(28 July 2009) Nineteen social innovation projects from eight Latin American countries were selected as semi-finalists in the 2008-2009 cycle of the "Experiences in Social Innovation" contest, organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Experts will visit the projects on site between August 17 and September 11. The Selection Committeee will meet in October to select the finalists, which will present their projects at the Social Innnovation Fair to take place in Guatemala in early November.

The semi-finalists are from eight countries. From South America: Argentina (5), Brazil (4), Peru (3), Chile (2) and Uruguay (1). From Central America: Mexico (2), Costa Rica (1) and Honduras (1).

Most of them focus on rural development (31%), income generation (26%) and education (21%). Other two main areas are youth (11%) and health (11%).

As in past years, most projects (52%) are carried out by national or international NGOs. The remaining 48% comprise, in equal proportion, social organizations, governments and academic institutions.

The first prize is US$30,000; second, US$20,000, third, US$15,000, and fourth and fifth, US$10,000 and US$5,000, respectively. The funds may be invested in the project itself or used to improve the working conditions of the organization in charge.

The Experiences in Social Innovation programme is based on a contest held annually since 2004 that identifies innovative social development initiatives that focus on communities that come together to solve their problems. Its aim is to disseminate these experiences and contribute to the improvement of practices and policies in benefit of the most impoverished population of Latin America and the Caribbean.

To date, almost 5,000 projects have been submitted to the contest, and 60 social innovation initiatives have been awarded. This is the fifth round of the contest.