The gift of a philanthropist is often felt by the future.
This weekend is the 2
nd annual and greatly expanded
Wege Prize at UICA in downtown Grand Rapids. This year the event was open to the entire nation and the presenters will have a shot at taking home a share of the $30,000 purse up for grabs.
The Wege Prize is a collegiate, trans-disciplinary, collaborative "wicked" problem-solving competition created by KCAD and the Wege Foundation. The team recruited 16 teams to create a product, system or business functioning within a sustainable, circular economic model.
On Saturday morning at 10 a.m. the audience will get to watch as representatives from each of the finalist teams present their innovative solutions to the judges, who will award the prize money at 2 p.m. As you plan your weekend, this is one event you will not want to miss if you are curious about how innovation and science collide.
Looking ahead, on April 23 it is the return of the
Wege Speaker Series, which is continuing the long tradition of bringing speakers to the stage whose contributions and words have the power to transform.
The series will celebrate its 19
th year by welcoming Edward Mazria, founder and head of Architecture 2030, an organization designed to rapidly transform the built environment from the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to a central part of the solution to the climate and energy crises.
His talk is titled “The Road to Zero” and is sure to inspire others to take next steps in our region. Mazria will powerfully illustrate a core principle of Economicology (a term that Peter Wege coined): creating a healthy environment generates a prosperous economy.
"Peter Wege’s decades-long leadership in promoting green buildings makes Mr. Mazria the perfect choice to deliver the 2015 Wege Lecture and to inspire Grand Rapids to continue Mr. Wege’s Economicology legacy," says Ellen Satterlee, CEO of the Wege Foundation.