Lilou Beachy, a sophomore at Mid-Prairie High School, participated in the inaugural Future Problem Solving International Virtual Conference from June 1-9, 2020. She was selected for the scenario writing competition as one of three representatives from Iowa. Scenarios are evaluated on creative thinking, futuristic thinking, idea development, style, voice, character development, mechanics, and research.
The theme of the 2020 International Conference was “terraforming.” Beachy had three days to write a 1,000 word, short story following a future scene prompt. In her short story, “One Small Step for Moonkind,” a Russian soldier and a lunar colonist’s lives parallel during a probable mutiny. Both fighting for their causes, Alexei realizes he’s on the wrong side. Luna sees the hate all around her and rushes into danger to save her father. Alexei makes a difficult choice that changes the fate of the colony, going against his lifestyle and saving many innocent lives for the price of one.
The conference also entailed a 3D virtual platform where participants could move around a virtual conference center, meet other participants, view projects, read about sponsors, and collect mementos from around the world. A Facebook Live keynote address, opening ceremony, and flag procession officially kicked off the events on June 4th, showcasing the 48 affiliates from 11 countries represented at the conference. Students, parents, and coaches were invited to join sessions and discussions held through the Zoom platform on topics such as “How to Power Up Your Story Intelligence,” “A-Z Creativity,” or “Problem Solvers as leaders: It’s all about teamwork!” The conference culminated with a Facebook Live Watch Party Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, June 9.
Event videos and results can be found at www.facebook.com/fpspi and www.fpspi.org