One week remains until SIFE Simon Fraser leaves for Washington, D.C. and the SIFE World Cup. It’s hard to put the amount of excitement that exists for this event into words. About all that can be said is that the energy is electric, without a doubt. As has been discussed in past blogs, the SIFE World Cup is a competition where one team from each participating country will present on the impact of their programs for the past year. But what does a presentation look like and why are they so impressive?
One only needs to watch the presentations of past champions to realize how significant of an impact students can make when engaged around an issue at hand. The impressive scope of these teams’ projects creates a compelling story of human empowerment and altruistic initiatives. Speaking specifically about Canada, we have won the SIFE World Cup once, courtesy of Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2008. Consistently placing as the top team in the country, the large impact that the SIFE Memorial team has produced will be put to the test once more at this year’s World Cup. As with National Expositions, each team gets 25 minutes to present on their programs, followed by a five minute question and answer period with the judges. These presentations are supplemented with an annual report, outlining each program’s goals and impact, as well as information about overall impact and team sustainability.
To get an idea for what a SIFE team does, how teams structure the presentation of their programs, and what types of programs create the most impact, watching past presentations is an incredibly worthwhile experience. Above are two presentations from the 2011 SIFE World Cup. The first SIFE team, Germany’s University of Regensburg, won the competition, while the second team, Zimbabwe’s Chinhoyi University of Technology, placed second. Having teams fit a year’s worth of blood, sweat and tears into one 25 minute presentation is a feat worth commending. This goes without considering that presenters from many participating countries do not speak English as their primary language, but still face the requirement of preparing their presentation in English, adding a whole new and inspiring dimension to the hard work that each team undergoes in rigorously preparing for competitions.
Four of SIFE Simon Fraser’s six programs have been detailed in past blogs to add some perspective to these blogs for those unfamiliar with the organization, but there are still two programs remaining. Count on Me, currently SIFE Simon Fraser’s newest program, works to address the financial concerns of youth transitioning from high school to post-secondary education. At its core, the program consists of an eight-week financial literacy curriculum centered on personal finances, the banking system and financial assistance for situations encountered by the target demographic. Count on Me also acts to connect youth with experienced and knowledgeable financial experts and university mentors to ease them into building a framework shaped by each person’s knowledge and experiences. The program’s core mission is to create a community dedicated to instilling financial literacy and confidence in youth’s futures.
SIFE-X is a research and development program within SIFE Simon Fraser that works to enhance the other programs and develop innovative new programs for implementation. The primary focus of SIFE-X is to explore various needs that are prevalent in our local community by identifying potential solutions and developing a program before testing and implementation take place. Each idea undergoes rigorous research and testing within a short period of time, with the need at hand then being validated or refuted. The goal is to develop at least two new sustainable and high impact SIFE programs by the end of the year. The secondary focus of SIFE-X, investigating new initiatives for existing SIFE programs, is supported by idea submissions from program members and other SIFErs. These programs, along with SFU Entrepreneur of the Year, Banner Bags, Hunger Actions, and Progressing the Impact of Nonprofits, form the foundation for the SFU team in the 2012/2013 year.
With just over a week until we leave for Washington, D.C., all of the last-minute preparations have begun. The hype surrounding the 2012 SIFE World Cup is building to its peak. SIFE Simon Fraser wishes the best of luck to all competitors in their final week of preparations. The impact that each team has created is staggering; now it’s time to go out on stage and make your home country and the SIFE Worldwide family proud.
Spencer Toth is a fifth year student in the Beedie School of Business, studying Marketing, Human Resource Management, and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. He has extensive experience with student organizations, having been involved with Enactus SFU as both a member and executive, recently finishing his term as Director of Community Engagement, and he also spent a year as President of SFU Social Media Network. This whirlwind year ended with him receiving the Surrey Board of Trade’s Top 25 Under 25 award. He is currently completing a co-op term in Beedie’s Student Engagement Office, competing on SFU’s Human Resources team for JDC West, and acting as a FROSH Leader and Captain for BASS FROSH.