Israeli Wins Award for an Amazing Innovation!

I honestly did not know a thing about YBI (Youth Business International) until I came across an article by Elder of Ziyon. This group helps young entrepreneurs to create a business and establish jobs. Each year YBI holds an Entrepreneur of the Year Contest, and the prize for 2011 was awarded (in November) to a young Israeli, Amir Asor.

 Born in Rehovot, the youngest of five children, Amir suffered with learning difficulties, a poor memory, and difficulty reading and processing information.  Absorbing information took him much longer than other children, but he had determination. With a lot of hard work, he was able to complete a degree in economics and computer sciences in five and a half years~Normally it takes only three.

The road to this unique business model began when he was a volunteer on a project that supports children who need educational and emotional help. Using his own frustrations with learning his ideas began to take shape in the form of training manuals. Eventually he formed his own company, The Decade Group~Young Engineers Inc.

In an interview with Israel21c Amir states:

"The project started when I was injured in an accident during my military service and was forced to spend seven months at home, on crutches...I had the time and frame of mind to explore the possibilities, and built dozens of prototypes of each idea."

Amir was able to conceive uniquely innovative programs that teach children the intricacies of engineering as they play with Lego. What began as a diversion to pass time, the thought process behind lego model-building became a mission for him. His company was set up in 2007 an currently employs twenty-five people. In 2011, more than 2,500 children via 130 educational centres across Israel have been taught complex principles through the use of specially designed Lego models.

To learn more about Amir's company and the work they are doing, you can visit their website HERE. Do take the time to go through the site where you can see descriptions of the various programs~and be amazed!

By the way, when he received his award, Amir was 26 years old! You can read more details  about Amir and his journey on the YBI site, HERE. Meanwhile, here is the video explaining his idea. At 3:15 you can see how children are learning with his amazing models...Way to go Amir!