The event aimed to consolidate the ¡Supérate! Business Program as a benchmark for digital talent in the Central American region, as well as to motivate its students, teachers and collaborators to continue putting into practice the values of solidarity, integrity, leadership, excellence and self-improvement.

Rodrigo Bustamante, Executive Director of the ¡Supérate! Program, commented:

"¡Supérate! seeks to serve as a bridge between young people who have a high desire and commitment to self-improvement and connect them with opportunities that allow them to reach their full potential. That is why working hand in hand with USAID, under the Digital Talent initiative, we seek to empower local talent. Providing young people with the necessary tools, such as technical knowledge in programming (IT), English and values so that once they graduate, they can opt for higher education opportunities and/or jobs that allow them to continue their personal and professional development process, contributing hand in hand to the social and economic development of our country and region".

"At USAID we are proud to have strategic allies in the private sector, such as the Fundación Sagrera Palomo  which is committed to improving education to develop productive citizens, with values and committed to the development of a more prosperous, safe and democratic El Salvador", said Carmen Henriquez, Education Team Leader for USAID El Salvador.

"At Microsoft, we are honored to be part of these great achievements by accompanying each of the young people in the Programa ¡Supérate! , expanding access to technology and innovation through education, thus improving their opportunities and those of their communities. We are proud to join forces to change the world, following our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to do more. Once again, we thank ¡Supérate! for allowing us to expand technological opportunities for young people in El Salvador and thus generate better life opportunities", said Jaime Menéndez, general manager of Microsoft El Salvador.

During the activity, Shaun Tomson, international guest speaker, gave a motivational talk. There were also integration activities for the students of the different ¡Supérate! Centers in El Salvador.

In addition, Ricardo Sagrera Bogle, president and founder of the Programa ¡Supérate, presented the 2022 edition of the Premio Solidaridad, an initiative of the Fundación Sagrera Palomo that recognizes through seed capital to ¡Supérate! graduates who are positively impacting their communities through the implementation of projects focused on education, health, environment, social entrepreneurship and social violence prevention.

The first place winning initiative was the "Fipie" project, led by Rolando Pelicot, a graduate of the Centro ¡Supérate! Fundación Alberto Motta San Miguelito. Fipie is a virtual volunteering platform that connects social initiatives with agents of change that enable them to achieve their impact objectives ( www.fipie.org).

The other two initiatives that will also receive funding from the Premio Solidaridad are "Arte con vos" by Katherine Villalobos, a graduate of the Centro ¡Supérate! Fundación Raíces and "Azul Pipil" by Alejandra Ayala, graduate of the Centro ¡Supérate! Hilasal.

Translated by: A.M