Estefanía Salazar

A young circularity entrepreneur just inspired her home country. And she is still in high school! Sofía Ramírez, from Margarita Island in Venezuela, won the National Geographic´s 2026 Slingshot Challenge Significant Achievement Award with her creation Ciclo Verde (Green Cycle), a circularity-based nutrient-based compost. Sofía´s Ciclo Verde turns an invasive plant found across the Caribbean known as Beach Naupaka (Scaevola Taccata), into "upcycled" compost. If left alone, this plant can erode beaches and suffocate sea turtles´ nesting grounds. The community is an integral part of the project. The locals learn how to make the compost early - "we turn an ecological burden into a source of income and healthy soil", Sofía says. Her vision will now shape a new future. The Slingshot Challenge invited 13-18-year-olds from across the world to create a one-minute video that features solutions to current environmental issues. Meet Sofía and other young awardees from the 2026 Slingshot Challenge here: www.slingshotchallenge.org

For innovators around the Health & MedTech community. Did a natural disaster inspire your creation or line of work? If not, do you know about any invention in the field that came out of extreme circumstances like a disaster?

My country, Venezuela, is reeling from rare twin earthquakes on January 24th, 2026. Luckily I am fine, as well as my family. Thousands are not in the same position. We are in the midst of search and rescue efforts, plus a huge wave of local and international solidarity. The country is in dire need of it (earthquakes are not frequent here, nor risk management). Thinking about ways for recovery is one way to honor those who left. Through Circular Economy, it seems, there are recovery ways. A 2025 open paper by Sultan Çetin and Julian Kirchherr, titled The Build Back Circular Framework: Circular Economy Strategies for Post-Disaster Reconstruction and Recovery" (link.springer.com/article/10.1...), tells us so. This study addresses this gap by investigating how CE principles—narrowing, slowing, closing, and regenerating resource loops— can be integrated into post-disaster reconstruction and recovery, with a focus on the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes in Türkiye, says the abstract Can Circular Economy help a post-earthquake(s) Venezuela rise in the next years? In the meantime, if you can, please consider helping affected Venezuelans through a donation to Caritas (Catholic Relief Services), Doctors Without Borders or UNICEF, all supporting communities in the ground. Links on comments.

There is a void where AI could fill in the circular economy field, according to a recent post by Hassan Murad (Intuitive AI) for the World Economic Forum (WEF). This is 'attention layer' (data infrastructure that captures human behaviour at the moment of decision-making), in the very act of disposal. Billions of decisions happen every day at bins, cafeteria trays, and recycling stations, but a way to track and record said behaviour is still missing. However, according to the WEF, emerging AI systems are beginning to fill this void. At disposal points, computer vision at waste stations can now identify items in real time, recognize materials and brands, provide behavioural feedback, and meter every interaction, noted Murad. Is anyone in the Inspired.ch community working on attention layers? Could this mean a bridge with active innovators or investors in the Circular Economy community? www.weforum.org/stories/2026...

Checking Google for Startups AI Agents Challenge 2026 🏆 The initiative aims to help participants level up AI agents from prototype to production, using Google´s latest development kit and platforms. Three competition tracks are available: creation, optimization, and enterprise readiness. Every eligible startup receives $500 in credits plus the chance to win a share of a $90,000 prize pool. 💰 Registration will close on June 5th, here: goo.gle/4cpi2pB If you are working in this area, what makes you choose a funding challenge above others?

Something is going on about the circular economy in Latin America. Something so good... that it even won a runway show focused on circular fashion by Spain´s Agatha Prada de la Ruiz. Do you know why? The city of Ibagué, Colombia, hosted the Cumbre Glocal de Economia Circular (Circular Economy Glocal Summit - cumbreeconomiacircular.com) last April, with more than 1,400 guests from 30 countries, including experts and best practices. This is not casual. Ibagué, a mid-size city in western Colombia with a population of 550,000, is in the midst of becoming the continent's first Ecocircular Free Trade Zone. “Circular economy means leaving behind a disposal logic and embracing care”, said the Ibagué Mayor, Johana Aranda, in her inaugural speech at the Summit. Re-live the Summit (and Agatha´s show), here: