The Sexiness Behind SLASummit

SLASummit is a social entrepreneurship conference and case competition designed to discuss fundamental social, political, and economic problems affecting Latin American communities, and implement viable solutions to foster sustainable development.

The conference will be taking place from March 19th to March 22nd, 2015.

A four-day case competition drawing together students from universities around the world, SLASummit sets out to not only highlight major issues facing Latin American communities but cultivate ideas proposing tangible solutions to these problems. By bringing together academic experts in related fields and social entrepreneurs with on-the-ground experience, to give both TED-style talks and interactive workshops, the conference emerges as a unique platform to develop innovative and creative projects that will be sustainably implemented and maintained for years to come. Differentiating itself as more than just a case competition to apply critical thinking and presentation skills, the purpose of SLASummit is to develop winning ideas into solutions that will visibly improve the lives of Latina American communities in need.

SLASummit holds a firm belief in bottom-up, self-empowering forms of development. The proposed solutions will not only be answers to problems communicated directly by the community, but also selected and implemented in conjunction with the local population. By taking this participatory approach, we not only ensure long-term sustainability, but also improve the efficiency of the implemented project(s), catering to communities' needs as specifically as possible.

---

Objectives

1. Raising awareness about current political, social, and economic issues in Latin America

2. Building multidisciplinary problem-solving skills necessary to address societal challenges

3. Attracting and connecting the brightest participants and professionals to devise & implement viable solutions to foster sustainable development in Latin America

4. Turning Latin America and Montréal into a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship in the world

Where It All Came From

McGill students, who are not part of SLASummit, embarked on a social project in Mexico to help an underprivileged community of primary school students to go to school faster. With a budget of $5,000, these students not only provided bicycles for 30 children, reducing their transport time by more than 50%, but they also implemented a bike rental viable business, with its own repair garage, to ensure financial sustainability.

---

Facts (Because Facts Are Cool)

1. 150 student participants from universities all over the Americas

2. 25 teams of students thinking "outside the box"

3. 3 target communities, and experts in their field giving TED-like talks

4. 1 winning idea, to be implemented on the ground

SLASummit 2015

The publications