FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: JenJoy Roybal, Tel: 718.290.9283, Email: jroybal@bfi.org

ENTRIES TO THE 2009 BUCKMINSTER FULLER CHALLENGE PUBLISHED IN THE IDEA INDEX

APRIL 22, 2009 NEW YORK CITY - Wondering where breakthrough ideas addressing today's major crises are? Look no further, the entries to the 2009 Buckminster Fuller Challenge are now available for view in the Idea Index, an open-source database of solutions to the world's most pressing problems.

The entries listed in the Idea Index range from a radical solution to human transportation in the world's largest cities to a strategy to dramatically increase crop yields and economic development in remote African villages. While the entries cover a broad range of topics, the common thread among them is a highly integrated approach to design - one that is simultaneously comprehensive, anticipatory and aligned with nature's fundamental principles. This focus on an integrated design strategy is what distinguishes the Challenge and the innovators who have submitted their work from other prize programs.

These new additions to the Idea Index represent a growing pool of knowledge about how to tackle some of the most inexorable problems facing our global society - ready to be picked up and put into action by investors, philanthropists, designers, artists, policymakers, and anyone who wants to change the world.

The Idea Index is not just a static database of projects, it is an interactive hub for discussion and debate. The tools provided by the Idea Index allow users to comment on entries, contact the submitters, and engage in dialogue with the Buckminster Fuller Challenge community.

"The visionary solutions contained in the Idea Index are an demonstration of the intuition shared by many people that the solutions to our most pressing problems are 'out there' - designed by inspired and highly motivated individuals all over the planet. These are people who are not waiting for the mainstream institutions of the world to solve out problems for us! My best antidote to reading the morning's crisis-laden headlines is to log-in to the Idea Index!" said Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of The Buckminster Fuller Institute.

The winner of the 2009 Buckminster Fuller Challenge will be selected by our distinguished jury and announced to the public on May 4th. The $100,000 prize will be awarded on June 6th at a conferring ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago followed by a panel discussion with our jurors, moderated by Susan Szenasy, Editor in Chief of Metropolis magazine and a celebration and reception featuring design innovator Bruce Mau. In addition to the conferring ceremony and reception, join us on June 5th for a presentation by Fuller's architecture partner, Thomas Zung at the AIA Chicago and on the morning of June 7th to see a demonstration of Fuller's unique Rowing Needle and a race of this super-lightweight watercraft on the Chicago River, organized by Carl Solway Gallery and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about these events and to RSVP, visit BFI.org.

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge, a program of the Buckminster Fuller Institute, is an annual international design competition awarding a $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has significant potential to solve humanity's most pressing problems.

http://challenge.bfi.org
http://challenge.bfi.org/ideaindex