The SIFE World Cup has gotten off to a strong start; SIFE Simon Fraser has been in Washington, D.C. for over a day now and the experience has already been nothing short of incredible. After a marathon travel day spanning more than 15 hours, we arrived in the evening on Saturday, ready to explore. The team first went for a late night meal at McCormick and Schmick’s for some seafood and team bonding. After this, we got the opportunity to explore D.C. a bit, visiting the Department of the Treasury building, the White House, the Washington Monument and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
At the start of day one, the entire Canadian delegation of over 200 members participated in an accelerator aimed at producing world-class SIFE programs on home soil. The event was a great opportunity to network with the other SIFE teams and spend time with the staff of ACE Canada. The event didn’t only provide us with useful information, it also allowed us to see SIFE Memorial practice their World Cup presentation. With the incredible impact that Memorial has had this year, they are ready to advance far into the competition. Before heading to the Culture Fair at the convention center, SIFE Simon Fraser was joined by some students from the University of Alberta and Acadia. These opportunities to get to know other teams better is one of the best things that has come out of the World Cup so far.
The Culture Fair was a definite highlight of day one. Each team that is competing in the SIFE World Cup has the honour of representing their country to the entire world. From Thailand’s music, to Nigeria’s dancing, to New Zealand’s rugby game, to Canada’s constant national anthem sing alongs, to Zimbabwe’s roasted caterpillar, we were all given a taste of cultural food, activities, and outfits. What was most special about the Culture Fair was that, even though we were all so diverse, we all shared the same belief that the positive power of business can change the world through the eyes of the people we help.
Following the Culture Fair was the Opening Ceremony. There was a special appearance by K’naan singing the SIFE World Cup theme song, Wavin’ Flag. The singer remarked that it was one of his favourite shows, having the opportunity to connect with a lot of people who do great things for their community. Following the performance, 38 teams from across the world paraded across the big stage waving their country’s flag high and proud in the Parade of Nations. There was a sea of red “Stay Calm and SIFE On” t-shirts where the Canadian delegation sat. It was in that moment that we all let go of our school affiliation and united together as SIFE Canada.
SIFE Worldwide President and CEO, Alvin Rohrs, took to the stage next. After years of helping university students create thousands of community outreach programs, Alvin knew that, if he wanted to take the organization further and have a greater impact, the organization needed to rebrand to a name that better represents what we do. He reassured the audience over and over again that the name change would not change our identity or our mission. With that being said, SIFE, Student in Free Enterprise, was officially rebranded as Enactus – Entrepreneurs in Action.
Following the long anticipated name change was the selection of presentation order for the Opening Round of Competition. One by one, teams would be drawn from a hat and had 20 seconds to pick from one of eight leagues and five time slots. Team Canada selected the last time slot in League 6, setting the stage to compete against Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Swaziland. Overall, it was an intense and suspenseful time, with a nice element of strategy. The day ended with a visit to Ella’s Wood Fired Pizza, where SIFE Simon Fraser and SIFE Brock bonded over good eats and shared aspirations.
Day one of the SIFE World Cup has come and gone, but the memories will last forever. Day two brings the opening round of competition, where all 38 participating countries will participate in a four or five team league, with the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals on the morning of day three. There will also be an executive panel and the results ceremony for the opening round. Be sure to catch each event on the World Cup live stream, it is sure to be an amazing time!
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.