first phase of the project was about creating the brand itself and the competition framework, which would be the vehicle for engagement, data collection and awareness. We created a visual identity specially designed with the target group in mind and the website to support the brand, also taking into consideration that remote places in the Arctic have low bandwidth. Read more about Arctic Future Challenge on the website.
Building a network through the competition
Jury
A jury consisting of members from all Arctic countries was established. Besides judging on the nominees and finalists, jury members also function as brand ambassadors in the whole region.
Ecosystem partners
Across the Arctic 50+ organisations were engaged into the project. These organisations were also sharing content created by us, to spread the message about all the phases of the competition: nominations, public voting etc.
Nominations
More than 500 nominations were received across the Arctic within the three categories, which is a strong foundation for creating an innovation map within the youth segment of the region.
Public votes
Over 2.000 votes were received across the Arctic during the online voting phase, which also generated valuable data to be used for marketing purposes.
Engaging with content
A key strategy for the project was to create online engagement, having the target group (the youth) involved, and also encouraging content creation by the participants and other stakeholders to be shared on social media.
Online streaming - Award Show
Creating and posting content
All external communication and brand building was managed by XO.company. To engage with the stakeholders across the arctic borders, appealing content was created and posted regularly based on a plan and strategy aligned with the Danish Business Authority.
Examples of videos created by participants
