Fundación Paraguaya, through the Educación Emprendedora program, launched the Olimpiadas del Semáforo 2022 and the Concurso Escuela Emprendedora. During an act, which took place in Manzana de la Rivera, both programs were presented to authorities from the Fundación Paraguaya, the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC, for its acronym in Spanish), and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES, for its acronym in Spanish).

PhD. Martín Burt, special guest of the event and founder of Fundación Paraguaya, highlighted that they have been committed to promoting contests and competitions in all schools in Paraguay for years. “Our goal is that all Paraguayan children learn to carry out enterprises and take care of the environment. Bearing this in mind, we have developed these methodologies, which are also being implemented in several countries, so we encourage all school principals of educational institutions, teachers and students to sign up for the Concurso Escuela Emprendedora and the Olimpiadas del Semáforo, since they will have very good prizes at the departmental, national and international level”, he indicated.

Elena Caballero, director of Social Support and Risk Management of the MEC, highlighted that the ministry accompanies both programs through the Directorate of the Tercer Ciclo de Educación Media, and their respective mission directorates. “For the MEC, both initiatives are quite interesting and relevant to boost financial education for all children. Likewise, we are interested in strengthening this strategic alliance with the Fundación Paraguaya, to expand the scope of the Concurso Escuela Emprendedora and Olimpiadas del Semáforo, and give them greater dissemination through the MEC’s ​​communication platforms,” she said.

For her part, Emilia Morínigo, director of Inter-institutional Relations from MADES, said that they will be supporting the challenges that arise in the Olimpiadas del Semáforo with environmental educators from the ministry. “We are going to provide information on the roles and priorities of the MADES, as well as on climate change, which is very much on the rise now, so that students acquire more knowledge, with the full support of our institution,” she pointed out.

The Olimpiadas del Semáforo program, in its eighth edition, is a group competition, where young people carry out a survey of the current situation of their families to then implement good practices and attitudes that allow generating habits and positive behavioral changes to end multidimensional poverty, not only in their families, but also in the educational community, being the young people themselves the ones who generate the learning and aptitudes to be the promoters of their way out of poverty.

For its part, the Concurso Escuela Emprendedora is a free educational program, which aims to train young entrepreneurs with global awareness and social responsibility, which plans to hold several training workshops for teachers from all over the country, through virtual platforms, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC, for its acronym in Spanish).

How to participate

To be part of the Concurso Escuela Emprendedora, those interested will have to fill out a follow-up form for each participant. Once the form is filled out, the Fundación Paraguaya technical team will contact the registered people to carry out the training in a personalized way and to all the teachers in the country.

 They can be contacted through Facebook: Concurso Escuela Emprendedora Paraguay, or at 0972-619-707, with Jorge Espínola, program coordinator, or at e-mail cee@fundacionparaguaya.org.py or jlespinola@fundacionparaguaya.org.py. All educational institutions in the country (official, private, subsidized private) can participate. Both, the registrations, and process, are free of charge.

To register for the Olimpiadas del Semáforo, participants must form groups of 15 to 20 students, appoint a leader or captain who will register the team. Registrations can be made through Facebook: Olimpiadas del Semáforo, Instagram: Olimpiadas del Semáforo, at 0981269146, with Hugo Céspedes, program coordinator, or by email ods@fundacionparaguaya.org.py.

All the students of the first, second and third of Middle School from all over the country can participate, and both, the registrations and the process are free. The platform for the competition will be given through the app of the Olimpiadas del Semáforo, with slogans that seek to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit in young people and empower them as protagonists of a positive change in their community. Among the novelties, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the 2030 plan want to be implemented this year, which has the commitment of Paraguay.

Because by empowering young people, they become agents of change in their educational communities and in their families!