The Prize

'The Prize'

I may have begun discussing this a little prematurely as the idea is in early stages of development.

I am working with others to raise funds for 'The Prize'. At the moment, we do not have an exact idea what the prize will be awarded for, although we do know that it will be awarded to whoever makes a very positive impact on the city. 

Here is an example of what the prize could be for: 

To demonstrate switching homes to careful and economical use of resources and employment of alternative energy sources. Must be demonstrated in 50 homes representing at leaset 5000 similar homes in Montreal. Must reduce the current home’s carbon footprint by 80%.

here is another possibility

To demonstrate an easily implemented act or service, that is low cost, that will aid in lowering the ecological footprint of Montreal. 

But there are many other possibilities. For the first year's prize, we will address environmental issues. In the future we will look to other concerns such as social, wealth, and health issues in Montreal. This may sound a little strange; however, we cannot decide upon the exact nature of the competition until we have a validated monetary award. If we end up raising $1500 the above goals will likely attract only a few competitors, as it is a big project with only a small monetary award. If we raise $25,000 the above goal would realistically attract many more competitors and, I believe, yield many results. A smaller award = a less ambitous goal. The more we raise will allow for a larger scope of the competition.

The fundraisers are working on all different levels of the community, including contacting corporate sponsors to donate products for auction as well as money, media outlets to provide media exposure and advertising space to attract participants. We are also working on many different levels of community, including the Montreal party scene, to raise awareness and attract participants from all different sections of our community.

The concept of the prize is not a novel one. There are many prizes throughout history that have resulted in healthy competition and extraordinary results. 

This idea was inspired by a lecture from MIT. http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/690

If you have any ideas or suggestions of what the prize could be for please let me know.