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YOUNG ENTREPENEURS ARE AWARDED IN SAN PEDRO SULA

San Pedro Sula, Honduras - On May 30th the award ceremony for the Talent and Innovation Competition (TIC) organized by the Young American Business Trust, took place with the presence of the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, and the First Lady of Honduras, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya The event closed the two-day exhibit that featured the finalist projects developed by young entrepreneurs from the continent, organized as part of the OAS General Assembly that takes place this year in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

During the opening ceremony, OAS Secretary General highlighted the high participation that the TIC has attracted through the years. So far, around two thousands business projects have been submitted by six thousands young entrepreneurs from 42 countries. That includes projects, not only from the Americas, but also from all over the world.

“Entrepreneurship, innovation capacity, and creativity of the young people are valuable assets for our continent”, said the Secretary General in his speech. He also warned about the difficulties that young people face to join the labor market, even though education and training opportunities have increased in past years for many. In this sense, he congratulated the opportunity that competitions like TIC Honduras and TIC Americas offer to projects that could get financed by the private sector.

In total, there were 15 finalist teams from TIC Honduras, and 25 teams that represented nine countries of TIC Americas. Seven awards were conferred during the ceremony on different categories: “Social entrepreneurship”, “E-Business”, “Entrepreneurship Spirit”, “Tradition and Culture”, “Creative design”, “New markets”, and “International partnership”.

During the event, the Secretary General made a special recognition to the Chief Executive Officer of the Young Americas Business Trust, Roy Thomasson, for his work during past years supporting young entrepreneurs throughout the continent.

Also during the ceremony, Mike Mora, from the OAS Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI), announced the scholarship opportunities for young people from around the continent that allow them to take advantage of online courses in several topics related to democratic modernization and public management. Details about the scholarship programs will be posted on the OAS-SEDI website: www.oas.org/sedi.

There Mayor of San Pedro Sula Rodolfo Padilla; Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin; and the Chief Executive Officer of Young Americas Business Trust, Roy Thomasson were also present at the ceremony.

Reference: GA-04-09