3.18.2008 - 07:15pm ET

(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, - March 17 - /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nike and Ashoka's Changemakers are pleased to announce the winners in a global search for innovations using sport to create social change:

-- Grassroot Soccer, Using the Power of Soccer in the Fight Against AIDS, South Africa: Leverages soccer's popularity to educate youth on HIV and AIDS prevention.

-- Rede Jovem Project, Sports and Social Transformation Via Mobile Phones, Brazil: Uses SMS mobile phone technology to communicate life enriching opportunities to young people who otherwise lack access to such information.

-- Sports4Kids, Putting the Play Back in School Playgrounds, United States: Provides fun and structured physical activity and conflict resolution training to low-income kids.

Each winner will receive $5,000. All finalists are invited to join competition sponsors, investors, and media at a prestigious global Change Summit.

"Nike congratulates the 16 finalists and 3 winners of the competition," said Hannah Jones, Vice President Corporate Responsibility, Nike, Inc. "A key achievement of the competition has been the formation of a community of changemakers who are providing value to each other and demonstrating that there is a movement growing that believes in the transformative power of sport. Nike is proud to be part of this movement."

The competition attracted more than 380 diverse, cutting edge ideas from nearly 70 countries. "Sports as the driver for social change is a revolutionary idea and one to which the world has really responded," said Ashoka's Changemakers Executive Director, Charlie Brown. "This competition is paving the way for an exciting movement where sport is social change."

Nike and Ashoka's Changemakers will launch a second collaborative competition in September, 2008.

Nike, Inc. is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. www.nike.com.

Ashoka's Changemakers is building the world's first online "open source" community that competes to surface the best social solutions to the world's most pressing issues. To date Changemakers has attracted more than 2,000 solutions from more than 125 countries. www.changemakers.net.