RuralBots Initiative at the first DI_PLOMA Awards Gala
In July, we announced that RuralBots Initiative received the Silver award at the DI_PLOMA Awards 2026, Tech Inclusion by Worldpay category. On September 15, we also had the joy of officially receiving the award, during the first DI_PLOMA Awards Gala, organized by OPEN MINDS.
But it was more than just an award-winning moment.
The gala brought together people and projects working in very different areas of diversity and inclusion and gave us the opportunity to get to know them better, exchange ideas and talk about problems that, although they look different from one project to another, often have the same origin: unequal access to opportunities.
In the case of the RuralBots Initiative, things are very concrete. For more than two years, we have been trying to bring robotics, programming and STEM education to places where children have too few opportunities to come into contact with them. We started in Vasilați, continued in Mitreni and Valea Roșie, and the program is moving forward to new communities.
At the gala we also enjoyed meeting Alina Ghinea and Cristian Valentin Constantinescu, representatives of Worldpay, the company that supported the Tech Inclusion category. It was a good opportunity to talk about the RuralBots Initiative, what we have built so far, and how important continuity is when trying to bridge a gap that has formed over the years.
The Silver Award does not change the day-to-day work behind the project. The workshops remain the same, the kids continue to build, program, make mistakes and try again. But it is an important confirmation that the direction we are working in is seen outside the communities where we are present.
And maybe that's exactly why the DI_PLOMA Awards evening mattered: not just for the award received, but also for the people met and the conversations that came with it.
We thank OPEN MINDS for the invitation and for organizing the first DI_PLOMA Awards Gala, and Alina Ghinea, Cristian Valentin Constantinescu and the Worldpay team for supporting the Tech Inclusion category.
Together, we build a better world.