{"id":29702,"date":"2018-02-02T16:24:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-02T21:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/creator\/?p=29702"},"modified":"2020-02-26T14:28:42","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T19:28:42","slug":"hear-us-roar-mexican-innovators-united-creator-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/community-stories\/member-spotlight\/hear-us-roar-mexican-innovators-united-creator-awards","title":{"rendered":"Hear us roar! Mexican innovators united at Creator Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The crowd might have seemed partisan to Antonio Pur\u00f3n. The Hola<code><\/span><\/a> cheerleaders were out in force, springing up from their chairs, banners in hand at every mention of their organization. The two owners of Ceviche Surf<\/a> had their raucous fans, as did the all-female team of biotechnology engineers from <\/span>Ecoplaso<\/span><\/a>. Yet Pur\u00f3n stood undaunted. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He strode to the mic to state his mission in 45 seconds: \u201cTAK-TAK-TAK is a project for children at the bottom of the pyramid to receive an education.\u201d His project, TAK-TAK-TAK by <\/span>Inoma<\/span><\/a>, has developed 85 video games across mobile and PC platforms to teach children in underserved communities through play.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked how he was sure children would play his games, he replied, \u201cWe went to Chiapas [one of Mexico\u2019s poorest states] to a remote school with very low connectivity [and] installed our games. We found out the kids asked the teacher to open the school on Sundays to play TAK-TAK-TAK.\u201d The best kind of answer\u2014simple, powerful, and deserving of the U.S. $180,000 Audience Choice award.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid headlines about crime or immigration involving Mexico, the Mexico City <\/span>Creator Awards<\/span><\/a> was the place to recognize a very different reality. Virtually every creator, nominated and awarded, spoke of a unique and joint commitment: using their ideas, their energy, their very blood to make Mexico a better place.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Every creator spoke of a unique and joint commitment: using their ideas, their energy, their very blood to make Mexico a better place.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This blend of national pride and creative commitment was peppered throughout the first Creator Awards held in Mexico City. The global competition, sponsored by <\/span>WeWork<\/span><\/a>, celebrates ideas with impact and heads to Shanghai next. Hosted at the Corona Forum, more than 2,700 people gathered to witness the best of the country\u2019s entrepreneurial culture. Besides the Audience Choice award and a Community Giver award for those doing good within their WeWork community, prizes were given out in three main categories: the Incubate Award, for great ideas or specific projects that need funding; the Launch Award, for young businesses and organizations that need a little help getting off the ground; and the Scale Award, which is for more established operations aiming to get to the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To kick things off, industry leaders hosted master classes before the awards ceremony. The first panel, featuring chef Eduardo Garc\u00eda, discussed culinary entrepreneurship.<\/span>
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\u201cI saw Mexico as a country where opportunities didn\u2019t exist,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I found a completely different country. I arrived [in 2007] with nothing in my pockets, so I tell my cooks that if they truly want to achieve something, they can do it.\u201d Eleven years later, his culinary mastery has led him to own three renowned restaurants and create more than 100 jobs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowd gave Garcia a standing ovation as he said that despite being seen as \u201cillegal aliens\u201d in the US, Mexicans have every opportunity to succeed.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That energy and participation was the lifeblood of the evening. Shouts of \u201cI love you\u201d accompanied singer Natalia Lafourcade as she sat down for an interview with Karla Martinez, editor-in-chief of Vogue M\u00e9xico<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Miguel McKelvey, cofounder and chief culture officer of WeWork, was taken aback when he took to the stage. \u201cThis is one of the most amazing things I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said. \u201cI gotta take a picture from up here.\u201d Despite his first name, McKelvey apologized for not speaking Spanish before revealing how impressed WeWork had been with the creativity shown in the over 1,300 applications received in the Creator Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need for such creativity was evident in the range of the candidates for the Incubate awards. Acordando Caminos transports people living in remotest Mexico when in need of medical emergencies. El Peque\u00f1o Gran Escritor<\/a> gathers stories written by children and has them illustrated by professional artists before publishing them. In the end, all six Incubate finalists took home $18,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n