Around the World in 17 Weeks: The 2017 Enactus National Competition Season

By Kelly Burton on behalf of Enactus

Inspiring. Refreshing. Hopeful. A breath of fresh air. These are just a few of the terms used to describe Enactus competitions, and in just a few days, the 2017 National Competition season will kick off. For the next three and a half months, in cities around the world, the positive impact our students are having will be showcased and celebrated. In communities large and small, rural and urban, our students are taking on the world’s toughest challenges with the goal of improving lives and creating a better world for us all.

Enactus National Competitions are a chance for our students to share and celebrate their impact with each other and the world, while exploring best practices and collaborating on new ideas. At the same time, teams present the impact made through entrepreneurial action to business leaders serving as judges, in hopes of being named a National Champion.

For our faculty, the competitions represent the culmination of the year, where all the time and energy they’ve invested in their students comes to life. Don’t be surprised if you see a few faculty members with tears in their eyes after their team presents!

For our alumni, many of whom come back to volunteer each year, these events are a chance to see old friends while making new connections, all while being reminded of the power and potential of the Enactus program.

For our business executives, participation is an opportunity to take a step back from daily work and get a glimpse of the future. Judges routinely tell us they leave events inspired, refreshed and ready to tackle any challenge.

On 10 April, when the first National Competition begins, we’ll start a journey together that will eventually lead us to London for the 2017 Enactus World Cup from 26–28 September. Over those three days, our students, faculty, business executives, alumni and other supporters will come together for a world-class show of excellence in entrepreneurial action. That is what our teams are competing for — the chance to be a National Champion team and represent their country at this prestigious and inspiring global event.

It’s fitting, then, that our first competition is taking place at the exact location where the World Cup will take place later this year, at the ExCeL in London. Make sure you are following along on our social media channels to catch all the highlights.

In addition to your sneak peek of the World Cup, here are five more things to watch for during the 2017 Enactus National Competitions:

1. Great projects tackling food waste and access to clean water: With the recent launch of both the 1Race2EndWaste and the Water Race, teams all over the world are focusing efforts on these two critical global goals. Click here to learn more about the Races or enter a project.

2. Watch live: Many of our countries are streaming their events online or using platforms like Facebook Live to give supporters around the world an inside view of the event. We’ll be sharing when and where you can catch live coverage so keep watching our social channels for updates!

3. Refreshed National Competition website: We’ve refreshed the National Competition page this year to better showcase each competition. Organized by date, you’ll see the date, city and venue of each competition as well as the event hashtag and a link for more information. Once the National Champion is named, we’ll add the school name and picture, as well as link to the recap blog. Make sure you bookmark the page!

4. Recap blog posts: Did you know we put together a recap of every national competition? About a week after each competition, we’ll share a post that captures all the highlights. Be on the lookout for our posts on social, and you can find our blog posts here.

5. Follow the conversation: Sure, most of us would prefer to travel the world and attend each national competition in person…but if you can’t, you don’t need to miss any of the action, just follow along on social media! #WeAllWin will link you to the worldwide conversation, and you can find all the country event hashtags here. If you do have the chance to take part in a competition this year, please be sure to share your experience and we’ll pass it on to the world.

What did we miss? Share in the comments what you are most looking forward to during the 2017 Enactus National Competitions!