On 13 and 14 October 2020, high school entrepreneurs from Logan City, Mackay, Isaac, The Whitsundays and South Australia pitched innovative, scalable and sustainable business ideas designed to make the world a better place in the first ever Future Anything virtual Activate Regional Finals.
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. The first phase of the 2020 program culminated in three online Regional Finals with students pitching live for the chance to progress to the National Semi Finals.
First up, and delivered in partnership with Logan City Council, was the 2020 Activate Logan City Regional Final which featured teams from Emmaus College (Jimboomba), Mabel Park SHS, Marsden SHS, Park Ridge SHS and Yarrabilba SSC. Judges Vanessa Garrard (Simpli) and Taj Pabari (Australian School of Entrepreneurship) faced a very tough decision, but awarded first place to Yarra Youngins. The team from Yarrabilba SSC is developing a car washing enterprise which will provide local young people with employment, with a share of their profits supporting Teen Challenge Brisbane, who provide drug rehabilitation programs to young people.
Next up was the Greater Whitsunday Regional final, which saw schools from Mackay, Isaac and The Whitsundays pitch to judges Aaron Birkby (Peak Personal and QUT Entrepreneur in Residence), Sam Bliss (Queensland Police Service) and Leanne Williams (CQUniversity). The event was supported by the Greater Whitsunday Alliance and Split Spaces. Teams from Mackay North SHS, Mercy College, Mirani SHS, Pioneer SHS, St Catherine’s College and Whitsunday Anglican School battled it out, with heART from Mercy College Mackay ultimately taking out the crown. They’ve developed a solution which promotes art therapy to individuals as a coping mechanism during times of stress, anxiety or depression.
Last but not least, students from Cabra Dominican College, Cardijn College, Kildare College and St Mark’s School Port Pirie pitched live in the South Australia Regional Final, supported by Catholic Education South Australia (CESA). Faced with some very strong pitches, judges Kirsten Banks (Astrophysicist) and John Mula (CESA) settled on Kildare College’s Did I Say Yes? as the overall winner, which is addressing the serous issue of sexual assault against women with an innovative and thoughtful solution.
Nicole Dyson, Founder of Future Anything said “Our online audiences, judges and I were super impressed by the diversity of the problems addressed, the innovative solutions and quality of the pitches delivered by all the teams during the three Regional Finals.
Although there could only be three Regional Final winners this week, the real winner is our community. I have no doubt that the young people we saw pitching will go on to make a difference in the real world as they develop these, or other, business ideas and apply their problem-solving, creative thinking and clear communication skills in the world of work.”
The three winners now progress to the Future Anything 2020 Activate National Semi Finals on Wednesday 4 November. They’ll pitch live online against 17 teams from across Australia for the change to snag a place in the high profile National Grand Final.
Future Anything 2020 Activate Regional Finals – full list of winners
2020 Activate Logan City Regional Final – check out the event on YouTube here:
- Winner: Yarra Youngins, Yarrabilba State Secondary College
- Runner Up: Team Mable Park State High School
- People’s Choice: Bamboo4Edu, Emmaus College Jimboomba
2020 Activate Greater Whitsunday Regional Final – check out the event on YouTube here:
- Winner: heART, Mercy College Mackay
- Runner Up: Hermit Homies, St Catherine’s Catholic College
- People’s Choice: Immunity, Whitsunday Anglican School
2020 Activate South Australia Regional Final
- Winner: Did I Say Yes? Kildare College
- Runner Up: Interra, Cardijn College
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.
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