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22 June 2026

Five teams confirmed for BeChangeMaker 2026 finale in Shanghai

Five entrepreneurial teams from across the globe have been chosen to pitch their social business ideas to an international audience at WorldSkills Conference 2026.

After months of intensive training and two competitive online pitches, five outstanding teams have emerged as the finalists of this year’s BeChangeMaker programme. Thirty teams of young social entrepreneurs, selected from hundreds of applications, joined this year’s programme in April. The final five teams are now entering an acceleration phase, with premium support and mentoring to help them refine and deliver their best pitches. In September, they will travel to Shanghai, China, to pitch their ideas to an international audience of over 1,000 delegates as part of WorldSkills Conference 2026.

In its landmark tenth edition, BeChangeMaker brings together young people from across the globe to use their skills to address social and environmental challenges. The social business accelerator, powered by WorldSkills and the HP Foundation and supported by UNESCO-UNEVOC, has helped hundreds of participants advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Addressing disability, gender equity, and sustainability, the finalists for BeChangeMaker 2026 are:

  1. Polaris Safety, China – Providing AI-powered personal safety infrastructure software for women.
  2. Ridan AI, India – Breaking social media addiction in children with behavioural AI.
  3. Empals, India – Providing early, accessible support for children with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism.
  4. Vivian, Mexico – Ensuring inclusion through an AI digital interpreter for Mexican sign language.
  5. Ruruka, Paraguay – Transforming industrial sludge into sustainable construction materials.

Learn more about the BeChangeMaker programme and its partner network, and follow the teams as they prepare for their stellar moment in Shanghai.

WorldSkills Conference 2026 will bring together global industry leaders, ministers, policymakers, and skills development pioneers at the largest international gathering on skills this year, taking place from 23 to 25 September 2026 alongside the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai.