“Bakongo Paz” Wins Grand Prize of Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Challenge
A summer camp created by millennials to foster peace and reconciliation in conflict-torn areas of Colombia, “Bakongo Paz”, was awarded the Grand Prize of the 2016 Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Grant Challenge.
The facility, known as Camp Bakongo, serves at-risk and underprivileged children who have been impacted by conflict in Colombia. Young Colombians and demobilised people cooperatively staff and manage the camp. Camp Bakongo creates an environment of peacebuilding, sharing and teamwork that gives the next generation of Colombians a foundation for continued cooperation.
The Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Grant Challenge provides acceleration funding to initiatives led by the Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum. The grant awards five $10K (£8.1K) grants to accelerate the most promising and impactful projects.
Daniel Buriticá Córdoba, Global Shaper of the Bogotá Hub and Project Lead for Bakongo Paz, said, “One of the main challenges for our country is to restore the social fabric that has been broken after more than five decades of conflict. We are aware that we, the youth, have to take a step forward and send a clear message to our society that, despite all the wounds and pain, it is possible to reconcile and peacefully coexist. Being selected as a Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Grant Challenge Grand Prize Winner is deeply inspiring for the Bogotá Hub. This recognition opens the door to fulfilling our short-term dream: offering an improved and strengthened version of ‘Bakongo Paz’ in 2017.”
“The Coca-Cola system is committed to being a strong supporter of Colombian communities. The Global Shapers of Bogotá, Colombia remind us all of the importance of engaging young generations when seeking to create sustainable solutions to the world’s most challenging issues,” said Alfredo Rivera, President of Coca-Cola Latin America.
The Bogotá Hub’s Bakongo Paz project won the popular vote of members of the Global Shapers Community as a Shaping a Better Future finalist, and as Grand Prize Winner by a high-level panel of judges comprised of leaders from the public and private sector.
In addition to Grand Prize Winner Bogotá, four other Hubs were selected as 2016 Winners are “Shaping Education” in India, “The Water Purification Project” in Ghana; “Politize!” in Brazil; and “Education for Sustainable Development” in Nigeria.
Coca-Cola was a winner of World Branding Awards in the Beverages – Softdrinks category.
