Today is day C-4 (4 days before the competition begins). It was a very long day. As before, breakfast was at 6 a.m. and we boarded the bus at 7:15. On the way to Anhembi Park, I saw a couple of interesting items. This tree has seed pods that remind me of beans. Yes, it is likely a legume.
I also saw the power grid up close as we drove along. I wonder if new lines are added each time there is a problem with an existing line. I would think this would be very difficult to maintain over time.
Once I arrived at the site, I was able to enter the web design contest area. I learned that if you walk from one end of the WorldSkills competition sites to the other, you will have covered 2 km. Yes, that is a long distance. WorldSkills fills most of Anhembi Park.
Signs were starting to go up, but this is an incredibly large venue. I walked for quite a distance inside the pavilion (near where the bus dropped us off). This is a view of a small part of the pavilion.
Eventually, I found the Web Design area. Here are a couple of signs. Look closely at the one below (you might want to click on the image to enlarge it). My name is on the lower right (2nd from the bottom). I guess it is official, I am in São Paulo for the web design contest.
This is the sign in the ceiling area (if only I had thought to look up while searching for the contest location).
A number of experts were already present. Many mentioned my colleague (Bill Cullifer) and were saddened to learn that he would not be able to participate in the event this time. Everyone is very friendly and we had a lot of great discussions before the start of our work.
Most of the morning was spent with an orientation of what we can and can not share with our competitor (Nick in the case of the US). We reviewed when we are able to communicate and strategize/ answer questions. One thing about WorldSkills is they want us to stay hydrated and healthy. I thought this was an interesting way to serve water.
Interestingly, everything is covered in plastic to keep it as sanitary as possible. Yes, this is a banana.
We took some time for lunch. Increidbly, I had the opportunity to eat with Thomas (who is the person responsible for the layout part of our contest). He is from Macao. I also had lunch with a person from Mongolia (who is an expert in the carpentry contest) and a person from Austria (who is an expert in the restaurant skills contest). We had a very informative and enjoyable conversation. To me, this is one of the greatest aspects about WorldSkills – the opportunity to network with people from all over our planet. Sidebar – on the bus back to the hotel, I had a great conversation with a person from Russia who is here for the 3D printing demonstration contest.
If you are curious what the lunch crowd looks like, here is a quick photo of 1/2 the room that I took as we were placing our trays in the recycle area. Keep in mind, they feed everyone in an hour. Yes, we are eating in a large tent.
During the afternoon and evening, we reviewed the marking for our web design contest. We also discussed changes. Those who do not know, a test project is provided to every competitor. The invited experts than make 30% or more changes to the project so the work order will be a different for the competitor once they arrive on site. I believe Nick is traveling today and should have arrived this evening. He will be staying at the hotel on site. We had a number of great discussions. I was honored that several invited me to help with accessibility related questions. Everyone is very knowledgeable with respect to web design and development. Here is a photo of our working group later in the afternoon.
We had another meeting at 7 to wrap up our efforts today. This photo was taken just at the end of the day. The nice gentleman sitting next to me is the invited expert in web design from Saudi Arabia.
This is definitely a global event. I am most appreciative that I have been asked to be a part of this great group of knowledgeable and passionate individuals. I am making a number of contacts throughout the world and having a number of great conversations on many aspects of web design and development. I hope those reading this have a sense of the wonder I feel at this event.
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