What a mind-blowing experience to read through all of this year’s projects. The five categories this year were mental health, equality, climate change, housing crisis, healthcare.
Students and schools come in all shapes and sizes and each and every one had a different take on all the topics. Where The B!G Idea linked them all was through the programme’s ability to generate curiosity among the students, creating confidence amongst them and allowing all students to have a voice. Success looks different to everyone, for some students success is having the winning project, for others it’s saying their opinion out loud in class or discovering new tools to help them solve problems they might not even have been aware of beforehand. It’s learning new techniques like how to research and new tools like meditation. Every little piece of The B!G Idea puzzle is important to someone.
In the mental health category there were lots of ideas for welcoming spaces within schools, designed by students for students. Lots liked the idea of bean bags, book shelves, video game rooms, safe spaces to have something to eat and chat with friends or with counsellors. Some even integrated tech with a digital noticeboard offering messages of support and positivity on a regular basis. Others suggested different apps which teenagers suffering with anxiety or mental health issues could log in to and communicate freely and easily with other like minded teenagers. There could be journaling features, motivational quotes and helplines on the app too.
The equality category threw out some very interesting suggestions as well including a subscription card which could be used by parents from disadvantaged backgrounds to access assistance with the cost of schools and also after school care places for those with tumultuous households where the students could study in peace. Another suggestion was an app allowing people of different races, ethnicities or sexual orientation to make friends, communicate and express worries or anxieties arising from feeling like they don’t belong. It would be a platform to celebrate uniqueness and would focus on mental stability. Another suggested the development of a social media space for LGBTQ+ teenagers to just chat to each other and to combat malicious and nasty remarks.
In the climate change category there were so many unique and interesting ideas including portable wind turbines. The hero in this particular scenario is based in Eritrea, Africa and would benefit from the turbines with the supply of water and electricity. Another forward thinking idea was an app with a built-in scanner which has a barcode which once scanned offers suggestions for recycling or upcycling clothes and other household items. The user could score points to win prizes and would be able to see the difference their efforts would make to the climate.
So many great ideas and far too many to mention but keep your eyes peeled to the Showcase on Friday, 20th May from 11am-1pm to see who wins each category and who the overall winner 2022 will be. After the Showcase be sure to check in to the Exhibition which will be on The B!G Idea website to see all of this year’s projects on display.
The B!G Idea, with the help of all of the Mentors, is allowing the next generation the space to think for themselves and create unique and interesting solutions to ongoing issues. No prizes needed, that is success in itself.
