On Wednesday 4 November, high school entrepreneurs from across Australia will pitch their innovative, scalable and sustainable business ideas live online to a global audience as the Future Anything 2020 National Semi Finalists are announced.
Activate is Future Anything’s award winning youth entrepreneurship program delivered in high schools across Australia. During 2020, over 40 schools have participated, challenging their young people to research, develop and prototype scalable business solutions that make the world a better place. It culminates a series of virtual Regional and National Semi Finals with students pitching live for the chance to progress to the high profile National Grand Final.
Four National Semi Finals take place live online on Wednesday 4 November.
Semi Final 1 (9am – 10am AEST)
Click here to register to watch live to support our Semi Final 1 teams!
- Hermit Homies (St Catherine’s Catholic College) – Offering support and learning experiences for unemployed and homeless people.
- AquaShield (St Andrew’s Anglican College) – Addressing the unnecessary killing of thousands of aquatic species along the coasts of Australia due to shark nets.
- Amortis (Sheldon College) – Supporting people experiencing bereavement and grief.
- Military Kids (Ferny Grove SHS) – Helping military kids connect and communicate with each other when one or both parents are deployed.
- Safe and Secure (Independent) – Solving the issue of plastic waste generated by condoms.
Meet the judges:
- Eddie Blass – Founder & CEO, Inventorium Pty Ltd.
- Alex Hannant -Co-Director, Yunus Centre at Griffith University
- Elise Stephenson – Co-Founder, Social Good Outpost
Semi Final 2 (10.30am – 11.30am AEST)
Click here to register to watch live to support our Semi Final 2 teams!
- ReCycle (MacGregor SHS) – Addressing poverty and unemployment in Logan City by repurposing used bicycles to help the environment.
- Did I Say Yes? (Kildare College) – Tackling sexual assault towards women.
- Yarra Youngins (Yarrabilba SSC) – Tackling youth disengagement in their local area.
- heART (Mercy College Mackay) – Introducing art therapy for individuals as a coping mechanism during times of stress, anxiety, or depression.
- Page Pals (Ferny Grove SHS) – Tacking mental health through reading.
Meet the judges:
- Joel Connolly – Head, Blackbird Foundation
- Usman Iftikhar – CEO, Catalysr
- Lucy Thomas OAM – Co-Founder & CEO, Project Rockit
Semi Final 3 (12 noon – 1pm AEST)
Click here to register to watch live to support our Semi Final 3 teams!
- Heal It (Corinda SHS) – Tackling low self-esteem, stress and depression by supporting people to live to their best every day.
- Demergency (Redcliffe SHS) – Helping dementia patients’ lives by improving their safety and security.
- 7th Green (Marymount College) – Addressing deforestation and the clearing of land for developmental reasons
- Bamboo4edu (Emmaus College Jimboomba) – Tacking pollution, education challenges in developing countries, and homelessness
- The I AM Project (Springfield Central SHS) – Addressing the issue of self-worth and our negative thinking, particularly in school-aged students
Meet the judges:
- Alex Afflick, Chief Technology Officer, Audeara
- Rosie Thomas OAM – Co-Founder & CEO, Project Rockit
- Liz Jackson – Global Capabilities, Sydney Catholic Schools
Semi Final 4 (1.30pm – 2.30pm AEST)
Click here to register to watch live to support our Semi Final 4 teams!
- FunpunsbyAndy (The Gap SHS) – Addressing mental health, especially in young people.
- Interra (Cardijn College) – Addressing coral bleaching and ecosystem decay on the Great Barrier Reef.
- AKA Cancer (Redbank Plains SHS) – Helping children facing childhood cancer have a better experience during treatment and in hospital.
- You’re the Boss (Mercy College Mackay) Giving individuals suffering from anxiety, depression, or mental illness the opportunity to connect with others who have experienced similar feelings and emotions.
- Murph’s Solution (Bribie Island SHS) Addressing a lack of reading opportunities in the home and supporting the ability of parents to build these skills in young children.
Meet the judges:
- Tom Allen – Founder & CEO, Impact Boom
- Hamish Curry – Executive Director, Asia Education Foundation at Asialink
- Daizy Mann – Founder, Australian South Asia Centre & Bold Punjab
Future Anything transforms young people’s passion and curiosity into innovative ideas that make the world a better place. We support educators to lead authentic Australian curriculum-aligned learning experiences that connect students to the real world.
Read more here and click here to join our mailing list to receive all the latest news on the 2020 National Semi Finals.