SmileUrbo awarded in Brazil!
The presentation of awards for the seventh edition of the World Summit Youth Award (WSYA) took place between the 15th and 17th of June in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event, which rewards innovative initiatives committed to meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Objectives, brought together 18 projects launched by young entrepreneurs from all over who want to improve the world and combat injustices using digital technology.
One of the finalists, chosen from among almost 1,900 proposals from more than 140 countries, was SmileUrbo, the interactive role-play game designed by Smilemundo which aims to disseminate the values of development, education and cooperation throughout the citizens of the world. The competition jury rewarded the project in the category of ‘Education For All’, emphasising that SmileUrbo “is a fantastic tool for the teaching of decision making, striking as it does a balance between personal and community benefits.”
Smilemundo founder, Aleksandra Zemke, was entrusted with collecting the prize in Brazil. In her presentation before jury members and other finalists, she explained that the game centres on aspects that are not normally taught in formal education such as,“the capacity for collaboration, dialogue, the management of groups or negotiation, skills that will, in the long term, shape a society’s aptitudes for cooperating and reaching consensus.” As well as attending the presentation of the awards, Zemke took the opportunity to enjoy three days of intensive networking and learning accompanied by young social entrepreneurs from countries as diverse as China, India, the USA, Pakistan, Iran, Guatemala, and Colombia.
It is the first time that a project developed in Spain has reached the finals of the competition. The World Summit Youth Award is an event in which all UN and UNESCO member countries participate. It seeks to contribute to the promotion of the Millennium Development Objectives, established in the year 2000 to fight against poverty, hunger and disease, inequality, lack of education, and the degradation of the environment.