Yourtranslator.gr in Malaysia, 5 days – more than 105 countries!
We met people from all over the world and we made dreams with them.
Global Startup Youth and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit came to an end and we came back home with unique experiences and new ideas for a future filled with optimism!
The GSY event, which was organised for the first time in the world in Malaysia with the initiative of Dash Dhakshinamoorthy, founder of StartupMalaysia.org, gathered 500 young people from all over the world in a celebration and wider discussion, regarding entrepreneurship and its potential to create a better world. As Dhakshinamoorthy said, his objective was “to gather 500 dreamers to light up the world”. The event was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Finance of Malaysia and the US State Department.
Within 5 days we had the chance to meet energetic youth from all over the world, who either already had their own startup, or intended to create their own business in the future. The Global Startup Youth family also included a 12 year old coder from India!
We kicked off the first day with the first introductions and getting to know each other through a number of ice-breaking activities. We soon found out that we had been divided into groups of 10. The groups included people of different background and orientation and our task was to create a mobile application that would solve a global problem in the following sectors: health, education, women empowerment and environment. Our time was limited to less than 36 hours. Within this time frame we had to exchange ideas, to decide on an idea that inspired the whole group, to draft a business plan, to find sponsors and move on to the coding part!
Despite the fact that many participants had travelled from the other side of the world and bypassing the cultural differences and the time restriction, all groups worked incessantly with excitement and enthusiasm and they managed to successfully pitch their idea in front of the judges, creating friendships and bonds and highlighting the importance of collaboration on a global level. Cultural differences were minimal compared to the common qualities that united us, like optimism, ingenuity and willingness to cooperate.
Each group had its own mentor from the area of entrepreneurship and while we worked on our idea in the amazing room with the colourful bean bags, we had the opportunity to listen to important people from the world of startups, like Roger Dickey, creator of Mafia Wars and Fishville (Zynga) and Christina Brodbeck, member of the founding team of YouTube. The organizers of UP Global SW, who also participated in the event, provided useful advice and support throughout the event.
After 3 days of work and 3 nights of exploring the city J and with only a few hours of sleep, the excitement was widespread and everyone (or almost everyone!) was ready for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Obama was replaced by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry and we watched the videotaped message of the President of the United States, just like in films http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whRGICUC6TY. Among the participants of the Summit, there were important people like Jonathan Ortmans, President of the Global Entrepreneurship Week and Tony Fernandes, founder of Air Asia.
One of the most interesting moments during the Summit was our informal conversation with Zeenat Rahman, John Kerry’s Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues, regarding the possibilities of promotion of entrepreneurship and networking globally and locally, always taking into account the particularities of each country. The proposal of Thanos Kafkalidis with regard to the role of embassies as institutions that can promote entrepreneurship through collaborations with embassies of other countries was an important point, along with Yourtranslator’s intervention with regard to the organization of targeted events on entrepreneurship in separate sectors.
The week we spent in Malaysia made us realize that the dynamics of young people around the world can make a difference and this is a lesson for Greece as well. As the President of the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Young Entrepreneurs (OESYNE), Andreas Stefanidis mentioned: “ … entrepreneurship is not the creation of simple commercial activities, but of people who consider the result and the creativity of their actions, people who either have their own businesses, or work in the private or in the public sector. In Greece, we have to stop thinking about what is not possible and collaborate together to make our dreams come true!”. The unfortunate economic situation and the unemployment that plague our country can be faced with action, optimism, perseverance and the development of innovative business ideas, always within the context of global networks.
We would like to thank all the participants, though we did not have the pleasure to meet them all, the organizers who went out of their way to help us and make sure we had a pleasant stay, always with a smile on their face, and everyone in Malaysia for the excellent hospitality!
Aliki Anagnosti
Co-founder, translator and project manager at yourtranslator.gr