The new generation envisions a better tomorrow and makes it a reality with the power of technology

The Vodafone Foundation announces the winning teams of the 7th Panhellenic Generation Next Contest by surprising us with their resourcefulness and effectiveness. Young people and young people of today belong to a sophisticated generation, a generation that has contact with reality and society and envisions realistic solutions to specific problems of everyday life and our time. The Vodafone Foundation, having already identified this dynamic, has been supporting students and high school students in our country with the Panhellenic Generation Next Competition and a rich and free-access learning skill development program through STEM. If once the idea that children can change the world resembled a romantic utopia, today and 7 years later, it is a pragmatic perspective. The potential for a better future lies in the imagination and sensitivity of the new generation that with its weapons know-how and the most advanced digital means can – under the appropriate conditions – work for the common good. The 7th Panhellenic Generation Next Competition was a substantial educational experience this year and gave children once again the opportunity to do their ideas for the benefit of local society. Those who participated in the competition expanded their knowledge, gained new skills and, above all, allied themselves with technology for an improved tomorrow. When Aias and Hermes from 1st the Samou Experimental High School decided to find a solution to the serious problem of the lack of immediate medical assistance that characterizes their island, without second thought they declared participation in 7 the Panhellenic Generation Next Competition. As a Cycloid team now and with the supervising educator Happiness Konti, they built a drug transfer drone (UAV) that quickly reaches the patient even in the most inaccessible area with a fully equipped first-aid kit and possibility of teleconference with medical personnel in real time. With 3Dprinting technology, 5G networks and Internet Of Things (IoT) – all freely accessible from Generation Next platform – the two students managed to strengthen the local community and win the first prize of this year’s Panhellenic Generation Next Contest, confirming Vodafone Foundation’s intention to reward youthful insight and initiative. The second prize this year was given to the Hackers team of the Standard Junior High School. John and Theodore H., students of secondary school, under the guidance of their teacher Angel Karaftia, envisioned and built a portable robotic sign language interpreter in the form of a hand for deaf persons offering equal access to and participation in education, cultural and other social events. This robotic helping hand – thanks to 3D printing technology, servo motors and Arduino technology – opens the door wide to the concept of inclusion and the ability for people with hearing problems to integrate equally into social fabric. Thus, the Hackers team rose second to the podium of the winners of the 7th Panhellenic Generation Next Contest by consequently honoring the three-graduate social sensitivity-modern technology- cooperation that led her to success. If the previous two groups proposed solutions aimed at improving the quality of life of certain communities, the 3 the winning team of this year’s Pan-Hellenic Generation Next Contest, Ecobot, designed a construction aimed at the sustainable future and good of the marine ecosystem. The idea of Erica, Theodore D. and Michaela from the 2nd EC Athens of the Municipality of Daphne-Ymetou was to create a recycling system of plastic bottles that convert PET packaging into special thread (3D filament) for 3D prints, such as household items, works of art and learning support tools. Ecobot led by Professor Aristides Chiatuha turned harmful plastic into a useful raw material, and ecological concern into a tangible solution. All of them, with the support of the Vodafone Foundation and the Generation Next programme that offer free, generous and unlimited access to the most advanced technologies by exploiting the potential of our country’s young people. It is impressive that children who only go through the second decade of their lives can plan solutions for the common good with tangible results. Basic condition? A framework of practical support and encouragement such as that of the Generation Next Panhellenic Contest that gives contestants the step and means to fulfill their dreams of a future directed at the common good. If we asked Ajada, Mercury, Angel, Theodorus H., Erica, Theodore D. and Michaela what is the biggest lesson they learned this year, from their participation in 7 the Panhellenic Generation Next Competition we believe would answer us, the confidence and confidence that a better tomorrow is possible thanks to the power of technology, cooperation and youth initiative. The future is really in your hands. Get in and don’t let it slip. About Generation Next To Generation Next is the Digital Skill Development Program of the Vodafone Foundation, which offers free access to STEM education and new technologies to students and teachers wherever they are in Greece. To date the Programme, focusing on the digital platform, measures more than 125,500 beneficiaries and 865 innovative student projects. Through Generation Next, students and teachers have the opportunity to get to know new technologies, experiment with digital tools, inspire and create innovative ideas for the common good, thus creating a better tomorrow for everyone. It is worth mentioning that the Generation Next Programme has received the official approval of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sport for all its educational activities during the school year 2023-2024. The 7th Panhellenic Generation Next Competition, which is also implemented in this year’s school year, as well as the free out-of-school STEM workshops implemented in remote or decentralised areas of our country. The project is an initiative of the Vodafone Foundation and is implemented in collaboration with its academic contribution and contribution.