Big Ideas to Support the World: Preview of IDEA SUMMIT and IDEA X

April 22, 2019

‘Do you need any bags?’ That’s something you hear at your local grocery store. But one day that might not be the case. The plastic shopping bag may be eradicated or replaced with something healthier for the world.

With Monday being Earth Day, the District is highlighting a unique and environmentally focused initiative. In addition to this year’s IDEA SUMMIT on Wednesday May 8, the District has added IDEA X.  IDEA X is an initiative encouraging students to come up with innovative solutions to a global challenge. This year’s challenge is solving the problem of plastic pollution. It could be a product, process or policy.

Madison Guy, an online entrepreneur and Brookswood Secondary School grad, will be one of the judges at the half-day event. She believes entrepreneurship is the “epitome of adding value to the world.”

“if you don’t have entrepreneurship, and you don’t have people who are willing to take risks on new and big ideas that are going to support the community, or the country, or the world, then we’re not going to be able to move forward. Not just move forward in our economy but really the way we function as a society,” explains Guy.

Being an entrepreneur does come with challenges. Her advice to students who are thinking about starting their own social enterprise is to just go for it!

“The biggest and hardest thing for students or anyone who is looking at starting a company is really taking the first step. That could be putting up a website or even going and testing the idea with friends and family. If you’re able to go out there and take action, from there it gets easier.”

As a judge, she says she’ll be looking for students with a strong mission (and passion), a well-thought out idea, and confidence.

“Usually people invest in you as a person, before they invest in your idea. If you’re not confident in your idea, it’s going to be really difficult for someone to get behind it,” says Guy.

Madison Guy is the founder of Grant Me which  is an online platform that matches students to scholarship opportunities and takes them through the application process.

For more information on IDEA SUMMIT and IDEA X go here. If you’d like to support our students by donating a scholarship to the Langley School District Foundation for prizes, go here.