With great success, intense emotion and messages of equal opportunities and inclusion, the 19th Pan-Hellenic Student Competition “Best Virtual Business 2024” of Junior Achievement Greece took place on Friday, April 26, 2024 at the Cultural Center “Hellenic World” of the Greater Hellenism Foundation. During the event, the General Director of Junior Achievement Greece, Argyris Tzikopoulos, excitedly announced that next summer our country will host for the first time the Pan-European JA Europe/GEN-E 2025 Final in Athens.

The audience applauded the 11 innovative student “start ups” that competed in the Panhellenic Final 2024, was moved by the presentation of the student Virtual Business “Isometricks” that recently won the 1st Junior Achievement World Award and cried during the awarding of the 1st “Odysseas Kyriakopoulos” Award 2024 of JA Greece in the student “Virtual Business” “Let’s Go” from the Special High School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Thessaloniki.

It is the first time in the 19-year history of JA Greece that a Special School wins the organization’s top honor, the first Pan-Hellenic Award of the Global Student Competition “Virtual Business – JA Company Program”.

“Let’s Go” will represent our country at the 2024 JA Europe/GEN-E Pan European Final, July 2-4, 2024, in Catania, Italy. Focused on a commitment to building a sustainable and inclusive world, eco-friendly ‘business’ Let’s Go reuses and repurposes LEGO bricks to create original fashion accessories that customers can personalize, with TriGO in particular , an inclusive LEGO board game for everyone, including the visually and hearing impaired.

Celebrations and tears of joy from the Let’s Go team and the audience

The members of the “Let’s Go” team broke into tears of joy when the announcement was made, but the audience couldn’t hold back their tears as they watched the children and teachers in yellow shoes celebrate on stage and the 3rd High School student , General Manager of “Let’s Go”, Christos Ganatsa to say with great enthusiasm in sign language how important this victory is.

“Thank you very much, our joy is very great, we did not expect this!” said Christos and emphasized: “We are all equal! We are all human and if we have the right framework we can achieve anything! Our win, with our original LEGO brick accessories and TriGo tabletop, is an example of what can be achieved when people from different backgrounds come together to serve a common purpose. Through the TriGo board game, we not only showcased our team’s ingenuity and creativity, but also demonstrated the enormous potential of inclusive collaboration.”

“LET’S GO for a fairer world!” exclaimed Kalliopi Sivri, Social Worker and supporter of the student group Let’s Go. “With TriGo as our beacon, we are committed to breaking down barriers and building bridges that connect people from all walks of life. Together, we can create a future where diversity is celebrated and inclusivity is the norm,” said Ms. Sivri.

“We are particularly happy that today’s evaluation process for the final competition of the Virtual Enterprise has highlighted the winning team “Let’s Go” from the Special High School/High School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Thessaloniki. As a jury we arrived at this choice by evaluating the group on equal terms. The resulting message is that meritocracy can go hand in hand with inclusion! At JA Greece, we envision supporting children in all schools in Greece by investing in a big positive change for the country and its future”, emphasized Emilios Kyriakou, Chairman of the Board of JA Greece, CEO of Citi Greece, Cyprus & Malta and Head of Business Banking.

The student “start up” “Let’sGo” is made up of the following students: Christos Ganatsas – General Manager, Stavroula Dontsiu – Production Manager, Nikos Tragiannopoulos – Sales Manager, Sotiria Beltsou – Management Secretary, Lefteris Koukoulis – Finance Manager, Zoe Tsiplaki – Director of Information Systems, Pavlos Penev – Director of Marketing, Grigoris Kenetsevlis – Director of Human Resources, Melina Sidira – Director of Administration. Responsible Educators: Kalliopi Sivri – Social Worker, Ioanna Fotiadou – Physical Education Educator, Christina Papaevangelou – Chemist, Olga Emmanuilidou – Mathematician, Maria Palpani – Philologist. Inspirational Mentor JA Greece: Spyros Maiatis, Secretary General of the JA Greece Board, Co-Founder & CTO Workable. Volunteer/Entrepreneurship Consultant: Konstantinos Katos, Financial Services Risk Management Consultant EY.

Honor to ‘Isometricks’ – JA World Champion

Shortly before the announcement of the first prize, last year’s winning student “startup” “Isometricks”, from the Experimental High School of the University of Macedonia, was honored, which managed to win the 1st Pan-European Award 2023 of Junior Achievement in Istanbul and then, representing Europe, to win the 1st Global Student Entrepreneurship Award “JA Worldwide De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award 2024”.

A video was shown of the team’s National triumph, the emotional awarding of the 3 awards (Greek, European, World) and then the members of Isometricks, the students, Korina Malasidis, Yiannis Terpsiadis, Fai Katsanou, Marina Giakoumoglou as well as the teachers Anna Macioris, Nikos Terpsiadis and Kyriaki Vasilou spoke about the unforgettable experiences they had, the great value of student entrepreneurship and their future plans. Warm congratulations to the team were given from the stage of the event by the Inspirational Mentor of Isometricks, Director of the newspaper “I Kathimerini” Alexis Papachelas, the internationally renowned Brand Statgist Peter Economides who advised the team in the preparation for the international competitions and Ioanna Kyprioti, Responsible Program Virtual Business 2023 JA Greece. The “Isometricks” team awarded the 1st Prize to “Let’s Go” together with the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family Sofia Zaharakis.

“Junior Achievement made ‘together’ a reality. All the teams here prove that it doesn’t matter where you might be born, it doesn’t matter what school you go to, public or private, whether it’s general, special or vocational. I am happy because we are all together”, the Minister pointed out. Earlier, at the awarding of the 3rd Prize, the Minister of State Responsible for the Coordination of Government Policies, Akis Skertsos, warmly congratulated JA Greece, while later at the presentation of “Isometricks” and the awarding of the 1st Prize to “Let’s Go”, he did not hide his great emotion . In his post after the event, he emphasized: “Is Greece finally changing? The genuine emotion felt by all of us who were present yesterday at the selection of the best Greek student business for 2024 that will represent us in the corresponding European competition of Junior Achievement, confirms that, yes, Greece is indeed changing! And it changes from “below”, from our children, in a way so quiet and at the same time loud that it is noticed by the domestic news only after the recognition from abroad first comes.

“Looking back 10 years, we made a bet: to highlight the talent that is out there, creating equal opportunities for everyone. 10 years later we are very proud because we find that yes, Greece can change. That the new generation can show their potential if given the right resources. It is no coincidence that in the last 3 years our country has won 4 first places at European and World level. We believe a lot in the new generation. She is the one who will change things. That is why we continue to create the conditions to ensure the future she deserves”, said the General Director of Junior Achievement Greece, Argyris Tzikopoulos.

During the event, a special mention was made to the 50 leading personalities, Inspirational Mentors of the “Virtual Business 2024”, among whom is Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. With the warmest words about their teams that competed in the Final and JA Greece, the Inspirational Mentors Sia Kosionini, journalist, presenter of the main SKAI news bulletin, Markos Veremis, member of the Board of Directors of JA Greece, Partner Big Pi Ventures, Spyros Maiatis, Secretary General of the Board of Directors of JA, spoke with the warmest words Greece, Co Founder & CTO Workable and Yannis Politis Journalist, Vice President of the National Radio and Television Council (NRC).

All JA Greece awards for 2024

To all the competing teams, the manager of the “Virtual Business” program, Fotini Tourni, and the manager of the “Company Junior” program, Niki Komi, awarded commendations for qualification and participation in the Pan-Hellenic Final 2024. The award ceremony was presented by Journalist, Communications Director of JA Greece Maria Giannetou. See the 11 Virtual Businesses that competed here. The 2024 student start-ups awarded are:

Company Junior Awards 2024

1st Prize in the Virtual Business “Odysseous Destiny” from the 3rd Gymnasium of Argyroupoli. The award was presented by Mrs. Eva Lianou, General Manager of the Ioannis S. Latsis Foundation.

2nd Prize in Virtual Business “Olympic Creations” from 1st Standard High School of Thessaloniki. The award was presented by Mr. Spyros Doukakis, President of the IEP.

3rd Prize in the Virtual Business “BOOKERS SA” from the Hellenic Dragon Schools. The award was presented by Mr. Theoharis Filippopoulos, President of Capital.gr & Attic Publishing.

Virtual Business Awards 2024

1st Prize “Odysseas Kyriakopoulos” 2024 in the Virtual Business “Let’s Go” from Special High School – Deaf & Hard of Hearing High School of Thessaloniki. The prize was awarded by the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, Sofia Zacharakis, with the student Yiannis Terpsiadis, Production Manager of Isometricks.

2nd Prize in the Virtual Business “School Buddy”, from the Gymnasium and Lyceum of Avdira, Xanthi & the Gymnasium of Feron, Evros. The award was presented by Ms. Annita Voreadou, Communications Director of the Major Hellenism Foundation.

3rd Prize in Virtual Business “CrashLink”, from Psychiko College High School. The award was presented by the Minister of State Responsible for the Coordination of Government Policies, Akis Skertsos.

Public Choice Award to Virtual Business “Mystilli” from Neighbor Education. The Award was presented by Ms. Adriana Paraskevopoulou – Journalist, Presenter of the Central News Bulletin – Head of ERT News Broadcasts.

Sustainable Development Award to the Virtual Business “Cerealia” from the 1st EPAL of Didymoteicho – “Evgenios Eugenidis”. The Award was presented by Ms. Diana Georgakopoulou, General Manager of the BSE Council for Sustainable Development.

“Citrus Dried Fruits of Argolida” received an honorary distinction for highlighting the issues of sustainable development from the E.E.E.K. Argolidas and “Peti_Tou Boutique Up Cycling & Second Hand Made Clothes” from EN.E.E.GY.-L. Agriniou.

The members of the jury were: Emilios Kyriakou, Chairman of the Board JA Greece – Managing Director of Citi Greece, Cyprus and Malta, Kallissa Apostolidou, Senior Secretary General of the Board JA Greece – Responsible for E.K.E. and member of the Board of Directors Raycap, Elena Velonaki, Strategy & Transactions Director, EY-Parthenon, EY Greece, Markos Veremis, Board Member JA Greece – Co-Founder and President Upstream & Partner Big Pi Ventures, Maria Gatsou, Board Member JA Greece – General Manager SETE, Konstantinos Zanetopoulos, Strategic Advisor, Head of CSR Accenture Greece, Leonidas Kanellopoulos, Board Member JA Greece – Chief Sustainability Officer TITAN, Executive Member of the Board, Manina Menidiati, Public Affairs Officer, Citi Greece, Ioannis Sotiropoulos, Board Member JA Greece – Vice President Promoset SA , Nikos Christakis, JA Greece Board Member – CEO of HP Greece and Cyprus and Michalis Christodoulou, JA Greece Board Member – Board Member of CHB Christodoulou group

The 19th Hellenic Competition “Best Virtual Business 2024” of JA Greece was held in collaboration with the Cultural Center “Hellenic World” of the Greater Hellenistic Foundation.