Each year, the Young Social Entrepreneurs Awards (JES) program at Universidad Europea recognizes the pioneers of ten projects aimed at making a positive impact on society. On its tenth anniversary, the initiatives selected were Zocco Handmade, Eureqa 3D, CerQana, BiziPoz, Erudit Education, “Desayuna Salud”, “Ni cuentos con perdices ni novelas rosas,” Mysocialfit, Asociación Pitote andMagea Escuela Activa; each was developed by young people under 30, this time coming from the Basque Country, Extremadura, Aragon, the Community of Madrid, the Canary Islands, the Region of Murcia, and Castile-Leon. Among these ten selected participants, one will be picked for the Special Panel Award, and this person will be announced on November 14 during the awards ceremony.
The winners of the 10th edition of the JES Awards
June Arrieta (San Sebastian, 1995), Zocco Handmade
Zocco Handmade promotes responsible production and consumption, while supporting women at risk of exclusion through employment and training. It creates unique fashion accessories and seeks a real, human connection between creator and buyer, with the intention of generating dialog and reflection. Since its launch, it has managed to employ 20 women in different countries, and already, more than 7,000 people own Zocco products.
Jesús Corbacho (Caceres, 1990), Eureqa 3D
Eureqa 3D allows for more precise surgeries and avoids complications, while reducing costs for the hospital. It offers comprehensive 3D printing services and is specialized in the health sector. They work directly with the specialists, helping surgeons to be able to better prepare themselves for surgeries on fractures. By means of an external professional 3D printing service, it’s possible to study a fracture using an identical copy of the patient’s bone, prior to the surgery.
Alfonso Escriche (Zaragoza, 1989), CerQana
CerQana promotes the independence and inclusion of elderly or dependent individuals, by adapting any smartphone to their specific abilities and adding new features that allow families or caretakers to remotely ensure their safety and security. The project began through a personal experience, as a way of applying technology that its creators were developing for other projects to help a person close to them.
Eider Etxebarría (Arrasate, Gipuzkoa, 1994), BiziPoz
BiziPoz (live happy, in Basque) promotes entrepreneurship with social impact among the population over 55, through practical training that takes advantage of their knowledge and experience. In essence, they promote a healthier, more social, participative, and active aging process through dynamic workshops with reduced groups and a duration of two months, and 417 people have already participated.
Alejandro Martínez (Madrid, 1989), Erudit Education
Erudit Education personalizes learning and makes entering the job market easier for students, by means of a digital skills fingerprint that accompanies them during their formative period. Its tool collects and processes information generated in mass learning processes, detecting skills, talents, and innate abilities in the students.
Odalid Molina (Tegueste, Tenerife, 1991), “Desayuna Salud” (“Health for Breakfast”)
“Desayuna Salud” promotes a nutritional, emotional, and experiential education that focuses on the importance of maintaining a healthy diet to ensure healthy growth. It’s a program targeting children, developed by the Asociación Sofía, an organization specialized in fostering healthy life habits and helping youth tackle eating disorders. During its first year (it was started in 2017), it put on 94 workshops in which more than 2,300 children and adolescents have participated.
Loola Pérez (Molina del Segura, Murcia, 1991), “Ni cuentos con perdices ni cuentos rosas” (“Not stories with happily-ever-afters nor love tales”)
“Ni cuentos con perdices ni novelas rosas” fights against gender stereotypes and fosters the development of social skills and good relationships between adolescents. This co-education project is founded on two basic pillars: equal access to education and sexual-emotional education. It has directly educated more than 600 young people.
Daniel Rodríguez (Calamonte, Badajoz, 1993), Mysocialfit
Mysocialfit makes physical exercise more accessible by putting sports professionals in contact with people who wish to do physical activity, thus allowing the latter to benefit from group prices without having to pay fees. It boasts a community of more than 8,000 users and 700 people have already participated in its activities.
Almudena Sánchez (Madrid, 1989), Asociación Pitote
The Asociación Pitote aims to achieve a change of attitude in society and social recognition of all people, regardless of their capabilities, through an inclusive methodology. Comprised of families and young people with varying capabilities, it pursues the comprehensive development of the participants through different sports, leisure, cultural, educational, and entrepreneurship projects.
Ibone Valerdi (Santurce, Biscay, 1991), Magea Escuela Activa (“Magea Active School”)
Magea Escuela Activa offers a quality education through emotional support, contact with nature, and respect for individuality, developing critically thinking, independent, and responsible individuals. They are also an open meeting point for the whole community. This preschool and elementary education project takes place in a rural setting and is based on neuro-education, active education, and education legislation.
All the information about the winners of the ten editions organized to date can be found here.