๐”๐ˆ๐“๐’ ๐“๐ž๐š๐ฆ “๐๐ฅ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฑ ๐Ÿ.๐ŸŽ” ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐š๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ก ๐š๐ญ ๐๐‹๐„๐€๐’๐„ ๐‡๐š๐œ๐ค ๐†๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐…๐ข๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐’๐ซ๐ข ๐‹๐š๐ง๐ค๐š

๐”๐ˆ๐“๐’ ๐“๐ž๐š๐ฆ ๐’๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ข๐ฉ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐„๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ž๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐„๐ฑ๐ฉ๐จ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“ ๐š๐ญ ๐๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐š๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ก ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ
April 16, 2025
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๐”๐ˆ๐“๐’ ๐“๐ž๐š๐ฆ “๐๐ฅ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฑ ๐Ÿ.๐ŸŽ” ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐š๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ก ๐š๐ญ ๐๐‹๐„๐€๐’๐„ ๐‡๐š๐œ๐ค ๐†๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐…๐ข๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐’๐ซ๐ข ๐‹๐š๐ง๐ค๐š

PLEASE Hack Grand Finale successfully concluded on April 6, 2025, at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Sri Lanka. In this South Asian youth hackathon focused on innovative solutions to the global plastic pollution crisis, a team of science undergraduates from Sri Lanka emerged as the overall winners. We are pleased to announce that Team “Plastix 2.0,” comprising students from the University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS) and the Islamic University of Technology (IUT), was awarded the National Winner title at the PLEASE Hack Grand Finale held in Sri Lanka.

ย ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐š๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ก ๐š๐ญ ๐๐‹๐„๐€๐’๐„ ๐‡๐š๐œ๐ค ๐†๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐…๐ข๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐’๐ซ๐ข ๐‹๐š๐ง๐ค๐š
Bangladesh: Team “Plastix 2.0” โ€“ Seyam Bin H Rahman, Taki Tajwaruzzaman Khan, Ahabab Imtiaz Risat, Tasnim Ashraf Jafrin Shaila

These winners were chosen from among 23 finalist teams โ€“ comprising 67 young men and women aged 18 to 30 โ€“ in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The competition, known as PLEASE Hack, was an initiative under the Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) Project, a five-year regional initiative implemented by the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), funded by the World Bank and supported by UNOPS.

The finalist teams pitched their innovative solutions to a panel of experts drawn from across the region. Judges ranked the teams based on their solutionโ€™s innovative potential, business model, implementation plan, regional collaboration and scalability as well as overall environmental and social sustainability. Their final selections were unanimous. PLEASE Hack attracted more than 250 youth from the eight eligible countries who formed into 98 teams to present innovative solutions to reduce plastic use and improve waste management in households and communities, or in micro, small, and medium enterprises. Shortlisted teams engaged in a two-week virtual hackathon during March, collaborating within each team to refine and develop their innovative concepts. They received mentoring support and guidance from national experts. Country level judging then selected 23 teams who were supported to travel to the South Asian Regional Final held in Colombo on 6 April.

The regional winners will receive seed funding to enable them in refining their innovations and presenting them to potential investors. The winning teams will receive cash prizes: $20,000 for the winner, $10,000 for the first runner-up, and $5,000 for the second runner-up at ๐๐‹๐„๐€๐’๐„ ๐‡๐š๐œ๐ค ๐†๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐…๐ข๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ž, one of South Asiaโ€™s biggest innovation showdowns in Colombo, Sri Lanka! Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) is the regionโ€™s largest initiative to combat marine plastic pollution and promote sustainable plastic use. Funded by the World Bank and implemented by the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) with implementation support from UNOPS, PLEASE drives innovation through public-private partnerships, competitive grants, and circular economy solutions. Congratulations to all the teams! A massive ๐‚๐Ž๐๐†๐‘๐€๐“๐”๐‹๐€๐“๐ˆ๐Ž๐๐’ to the brilliant minds who made it to the ๐†๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐…๐ข๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐’๐ซ๐ข ๐‹๐š๐ง๐ค๐š! Your passion, creativity, and dedication to a plastic-free South Asia have brought you this far, and we couldnโ€™t be prouder!