Water Conservation Videogame

Educational Videogame on Water Conservation win Eco-Challenge 2010,

A new videogame to educate young people about water conservation will be launched November 18. Developed by a group of young entrepreneurs from Colombia and developed for distribution by PepsiCo, the game was the winning entry in a regional competition, Eco-Challenge 2010, sponsored by PepsiCo and the Young Americas Business Trust.

The launching on November 18 will present the video game on the Internet for the first time during the Ibero-American Conference on Digital Cities in Medellin, Colombia. It will also officially launch the 2011 Eco-Challenge awards to again take place within YABT's Talent and Innovation Competition of the Americas (TIC Americas).

In Eco Challenge young people, age 13-36, within Latin America and the Caribbean can submit their ideas to improve water conservation to win both cash prizes and follow-up development support. A second award sought a solution to improve access to potable water in a rural community and was won by another Colombian team, Ingenrios sin Fronterias (Engineers Without Boarders.)

In weekly sweepstakes over the next eight weeks, young people across the Americas can play the game on-line to learn about water conservation issues and try their luck at winning an iPod Touch or an iPod Nano, offered by PepsiCo. As players navigate through the game, they earn points answering questions about water conservation. Winners will be determined by correctly answering questions and the player's speed in navigating through the game. The competition will be open to all residents living in the Latin American and Caribbean geographic region with up to eight Apple products will be awarded during the sweepstakes.

In preparing for the game launch, PepsiCo's President for Latin America, Luis Montoya, gave the company's reasons for sponsoring the Eco-Challenge initiative. "At PEPSICO we believe in performance with purpose, which means delivering business results and at the same time adding value to the communities where we operate. Environmental Sustainability is one of the core planks of our performance with purpose agenda. The Eco-Challenge was born as a way to invite youth to join us in developing sustainable solutions to the climate change crisis that we face and making a better tomorrow for future generation".

Big Tank team is a group of four entrepreneurs from Colombia in a program to develop skills in digital animation, of the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA) TecnoParque in Bogota. Team members Vanessa Guampe, William Galindo, Alejandro Simbaqueva and Christian Moreno were students in SENA's program. Judges in TIC Americas selected their project from over three hundred entries based on its feasibility of production, financial viability, functionality and ability to be publicized. The team received a $5,000 grant from PepsiCo to develop their idea over the next five months.

Big Tank commented, "We began [this project] two years ago where we met with similar beliefs, good energy and the will to succeed. The happiness was great for us and for everyone around us … who brought us the good energy to win the TIC Americas. As a result of this competition, when we returned to Colombia we were met with many interviews and many people interested in knowing our work. We can only thank YABT and PEPSICO for the opportunity to present our talent in such a great event as TIC Americas."

More information about the team and Eco-Challenge 2011 can be found at www.pepsimundo.com and www.ticamericas.net

The Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) , an international nonprofit organization that supports the work of the Organization of American States (OAS) to create employment opportunities for young people through innovative entrepreneurial initiatives. YABT works with entrepreneurs as well as public and private sector organizations across the Americas and around the world, to engage young people in developing their entrepreneurial spirit and skills.

YABT annually organizes an international business competition for young people, the Talent and Innovation Competition of the Americas (TIC Americas) to recognize projects by young entrepreneur that have exceptional potential for development. TIC Americas encourages young people to find their entrepreneurial talent, create innovative products and services that benefit their community, and grow their business creating employment for themselves and others.

Ten award categories for entrepreneurs include e-business, creativity and design, tradition and culture, social entrepreneurship, responsible business practices, and environmental sustainability, Eco-Challenge. TIC Americas was adapted from a successful model developed in Taiwan over the past the years and YABT has operated its own Americas version annually since 2007. In 2010, Eco-Challenge was added to the annual competition held prior to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States.

YABT also emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurial education for engineers so that they are able to apply their technical talents to the marketplace in new products and businesses. YABT also conducts Business Labs to introduce young people to the concepts of business startup and give them practical experiences to develop their ideas as a business. Other programs promote responsible business practices, leadership, and networks for electronic commerce. A new initiative will link young entrepreneurs in Asia and the Americas through e-commerce and enable the Americas to benefit from successful e-commerce experiences in Asia.

More information can be found at

http://www.ticamericas.net and http://www.yabt.net.

For additional information contact;

At YABT: Carlos Mario López at cmlopez@oas.org , +1 (202) 458-3512.

(This news was taken from the YABT website)