Our project #buddy4you aims the social integration of refugees in Portugal. We ask for support to represent Portugal at the finals of the Global Social Innovation Challenge at University of San Diego.
Support us with your input and allow us to improve the social integration of refugees in Portugal. Let us represent Portugal and we will raise awareness of the European Refugee Crisis on a global stage!
#buddy4you is a non-profit organization that coordinates and offers a 1 on 1 relationship between refugees and locals students since the day of their arrival in Portugal. Each refugee will have a local buddy, responsible for helping them overcome culture and language barriers by engaging in social activities, while allowing them to create a friend’s network as well as integrate them in the university environment to create the bridge to society.
Our central-centred organization creates and offers a model, which is easily to adopt and implement at any university in cooperation with our main partners, which gives us an advantage to serve as a centre that maintains quality standards and demonstrates best practices to potential university to scale in future.
Fortunately, with that project, we were selected to represent Portugal and present the European Refugee crisis on stage in America at the finals of the Global Social Innovation Challenge in San Diego, California.
The Global Social Innovation Challenge is a social venture pitch competition that recognizes, resources, and rewards student-led social ventures focused on sustainable change, hold by the Center for Peace and Commerce of the University of San Diego. We will pitch our project to a panel of judges on a global stage to spread our mission to a global audience. At the Global Finals, 50 teams from 12 countries and 27 universities across the world will represent their institutions, which gives us a great opportunity to pitch our project to a global audience of students and professors, sponsors and foundations, to seed funding and other resources.
We will have the chance to be selected for prizes within each of the following tracks:
1. WIRELESS TRACK: Teams that are leveraging wireless technology (ie. Mobile phones, Bluetooth, IoT) - $5,000 total prizes.
2. WOMEN INNOVATORS TRACK: Teams that are led or co-led by a woman innovator - $5,000 total prizes.
3. GLOBAL IMPACT TRACK: Teams that have a possibility of global reach - $5,000 total prizes.
4. GENERAL TRACK: All teams are eligible: $35,000 total prizes
In addition, we will also be eligible to win in-kind prizes from supportive organizations in that entrepreneurial community. These prizes include invaluable coaching sessions with industry experts, free subscriptions to web-based platforms that enhance venture operations, and other services that would accelerate the development of our social innovation.
Social Media and Live Streaming
The final pitches will be live-streamed to give you the opportunity to watch us on stage and support us from across the globe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj-P_ZJFRbA
For more information about the challenge please visit their website: https://www.sandiego.edu/cpc/gsic/
