Brasilia, Brazil — It was a long journey, from besting other teams in the national competition, raising funds to the actual plane ride, but all the sacrifices did not remain unrewarded. The team from Sultan Kudarat Polytechnic State College (SKPSC) Science Laboratory High School traveled to the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) World Cup 2009 in Brasilia and garnered five (5) Special Awards.

The SAGE World Cup 2009 is an annual international business competition for high school students from different countries around the globe.  This year’s host is SAGE Brazil.  The competition ran from August 9 to 12, 2009.

Johanna Lyn Malicad and Kent Rey Murillo are fourth year students at the SKPSC High School who traveled all the way to Brasilia under the guidance of their Advisor, Engr. Rodolfo Solomon.  They were supposed to be accompanied by two other students, John Rei Dela Cruz, and Ena Angela Oculto, but skyrocketing airfares for the South American country proved to be all too challenging.  Still, it was not something that stopped half the team from representing the country at this international business competition for teens.

Indeed, the sacrifices paid off.  The team garnered the coveted Gold Medal or First Place of the ARTHUR BOSCHEE and EVELYN BALL INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR SOCIAL ENTERPRISE.  Furthermore, the team also reaped the following SAGE International Awards for Best Social Enterprises Addressing the UN Millennium Development Goals:

3rd Place in Goal 1 (Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger).
1st Place in Goal 3 (Promote gender equality and empower women)
1st Place in Goal 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability)
3rd Place in Goal 8 (Develop a global partnership for development)

The International Award for Social Enterprise has been established in memory of Jerr and Ken Boschee’s father, Arthur Boschee, and in memory of Linda Ball’s mother, Evelyn Ball.  Arthur Boschee (1910-2000) and Evelyn Ball (1910-1993) were both successful small business entrepreneurs who took significant risks while building their businesses and had an abiding concern for the welfare of others.   Jerr Boschee is the Founder of the Institute for Social Entrepreneurs. The team received a plaque and a prize money of USD 2,000 for their business.  The International Award was first given at the 2007 SAGE World Cup and the first recipient was the SAGE Philippines team from Ateneo de Manila University High School.

The Sultan Kudarat team’s business strikes a balance between economy and ecology by coming up with an innovative use of palm fronds into cement blocks.  The final product proves to be 20% more economical than commercial hollow blocks used in construction. Palm Fronds Hollow Blocks is also fire-resistant and lightweight.  The business promises to address the acute housing shortage in the country and arrest the rising cost of construction materials. Their social venture, in the municipality of Isulan, trained over 100 male participants on the skills needed on the fabrication of palm frond, cement-bonded blocks used in construction. With this venture, the SAGE team also educated the residents on the environmental and health hazards created by improper burning of this agricultural residue.

Furthermore, this high school team also empowers T’boli women and their handicrafts who are also using a by-product of palm fronds discarded from palm farming.  The team dedicates some of their time to carry out education and skills training to revive the handicraft weaving business with emphasis on financial management, marketing operations and quality control.  The students aim to create business opportunities for this ethnic group while enhancing and strengthening cultural appreciation and preservation.

No louder cheer went up for any team during the final awards ceremony than when the SAGE Global staff announced this award to the Philippine team. Dr. Curtis L. DeBerg, SAGE Global Founder and CEO, said, “Rodolfo and his SAGE team, as represented by Johanna and Kent, should be very proud of what they have accomplished. The Philippines has come roaring back to the SAGE competition, having won the Third Annual World Cup in San Francisco, USA in May 2005.”

Rob Best, SAGE Global COO and one of the judges for the Boschee/Ball Award, said, “Johanna, Kent and Rodolfo simply won the hearts and souls of all 200 participants from 14 countries.”

Based on their performance, SAGE Global is seriously considering the Philippines as the host country for next year’s 2010 SAGE World Cup (eighth year). Other candidates include South Africa, South Korea, and USA.

SAGE Philippines is part of the Global SAGE Network, which adheres to the vision of “creating better futures through entrepreneurship and community service”.  It commits itself to the mission to create the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders whose innovations and social enterprises address the major unmet needs of our global community.

The Sultan Kudarat SAGE team competed and was declared Champion at the SAGE Philippines Cup 2009, an annual competition for high school students all over the country who have ventured into social entrepreneurship.  This year’s Cup was co-convened by the Philippine Council of Students in Intrapreneurship (PCSI) and the Junior Jaycees of Los Baños last June 20-21, 2009 at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.  The event was supported by the British Council’s Global Changemaker’s Grant, Youth Works Inc, and Studio 23.  SAGE Philippines would like to acknowledge Dr. George Sorio, Chairman of PCSI who personally made the team’s travel to Brazil possible.

Our 2009 Champion team from Sultan Kudarat is now en route to Brazil to compete at the SAGE World Cup. They will be competing against teams from 18 SAGE Country Networks present in Asia, South America, North America, and Africa. We wish them a safe journey and pray that they will make our country proud. The competition will take place from August 9 to 12 in the capital city of Brasilia.

The panel of judges (hailing from different countries themselves) will select the 2nd Runner Up, 1st Runner Up, and Champion teams. Special Awards shall also be given out:

>The SAGE International Awards for Best Social Enterprises Addressing the UN MDGs
>The Arthur Boschee and Evelyn Ball International Award for Social Enterprise
>The Grossman Family International SAGE Award for Environmental Stewardship

Good luck SAGE Philippines!

The SAGE Philippines Cup 2009 was a huge success!  Come and see the highlights on our Convenor’s Report that you can download below:

It features the speakers from our Seminar on Social Entrepreneurship, Ms. Reese Fernandez of Rags2Riches and Dr. Aida Velasco from De la Salle University.  The teams who competed at the Cup are also introduced.

We also would like to invite you to view the SAGE Global Annual Report of 2008, newly-released from the Global Office.

The British Council is travelling around the country to provide training to students on Social Entrepreneurship. Their aim is to inspire young people to become social entrepreneurs and equip them with skills to find innovative ways to help address problems in their communities.

The British Council believes social entrepreneurship is an exciting way for young people to set up sustainable businesses for positive social change. In providing young people with opportunities to help them make a difference in their communities, they become enabled to act on their dreams and turn them into action.

Please log on to Social Entrepreneurship School Caravan to check the different schedules and cities.  Students are encourage to register online to take advantage of this opportunity.

Los Baños, Laguna — The team from Sultan Kudarat Polytechnic State College Science Laboratory High School won the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) Philippines Cup 2009, making them the very first team from Mindanao to win Champion.  SAGE Philippines Cup was held at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños.

The team was composed of high school students Kent Rey Murillo, Johanna Lyn Malicad, John Rei Dela Cruz, and Ena Angela Oculto.  Their College mentor, Mark Gersava, and Faculty Adviser Engr. Rodolfo B. Solomon were also present at the Cup, coaching them for their presentation and celebrating with them when they finally won the year’s most coveted Cup at the only high school business competition in the Philippines.

Aside from the opportunity to represent the Philippines at the SAGE World Cup in Brazil, the team also received an P8,000 prize grant from Youth Works Inc. to further work on their social enterprise, which satisfied the following SAGE Criteria of Civic Engagement, Environmental Sustainability, a Global Dimension, and Entrepreneurship applied to a new venture.  The team’s business strikes a balance between economy and ecology by coming up with an innovative use of palm fronds into cement blocks.  The final product proves to be 20% more economical than commercial hollow blocks used in construction. Palm Fronds Hollow Blocks is also fire-resistant and lightweight.  The business promises to address the acute housing shortage in the country and arrest the rising cost of construction materials.

SAGE teams from Colomban College and Polytechnic State College of Antique received the 1st Runner Up and 2nd Runner Up titles, respectively, with their projects.  An unexpected recognition was given to Elizabeth Seton High School through a Judges’ Special Citation for having “captured” the essence of a social enterprise.  Other teams that competed were from Western Visayas College of Science and Technology and Pangasinan State University.

SAGE Philippines is part of the Global SAGE Network which adheres to the vision of “creating better futures through entrepreneurship and community service.  It commits itself to the mission to create the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders whose innovations and social enterprises address the major unmet needs of our global community.

The SAGE Philippines Cup is an annual competition for high school students all over the country who have ventured into social entrepreneurship.  This year’s Cup was co-convened by the Philippine Council of Student Intrapreneurship (PCSI) and the Junior Jaycees of Los Baños.  The event was supported by the British Council, Youth Works Inc, and Studio 23.

You can view the photostream here.

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