Worldwide Visionaries Launches World's First 'Global Project Fair'

BOSTON, MA, March 22, 2012 (Press-News.org) Worldwide Visionaries is announcing the launch of the Global Project Fair, an online, multimedia project showcase for individuals, students and classrooms around the world to present their positive ideas and solutions for addressing a wide range of social and environmental issues. The first of its kind, this online event welcomes projects of artistic, educational or activist-based strategies to address topics participants feel passionately about. In addition to posting projects, users can use the interactive site to engage with other users, explore global perspectives and gain multiple forms of support including monetary awards, grant information and additional resources to help develop their idea.

"This event is a global experiment in collaboration. By giving a diverse spectrum of minds around the world the freedom to express themselves on topics they care about in virtually any medium, they can gain support not just through monetary awards, but through connecting to a community of inspired, forward thinking individuals," says Joanna Arlukiewicz, Program Manager. "We are excited to see what happens when creative minds converge online. Anyone with access to the Internet can be involved."

More than just a forum to showcase projects, the site itself was conceived by educators, activists and philanthropists to promote a positive agenda of communication and collaboration. "We want to create an environment for individuals and groups to share their positive ideas and projects, while encouraging them to explore the root causes of the issues they are addressing," says Carina Koury-Jones, Program Director. "By initiating dialogue among a supportive group of peers and sharing projects that consider the core issues common to many social and environmental topics, our goal is to inspire achievable and sustainable solutions on both a local and global scale."

Accepting submissions now through May 1st, outstanding projects that embody the submission guidelines and ideals of Worldwide Visionaries will receive $1,000 awards. All award recipients will have the unique opportunity to 'pay it forward,' individually selecting a project from the Fair they would like to support with a matching award. "Our aim is to put the power in the hands of the recipients. Not only will awardees have the freedom to use their funds to support their unique circumstances, but they will have the ability to empower other project creators by 'paying it forward' to their peers," says Koury-Jones.

By providing incentives and support for these projects, the Worldwide Visionaries program hopes to help initiate meaningful dialogue about the issues project submitters share and provide an opportunity for individuals and students to turn their good intentions into action. The event takes place on the Worldwide Visionaries website at worldwidevisionaries.org.

About Worldwide Visionaries

Worldwide Visionaries is the result of a collaborative project of Up The River Endeavors (URE), a consortium of non-profit organizations and individuals. Worldwide Visionaries is an online resource and forum for young people to explore and exchange positive ideas for addressing pressing social and environmental problems. The website offers an interactive community for individuals to promote and present their creative, educational and activist-oriented projects, collaborate with others, obtain additional volunteers and relevant grants, and gain visibility for their projects. Users can directly engage with project creators, offer advice, and get more information through project and user profile pages.