COVID-19 Update: Technovation’s World Summit will become a 2-day virtual event.
Hello Technovation Community,
We’re excited to let you know that the Technovation World Summit will still happen – online!
This is an incredibly difficult and uncertain time, and we’re all facing challenges we didn’t expect. But even in the middle of all that uncertainty, we can find joy and comfort and make space to recognize our resilience and adaptability. That’s why we’re holding a virtual World Summit. Now, more than ever, we want to host a celebration of our community that includes as many people as possible.
We see you out there cheering for your teammates and for teams you’ve never met, encouraging your peers on Slack, learning how to use Zoom and Google Hangouts, taking pictures of emails so you can text them to friends who don’t have regular internet access, and collaborating with teams and mentors in countries very far from your own. We think we should celebrate that – and you!
We want to celebrate your indomitable spirit, ingenuity and commitment to making this world better. We’re all doing our best right now, and that is absolutely worth celebrating.
And we want to have a space to be joyful together. In dark moments, we rely on one another and can find great joy in one another’s company and stories.
We hope you’ll join us on August 13th and 14th for our online World Summit – we’re taking this opportunity to invite everyone. We’ve answered some big questions below, and we’ll have more information in the coming weeks, so stay tuned and check the World Summit page for updates!
Will the Technovation World Summit still happen?
Yes, the Technovation World Summit will be held online! It will be a 2-day event held on August 13th and 14th, 2020. It will be open to everyone in our community.
Who can attend?
Anyone in the Technovation community with internet access can join us. We are still working out the details of the tools we’ll use, what times we’ll host it, how to make sure everyone can participate, and lining up some exciting guest speakers and judges for our finalist teams.We will keep you posted – check the World Summit page for details in the coming weeks.
Will Finalists still pitch their ideas?
Yes! Technovation Girls and Families Finalist Teams will still have the opportunity to pitch their ideas – and now, they’ll be pitching to the entire Technovation community instead of a small selection! We are still deciding what those pitches will look like and how they will be held, but finalist teams will be able to share their great ideas publicly.
How are the prizes changing for the online World Summit?
Instead of investing in World Summit travel sponsorships for each finalist team and educational scholarships for two Grand Prize winning teams, we will award prizes to support the learning of as many of our stakeholders as possible. Technovation will retain the same number of finalist teams, but prizes will look a bit different this year.
You can learn more below! Please keep in mind that our intention during this unprecedented time is to help continue the education of not only all our Grand Prize winners but our larger community as a whole.
Here are the updated prizes for different stakeholders:
- Finalist Team members: Each team member will receive a $500 USD educational stipend (unrestricted, to be used to further the individual’s learning at their own discretion). Parent team members who participated in Technovation Families will receive this scholarship as well and can apply it to their own or their family’s learning. Previously, only Grand Prize teams were awarded monetary prizes.
- Technovation Girls Mentors and Technovation Families Program Leaders of finalist teams: A $2,000 USD unrestricted educational stipend will be made in their honor as well as in their name to further Technovation learning in their region. Note that most locations have official Regional Ambassadors and/or partner organizations that funds will go to in support of future Technovation learning*. Previously, these stakeholders were not awarded monetary prizes.
- Grand Prizes and the Social Impact and Technology Special Recognitions will still be awarded, but no additional monetary prize will be allocated.
*Technovation will work with Program Leaders and mentors to ensure this stipend is correctly allocated in their location.
Will there still be a winner at World Summit?
Yes, finalist teams from each program’s division will pitch their ideas to judges at World Summit via an online format. These Grand Prizes and Special Recognitions will be recognized:*
*Please note that all Finalist Teams and Mentors/Program Leaders will now receive educational scholarships or stipends in their honor, so no additional monetary award will be given for the teams who are awarded the Grand Prizes or Special Recognitions.
How can I be part of this?
We are humbled and appreciative of any learning and support you are doing in your community right now. In the coming months, we will share World Summit workshops, panels and more as opportunities for you to engage and maybe even lead! Stay tuned!
This is a change for us too, but we’re looking forward to celebrating our community and how hard everyone has worked this year. We’re excited to try something new and find a silver lining in the fact that more people than ever before will be able to join the World Summit, and that we can still celebrate together, even at a distance.