BRIGHT’s Move solar lamp wins tech award for humanitarian aid

The prize is an European Innovation Council (EIC) initiative which aims to recognise the best, cost-effective, technology-based solutions for humanitarian aid across five categories; shelter and related assistance; water; hygiene and sanitation; energy; health and medical care; and an open category.

Light and charge: Lifelines in crisis settings

BRIGHT’s Move was awarded the prize in recognition of how the solar lamp can be used to help provide refugees with both light and charging capabilities.

Light and mobile charging capabilities are essential in refugee settings. Light provides safety when walking outside at night, using the latrine or simply socializing.

The ability to charge mobile phones enables reliable communication with family and friends. Mobile phones are even more important for refugees and internally displaced people as they often become a platform for accessing crucial information and other services. This is why the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) categorized SunBell, BRIGHT’s first solar lamp, as a Core Relief Item (CRI) in 2014.

A solar lamp developed with humanitarian response in mind

Transport of goods is often a bottleneck in difficult-to-reach areas. This puts enormous restraints on the types of goods that can be prioritized in humanitarian response. BRIGHT developed Move with this challenge in mind, its compact size maximizes the number of units that can be shipped per container. With Move, BRIGHT wanted to create a higher-capacity product that is both compact and easy to transport, crucial factors for fast deployment time.

Learn more about Move: