PRESS RELEASE

Dublin, 5th August 2015: Young Social Innovators from C.B.S. Thurles will travel to Seoul, Korea tomorrow to compete in the SAGE World Cup 2015 (Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship) which runs from 7th-10th August. Their award winning FARM SENSE project will compete against youth led social enterprises from around the world, with the winner announced om Seoul at an Awards Ceremony on August 8th.

The young social innovators , who won the Social Entrepreneurs Challenge at this year’s Young Social Innovators of the Year Awards in May, wanted to promote farm safety, specifically by developing a product which protects young children in the farmyard. They designed a sensor system which alerts farmers of obstructions that may not be visible whilst driving. The team has trialled the sensor system and has received support from many organisations including the Irish Farmers’ Association, Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association and Teagasc. Huge interest and support is also being given to them locally.

The Young Social Innovators Team of Transition Year students developed the sensor system while participating in the Young Social Innovators’ Action Programme 2015. The team won the Social Entrepreneurs and Making Our World Safer titles at the Young Social Innovators of the Year Awards ceremony which took place in May.

The team was selected by Young Social Innovators which is the National Co-ordinating body for SAGE,  to represent Ireland this year  at the SAGE World Cup in Seoul, where they will make a 35-minute live presentation to a panel of business experts about their innovative design and plans for the future. They will compete against teams from some 20 countries around the world. The overall SAGE World Cup Winner will be announced on August 8th. The students will be accompanied to Seoul by their teacher and YSI Guide, Fergus O'Brien.

Last year the YSI Team, Greener Globe from Tullamore took top award at the SAGE World Cup in Moscow. This team is now up and running and has gained widespread support for their product to conserve water.

'Young Social Innovators has given the boys from our school a great opportunity due to their partnership with SAGE Global  WORLD CUP. Vodafone Ireland has also given us great support and encouragement. All this extra help and exposure means this project has a great chance of making a very real and long-term impact', said Fergus.

'We started this project with the hope of making a safer future on Irish farms. This opportunity to go to the SAGE Global World Cup is exciting and nerve-wrecking all in one. But we really feel that we are making a difference now', stated Eugene Ryan, one of the students who will travel to Seoul.

Rachel Collier, CEO, Young Social Innovators commended the team on their efforts, “It is very exciting that the innovative work of a small team in Ireland is celebrated on a world stageThis team exemplifies what teenagers can do when they are given the opportunity to innovate. They are addressing real life issues which affect and impact tragically on many families in Ireland. This innovation is yet another of  young people creating sustainable  social enterprises through YSI!  Why wait till you leave school? . I am really proud of what the boys have achieved and wish them the very best of luck in the competition. ”

ENDS

About SAGE
SAGE’s mission is to help create the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders whose innovations and social enterprises address the major unmet needs of our global community. Under the direction of university student mentors/business consultants (who have been recruited to SAGE as part of their civic engagement and service-learning activities), teenage youth use their school learning to become self-reliant, create wealth, and help others. At the end of each academic year, the SAGE teams participate in an interscholastic tournament to determine which teams are the most effective.

See:
http://www.youtheconomicopportunities.org/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SAGE-Students-for-the-Advancement-of-Global-Entrepreneurship/111689765508886?ref=br_tf