"TIC Honduras" will be launched as the first Talent Competition and
Innovation at the national level

Representatives of the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) traveled to Honduras in order to finalize details on the implementation of the first National Talent Competition and Innovation "TIC Honduras".

This competition aims to motivate youth entrepreneurship in the country and was forged through a cooperative agreement signed between YABT and the First Lady of Honduras, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, through the Young Honduras program.

"The idea was born due to the fact that TIC Americas will be held in Honduras next year. We decided to conduct a national competition that would allow participants from Honduras to create business ideas and motivate them to externalize at the international level", said Yerutí Mendez, Program Manager of YABT and representative of TIC Americas.

The meeting was attended by representatives of 8 of the 42 institutions involved; Johnson Yang, Secretary General Global TIC and Daniel Yang, Commissioner, Technology Committee Senior Lecturer Global Tic, who traveled especially from Taiwan, and the Program Manager of YABT, Yerutí Mendez. At the time, they agreed on the manner and time frame in which the competition will be implemented.

The organizing committee agreed to split into 5 divisions: Logistics, Marketing, Finance, Support of Entrepreneurs and Evaluation. "I seek to analyze the needs that young people of Honduras have and give them concrete solutions to help them in their venture" Mendez said.

It was also agreed at the meeting, held at the Technological University of Honduras, to implement a support site to keep informed the organizers, mentors and judges from across the country and the world.

The competition of TIC Honduras will be launched on November 15th of this year and the information will be available after that date at www.ticamericas.net/honduras.

It is appropriate that the finals of TIC Americas and TIC Honduras will be carried out in the same week, being the national final on 26 and May 27 of 2009 and then, on 28 and 29 of the same month, the finals of TIC Americas.

"We agreed to this with the idea that participants can gain from the international experience of TIC Americas and interact with their peers from other countries", said the Program Manager of YABT, who also placed the emphasis on both global and inclusive skills: "For example, if a young Honduran wants to participate in TIC Americas, this can be done without major problems. Honduras claims that TIC is a platform to motivate them to think of business ideas and show them at the international level".

Other countries have expressed interest in TIC and YABT expects an excellent TIC Honduras competition model, that can be replicated in the 34 OAS member states.

For more information contact:
Yerutí Méndez
Program Manager
Ph: 202/458-3512
E-mail: ymendez@oas.org

Written by Gonzalo Rosas
Communications
Young Americas Business Trust
Organization of American States