The final round challenged participants to show off their skills in four different challenges: eTool, eLifeMap, eContent and eCreative.

The eTool challenge prompted the participants to create presentation slides using Microsoft Powerpoint while utilizing different functions and formulas to make calculations and organize data with Microsoft Excel. eLifeMap, on the other hand, involved online browsing from text and image hints to solve daily problems.

The two remaining challenges tested the creativity of each participant. eContent, for example, evaluated a contestant’s ability to create and edit video for a given topic. eCreative took it a step further with two different stages. In the first part, contestants were tasked with programming a self-driving car before moving on to the next stage, where they must develop an idea to create a technology that eased the day-to-day life of people with disabilities.

The entire rundown of events was done in a hybrid manner, with contestants from countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam conducting offline activities in their own countries. Starting from August, 320 applicants from 16 countries were selected to participate in the GITC.

At the end, LG gathered all the participants through online and offline means for an awards ceremony. At the same opportunity, they were asked to recount their experiences throughout their participation in the GITC.

LG Corporation has been conducting the GITC since 2011 in collaboration with the South Korean Health and Welfare Ministry. The program aims to support youths with disabilities to narrow the gap in digital skills, increase their usage of information technology (IT) to expand work opportunities while encouraging them to enter higher education.

For 11 years, the GITC has attracted over 4,000 participants. Interestingly, the GITC committee also found that the participants have transformed their GITC portfolios into stepping stones to achieve their academic and professional goals.

Faiza Putri Aldila was an Indonesian contestant who won the 2018 GITC. Later, she pursued nanotechnology at Airlangga University, Surabaya. Another contestant was Cheenmanee Thanapon from Thailand, a 2016 GITC champion who has played an active role in increasing public awareness for people with disabilities through a popular TV show in Thailand.

“The competition pushes me to improve my personal skills.  I am proud to win this year and I promise to work and study harder for my future achievements” said Abiyu Ezar Firdausi, a 16-year-old participant from Indonesia who became the winner of this year’s GITC Best Award in eTool and Super Challenger.

Chairman of the GITC organizing committee, Kim In-Kyu hoped that this year’s participants would be motivated to better themselves through more challenges in the future. “Technology can help us all to overcome various problems in life every day and become a universal language that erodes various boundaries, cultures and various other differences,” he said.

As stated in the LG Better Life Plan 2030, GITC is one of LG's many initiatives in accessibility and inclusion. LG invests in future generations as a part of the corporate framework in community service. LG has stated that it will continue to hold various activities and programs specifically designed to support the growth of new leaders in the future by strengthening their skills and capabilities.

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