Olivia DrakeJune 22, 20112min
Wesleyan boasts yet another 2011 Dell Social Innovation Competition semifinalist. The group Bitone Troupe, led by Branco Sekalegga MA '11, Allana Kembabazi '11 and AhDream Smith '12, will work with the Bitone Children's Center in Kampala, Uganda this summer on a project titled "Enlightenment Uganda: Disease Control and Prevention." The troupe, made up of young adult performers, represent the promise and potential of Uganda’s youth, 2.5 million of whom are orphans of HIV/AIDS, civil war and acute poverty. According to the group's project description, the lack of knowledge on disease control and prevention has negatively impacted Ugandan communities, mostly children and pregnant…

Olivia DrakeMay 24, 20112min
Tasmiha Khan '12, founder of the student organization Brighter Dawns, is a recipient of the Dell Social Innovation Competition Semi-Finalist Fellowship. Brighter Dawns applied for the Dell Social Innovation Award in January. Their project is titled “Brighter Dawns: Clean Water for Humanity." "Tasmiha was selected from a very strong applicant pool to join 14 other innovative fellows that represent and work with communities around the world," says Betsy Loucks, director of the DSIC Semi-Finalist Fellowship. "The Semi-Finalist Fellowship is a cohort of students from around the world who have some of the most exciting and innovative ideas for social and environmental change."…

Olivia DrakeMarch 23, 20111min
Two student-run organizations, Brighter Dawns and Possibilities Pakistan, were named semifinalists in the 2011 Dell Social Innovation Competition. Vote tallies, along with the competition judges, determines the $50,000 grand prize winner. Possibilities Pakistan already received the Dell Social Innovation Competition “Webbie Award” worth $1,000, for receiving the most votes online. The organization collected a total of 67,830 votes. More information (more…)

Olivia DrakeFebruary 14, 20111min
Student-run organizations have the opportunity to win cash prizes through the Dell Social Innovation Competition. The University of Texas at Austin and Dell are looking for university students who are working to combat social problems worldwide. They’re giving away more than$100,000 in cash prizes to at least five winning teams. Shining Hope for Communities, directed by Jessica Posner ’09 and Kennedy Odede ’12, received the $50,000 Dell Social Innovation Competition grand prize award in 2010. This year, three other student-groups at Wesleyan are competing for the awards. Vote tallies, along with the competition judges, determines the $50,000 grand prize winner (more…)

David PesciMay 12, 20102min
Shining Hope for Communities, a student-founded non-profit organization, has been named the winner of the 2010 Dell Social Innovation Competition. The award is based on a world-wide competition among college students who create projects that can “make the world a better place.” Shining Hope for Communities founded The Kibera School for Girls in 2009 in the Kenyan slum of Kibera, and is creating the Johanna Justin Jinich Memorial Clinic and a community center this year at the same site. Initial funding for the Kibera School for Girls was provided by the Davis 100 Projects for Peace program. The Dell award…