Global Design Competition – Help enable affordable Internet access to 50 percent of the world by 2015

Cameron “design like you give a damn” Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity and TED Prize Winner for 2006, has just launched a new global design competition together with AMD, as part of its 50×15 Initiative to connect 50 percent of the world to the Internet by 2015.

The AMD Open Architecture Challenge invites architects, designers, students and others to participate in an open design competition to help bring connectivity and computing power to communities that lack access to the Internet.

Participants are charged with designing digital inclusion centers for up to three community organizations: the Kallari Association in Ecuador, SIDAREC in Kenya and Nyaya Health in Nepal.

The technology centers will empower community members with the knowledge and information available via the Internet, helping residents to realize greater educational, social and business opportunities and take advantage of health-related resources.

Some Details of the Competition

It’s $25 to enter until December 15th and $30 after. If you are doing the competition as a studio we have special rates for large groups and as with every Architecture for Humanity competition it is $0 for any entries from developing nations.

Proceeds from the competition entry fees will be awarded to the top entry for each site. One overall winning solution will be built with funding from AMD as part of its 50×15 Initiative to connect 50 percent of the world to the Internet by 2015. Centers will be constructed for the other two sites and replicated for additional community partners as funding becomes available.

This sounds like a fantastic cause to contribute to, so if you’re any good at design or have any good ideas you feel you could contribute to the competition. Head on over to their website and check it out and enter.