Project Oversight launched to tackle poor vision, the unseen handbrake on development
Global initiative to bring together the world's leading thinkers to tackle the issue of poor eyesight
NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Project Oversight - a new global initiative to tackle the problem of poor vision affecting 2.5 billion people around the world - was launched today. Its architect, James Chen, the philanthropist behind UK charity Vision for a Nation Foundation and the innovative optical enterprise Adlens, calls upon the world's greatest thinkers to join together to answer one simple question: "How can everybody in the world see?"
Poor vision affects 2.5 billion people in the world. With no means of correcting it, they face huge barriers to personal development, education, family life and a shorter life expectancy. To address this "handbrake on development," James Chen and his team have made a global invitation to help them find the greatest solutions to deliver eye care quickly. The world has seen incredible technological advancements over the past fifty years. Now is the moment to harness it.
Project Oversight will be running a challenge over the next year which will invite the public to reimagine and design the way the world can have access to vision correction. The three individuals or groups with the most promising ideas will each be rewarded with a $100,000 seed grant to turn their ideas into a reality. Ultimately, these ideas will be presented as a gift to the world: to pass the world's greatest eye care solutions on to the many great organizations already working in the development field.
James Chen said, "Poor vision represents a significant handbrake on development for 2.5 billion people. And the loss in economic productivity associated with poor vision is estimated to be as much as $3 trillion globally.
"I have seen the global community come together over the past week and create something incredible: the Sustainable Development Goals. I believe that they can truly make the world a better place. However it is only by acting now to address eyesight that we can help the Goals to truly reach their full potential.
"Now is the moment to act. The way we deliver vision correction has barely changed since the 19th Century. Yet we have gone from the telephone to the smartphone, from the horse and carriage to the car, from quill to tablet.
"Project Oversight is a call to every leader, every eye care practitioner, every innovator, dreamer and tweeter. Let's fuse the best technologies with the greatest practices of today. By bringing the brightest and boldest ideas and working together, we can create solutions to help everybody in the world to see. Join us."
Vision for a Nation will begin accepting proposals later this fall and announce the winners by early next spring. The final report will be presented to the world on World Sight Day 2016. For more information visit project-oversight.org.
About Vision for a Nation
Founded in 2011 in London, England by philanthropist and investor James Chen, Vision for a Nation (www.visionforanation.net) is a very focused UK charity with a big vision. We believe that everyone, no matter where they come from or level of income, should be able to access eye care and affordable glasses. Two and a half billion people around the world cannot see properly. Vision for a Nation is working to change this. In the first program of its kind we are helping the Government of Rwanda to train nurses in every health center across the country to provide front-line eye care and affordable glasses.
About Adlens
Co-founded in 2005 in Oxford, England by philanthropist and investor James Chen, Adlens (www.adlens.com) is the global leader in adjustable focus eyewear. Its highly skilled team of engineers, eyecare professionals and designers has developed a completely new category of eyewear.
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