High School Senior at the Georgetown International Academy, Athrav Kotehal Gowdara is pacing ahead with the implementation of his idea “IDEATHON Guyana”, the country’s first problem-solving competition that challenges youths, age 14-21, to work in teams to generate creative solutions to build strong and prosperous communities.
Participants of this event will work in groups consisting of 2-5 members. Alternatively, youths can join as individuals, in which case, event organisers will assign them to teams in order to maximise diversity.
IDEATHON, in collaboration with several government agencies, is placing emphasis on four major sectors: Health, Education, Entrepreneurship and Environment.
For each of these sectors, participants will be given a problem statement which they will have to find a solution. The proposed summary, which is expected to be submitted by Friday, December 9th, 2022, will determine who is selected to go through to the next stage of the competition.
Both the final and semi-final will be held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara (ECD) on Sunday, December 11, 2022.
This will see participation of 35-40 teams in the semi-final round in the morning, half of which will be selected for the finals later that afternoon.
Present at the competition will be mentors to assist youths in pitching their ideas to judges and the audience and to give them guidance.
There will also be cash prizes to be won, trophies and certificates. Additionally, the IDEATHON team has been flexible with the age limits and encourages persons who are just above or below the range to register.
Kotehal Gowdara, who has been the son of a diplomat all his life, was adamant to do something impacting for Guyana. As such, he came up with the idea of “IDEATHON” to encourage youths to join hands to solve real world challenges. The end goal, he said, is to build a better Guyana.
Kotehal Gowdara is the son of Indian High Commissioner to Guyana Dr KJ Srinivasa.
