JCU Sophomore Omar Azabi Selected as Finalist in Mazda "Make Things Better" Competition

Omar Azabi

Last December, a delegation of eleven John Cabot University students participated in the Mazda “Make Things Better” competition during the Nobel Peace Prize Summit held in Rome. The student delegates submitted their proposals regarding new tools of advocacy. Professor Argentieri, head of the Guarini Institute for Public Affairs, supported the participants in their preparation for the Mazda Workshop.

Omar is an International Affairs major at JCU. His project, “Co-working spaces for developing countries”, offers young people in developing countries a working space as a place to meet, connect and establish their own businesses. Omar earned his high school diploma from El Camino Real Charter High School in Los Angeles, California. While visiting the Silicon Valley, Omar came into contact with many co-working spaces, but it was not until he saw a RAI (Italy’s national public broadcasting company) documentary that he drew inspiration for his project.

Omar’s project has been shortlisted along with four other projects, and the finalists will provide the committee with further details on the originality and impact of their plans by February 28th. Omar has been working with the JCU Institute for Entrepreneurship to fine-tune his project and to establish connections with sector experts who gave him a more detailed view of the issues involved. In March the committee will announce the winner in Barcelona, Spain.