Team Honduras places #3 in Central America and #6 in the Americas!
They also take home a safety award and a new Arduino programming kit.
The sixth First Global competition took place in Geneva, Switzerland from the 13-16th of October, 2022.
Our team represented Honduras with pride and enthusiasm.
After two years of remote competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we returned to face to face matches. Students from more than 180 countries worked together and learned together. First Global inspired teams to reimagine the future of climate change through the “Carbon Capture” challenge. There was an emphasis on needing both global and regional alliances with other countries to target climate changes’ local effects.
To prepare, we invited 16 students from five municipal colegios (San Antonio, Magdalena, Concepcion, Camasca, Yamaranguila) to make up our national Honduras team. The group was joined by 3 alumni mentors and 8 community mentors, among them professor Alan Ostrow. As a team, they constructed the robot “Richard,” named in honor of Dr. Richard Buten, Shoulder to Shoulder’s president.
In the last month of preparation, five students were selected to travel based on their involvement and skills. During the opening ceremony in Geneva the team showcased the Honduran culture by wearing traditional dance attire. For the first time, the Honduran Embassy visited our team during the competition! Additionally, the Honduran community in Switzerland got in contact with our team and invited everyone for a city outing AND at the end of the competition they celebrated our youths’ efforts with a goodbye gathering.
Throughout the competition, emotions, tensions and nerves came to the surface for each team member. Nevertheless, through perseverance and determination the team performed their best.
Although this was our last year in the First Global competition, it has been a unique experience for everyone involved over the years. Shoulder to Shoulder sponsored and provided Southern Intibuca youth with the opportunity to explore STEM tools and learn leadership skills. We hope that this program has helped youth insert themselves into the workforce with the hope that they can replicate the knowledge within their communities or origin to generate solutions and transform them.
