BBC World News

On 14 November, BBC World News will broadcast World Challenge Five Years On – a one-off programme to celebrate the competition’s fifth anniversary, looking back on the past five years of the 'World Challenge' series.   

The annual competition, run by BBC World News and Newsweek, in association with Shell, was launched in 2005.  It seeks to identify and reward projects and small businesses from across the globe that demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit working for the benefit of the community whilst adopting a responsible approach. Since its foundation, 'World Challenge' has awarded financial grants to twelve projects from around the world.

'World Challenge Five Years On' re-visits the previous winners to see first-hand how the grant has helped them expand their projects and make a real difference to their local communities.  The winners are:

• 2005: “Coconets” – Coconuts for Erosion Control, Philippines – using coconut husks to make nets that act as surrogate tree roots by holding loose soils together. In little more than two generations, the Philippines has seen nearly all its jungle vanish. With little regard to the future, loggers and squatters have destroyed watersheds. This is an eco-friendly solution to preventing landslides sweeping away topsoil.

• 2006: “Elephant Paper” – Maximus, Sri Lanka – a papermaking firm that makes high-quality products from a variety of wastes, including paper from offices and bark from banana trees. The firm set up shop in Kegalle, Sri Lanka, in 1997, not far from an elephant orphanage. In Sri Lanka there is competition between elephants and a growing human population for land.

• 2007: “Potato Goldmine” – T’ikapapa, Peru – bridging the gap between the farmers of Peru’s high Andes and the potato market. The region is home to three thousand varieties of potato and T’ikapapa allows the farmers to reap the benefit of their premium goods.  The project’s ‘participatory market chain approach’ is now being applied to potato chips and other value-added products.

• 2008: “Plan Bee” – The Hashoo Foundation, Pakistan - sweetening the deal for the women beekeepers of northern Pakistan, by selling their top-quality honey in luxury hotels.

The winner of World Challenge 09 will be announced in an awards ceremony in The Hague in December.

Paul Gibbs, Head of Programming for BBC World News said: "Since its launch in 2005, 'World Challenge' has championed and rewarded local entrepreneurs who are making a positive and lasting difference to their communities.  The competition provides a global platform for these fantastic projects and, as a result, other small businesses and charities have been inspired to develop similar initiatives. We look forward to discovering many more exciting local, innovative projects in the years to come.”

'World Challenge Five Years On' airs on BBC World News on Saturday 14 November. The 'World Challenge' 5 year milestone will also feature as a double page spread in the Newsweek issue on sale 16 November.

For more information on 'World Challenge 09' and the competition’s winners and runners-up from the past five years, visit our website theworldchallenge.co.uk, join our Facebook group ‘World Challenge 09’ or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/worldchallenge.

Transmission times:
Saturday 14 November 2009 at 1430 GMT
Repeated Sunday 15 November 2009 at 0330 GMT, 0830 GMT and 1830 GMT