The 2021 edition of the FIRST Global Challenge began and a new competitor is approaching!

Meet Team Tunisia, a team of 5 teenagers who are among the staff in the First Skills Club association. They share a big common goal: making their country prosper and solving issues using technology.

Ahmed Zribi, 17
He always wanted to learn a lot about the STEM field and IT… That is what made him join First Skills Club, a place where anyone can learn and share what’s in mind. At the start of his journey, he learnt about Scratch. In his second year, he learnt Mobile Apps Development and used his skills to develop an app called “BYC” (Build Your Career) that solves a problem related to unemployment, making his team win 2nd place. Last year, he learnt robotics and was chosen to be the team captain and 3D Designer in the Tunisian team who won the excellence award in the national VEX Robotics competition. In the 2020/2021 educational season, his skills, experience and perseverance allowed him to be a coach assistant in VEX EDR robotics class within the association. His commitment with his coaching team allowed him to win the bronze medal in the Pan-African Robotics competition 2021 since he assisted in coaching the team who has participated in this competition. His commitment allowed him to be chosen as a member of the team participating in the 2021 FIRST Global Challenge. “I always say that the successful person is not the person who doesn’t fall. He is the person who whenever falls, stands up and carries on his way!”, he said. As a member of the Tunisian national team of the FIRST Global Challenge, Ahmed took the responsibility of being the engineering notebook writer in this Olympiad of 2021.

Alaa Ben Ameur
At the age of 12, he was passionate about anything related to computers. Then, he found what he desired in the First Skills Club association where he had the chance to self-improve and learn a lot of new things. It started slow, but, throughout his journey, he acquired knowledge in block programming, animation, mobile apps development and, most importantly, 3D design with Autodesk Fusion 360. After attending two summer camps, once as a member and once as a team leader, he became a 3D coach at the age of 16 in the association and has volunteered for 3 whole years so far, passing down his skills to teenagers his age. In 2018, he, along with Mahdi Fakhfakh, a 2017 FIRST Global Challenge alum, organized Creatop, a one day hackathon that had 3D design workshops. He also participated as a coach and volunteer in the 2018 summer camp Let’s Go Tech. In 2019, he was selected to present a Touristic/environment-friendly submarine concept in the Youth For Science fair with his mentees. Later, that year, he went on an exchange program to Marburg from Germany, allowing him to visit schools and universities and have a vision on how to improve Tunisia when it comes to infrastructure and education. In 2018 and 2019, he helped the Tunisian FIRST Global Challenge teams with the preparation for the competition. As a member of the Tunisian national team of the 2021 FIRST Global Challenge, Alaa took the responsibility of being the 3D designer in this Olympiad of 2021.

Mohamed Gdoura
This is a story of a bored and lonely boy. He was so different from others that people barely accepted him, which is why he wanted someone he can freely share thoughts and ideas with. Fortunately, his wish was fulfilled at the age of 13 when he joined First Skills Club, a non-profit organization that strives to teach youth English using technology. In his first year, he worked on a Scratch story project with his team, which won the bronze medal at the end of year competition. At the age of 14, he became an assistant in Scratch and more importantly, he presented a one-man show about the history of robotics in the 2018-2019 closing ceremony. Moreover, his team won the 1st place in the middle school category in the StartApps competition. His promising potential and energy allowed him to be a coach in Scratch at the age of 15. Furthermore, he is the engineering notebook co-writer and spokesperson of 2020’s VEX Robotics national team, which won the excellence award in the national competition. He also participated in an international online robotics challenge Robocross and his team got 5th place. Currently, he’s 16 and he’s a coach in game development and a content author in First Skills Club. However, still, all of that did not quench his thirst for knowledge, as he always strives to reach perfection. He wants to take the rhythm to a whole different level. That is why he joined FIRST Global Challenge Team Tunisia 2021. As a member of the Tunisian national team of the FIRST Global Challenge, Mohamed Gdoura took the responsibility of being the programmer in this Olympiad of 2021.

Yacine Boujelbem
The person whom we’ll tell the tale of, is someone who’s been a lot into technology and who has loved messing with mechanical parts since his childhood and he has participated in a lot of fairs and events. This is the story of Yacine Boujelbene. He first joined First Skills Club at the age of 15, there he found the place which he was looking for and he start learning about mobile_apps development. The next year, he was part of a class where he learnt about problem_solving through science and technology. However, it’s not over yet. Yacine also loves exploring domains that are new in Tunisia as well as sharing them with others so he was a coach assistant in game development class. And in this year he wins with his team and the other teams of first skills club the 3rd place in the Pan-African Robotics STARS league competition 2021.now he’s 17 years old and as a member of the Tunisian national team of the First Global Challenge, Yacine took the responsibility of being the builder in this Olympiad of 2021.

Youssef Mhiri
He is a 16 year old boy, with an optimistic attitude and 6 years in our association, which made him known as the mood maker of First Skills Club.
Meet the ever-so-positive and cheerful, Youssef Mhiri! He was among the volunteers who helped Team Tunisia in FIRST Global Challenge 2019. He was also part of Sfax Marburg exchange program in Germany in 2019. Moreover, he has a huge passion for the classics of Television, old music such as Jazz, and comic book, which explains why he is currently a Media Manager and a video editing coach. One of his passions is swimming, as he is now a professional swimmer of 13 years of experience. This year, Youssef took the responsibility of being the media person of the Tunisian national team of FIRST Global Challenge. “I just want to remind you that if you like something, never let others bring you down and talk you out of what you enjoy. Follow your dreams, surround yourself with optimistic friends and influencers and don’t forget to enjoy your life to the fullest!”, he said.