Samsung Electronics is running a youth talent development program with the International Olympic Committee. Samsung Electronics said on Feb. 9 it held an appointment ceremony for ambassadors for its global youth CSR programme, 'Samsung Solve for Tomorrow', at Samsung House in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 8 local time with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The event was linked to the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, and Samsung Electronics, an official IOC partner, is working to foster the next generation through technology and sport.

The ambassadors were selected as 10 teams among regional winners worldwide that stood out for innovation, scalability and social impact. They consist of 5 teams in sports technology and 5 in health and environment. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow began in 2010 as an ideas competition in which young people around the world use STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills to solve difficult challenges in their communities.

The sports technology category includes a sports headband (United States) that protects hearing aids from moisture and impact during exercise, smart sneakers (Britain) that detect early signs of foot blisters in diabetes patients, a wearable AI solution (Indonesia) that recognises running routes to help visually impaired runners, a waterproof wristband (Turkey) that provides vibrating boundary-line alerts for swimming by the visually impaired, and an AI platform (Australia) connecting individuals with local sports teams.

The health and environment category includes an AI smart band (United States) that monitors wound conditions in real time to detect infection, a cloud AI solution (India) that corrects unclear speech in real time, a brain-signal-based wheelchair (China), a solution (Turkey) that removes oil spills at sea using recycled wool, and a kit (France) that reuses discarded smartphone batteries. The selected ambassadors will receive support over the next 2 years to commercialise their solutions.

Samsung Electronics and the IOC will run an exhibition space from Feb. 9 to Feb. 10 at Smart City Lab, a startup incubation centre in Milan. Anyone can visit and experience the ambassadors' solutions. Samsung Electronics and the IOC first ran Solve for Tomorrow ambassadors at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

IOC President Coventry said, "Young people are using technology to build a more inclusive and sustainable, healthy and active future." She added, "Above all, I am very happy to see them using sport, technology and problem-solving skills to change lives."

Lee Won-jin (이원진), head of global marketing at Samsung Electronics, said, "Samsung Electronics has worked to contribute to society through technological innovation and sport, and to create opportunities for young people worldwide to grow." He added, "We will actively support the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow ambassadors selected this time together with the IOC so they can grow into future leaders who drive positive social change through technology and sport."