The globe-spanning event, which was headquartered in Bangkok and included satellite showcases in Milan and São Paolo, was kicked off by DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. After unveiling the latest additions to the Galaxy A range, which Koh described as “devices that make cutting-edge innovation the standard for everyone,” Samsung demonstrated how it optimized the smartphones, inside and out, for the way we communicate today.

In case you missed it, here’s a recap of some of A Galaxy Event’s most exciting moments.

[Bangkok]

DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics, takes to the stage in Bangkok and introduces the crowd to the Galaxy A70 and Galaxy A80.

Koh proudly presents the Galaxy A70 (right) and Galaxy A80 (left), the latter of which features Samsung’s first-ever rotating camera.

Samsung Malaysia’s Rue Bee Quak walks the audience through the ins and outs of the Galaxy A80’s Intelligent Performance Enhancer, which, as she put it, “learns how you use the phone, predicts what apps you will open, and optimizes its performance.”

Samsung New Zealand’s Jacob Barton describes how the Galaxy A70’s Super AMOLED Infinity-U Display offers “a richer viewing experience through spectacularly vibrant colors in all conditions. So you can enjoy every pixel of your photos, videos and games.”

After the presentation, Samsung welcomes the Galaxy A series’ newest ambassadors to the stage – Lisa, Jennie, Rosé and Jisoo, of K-Pop sensation BLACKPINK – who thrill the crowd with an unforgettable performance.

After the performance, BLACKPINK’s Lisa (left) and Jisoo share a few of their favorite Galaxy A series features.

‘A Galaxy Event’ MC, Bam Pitipat Kootrakul (left), poses with a guest for a fun selfie with the Galaxy A70

Guests get hands-on with the Galaxy A70 and Galaxy A80 in the Bangkok event’s experience zone.

[Milan]

‘A Galaxy Event’s Italian showcase was held at the city’s famed Padiglione 3.

The reveal of the Galaxy A70 was met with boisterous applause.

The experience zone at Samsung’s satellite event in Milan is packed with guests eager to test out the new smartphones’ powerful features.

A guest snaps a photo of the Galaxy A70’s sleek, ergonomic design.

In Milan, the fun continues after the showcase with a live performance.

[São Paolo] 

A new generation enters the Era of Live.

A Galaxy Event’s São Paolo showcase offered fun for all ages.

Guests of the São Paolo event take part in a fun, Galaxy-inspired Dance Studio.

Excited audience members connect through an incredible live experience.

Members of the media test out the Galaxy A products in the São Paolo event’s experience zone.

The 43rd WorldSkills Competition (WSC) took place August 11-16, 2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Started in 1950, the WorldSkills Competition has been held biennially since 1973 to promote skills excellence and to foster relationships among young professionals around the world. Samsung participated as an Overall Event Presenter of the WorldSkills Competition for the second consecutive year.

The event was created to serve as a global contest where young professionals with top tier talent compete together. The WSC also hopes to motivate and encourage the future talent of skilled professionals. In addition, the event raises global awareness of the importance of skills training and job creation by promoting international cooperation between governments and businesses.

Samsung Electronics has been training competitors to compete since WorldSkills Linz 1983, in Austria. This year, Samsung sent nine competitors, who competed in seven skills categories, winning five gold medals in Mechatronics, Mobile Robotics, Plastic Die Engineering, CNC Milling and IT Network Systems Administration, as well as a silver medal in IT Software Solutions for Business.

Three of Samsung’s Worldskills medalists, Seongje Park (Mechatronics), Sanghoon Yoo (IT Software Solutions for Business) and Minwoo Choi (IT Network Systems Administration), spoke to Samsung Tomorrow to share their thoughts on their achievements at WorldSkills Sao Paulo 2015.

Achieving Life Goals

Since they were young, Minwoo Choi, Sanghoon Yoo and Seongje Park all had a keen interest in their respective fields. After joining skills training clubs in high school, they started their journeys to prepare for the National Skills Competition, their careers as technicians and the challenges of competing at the WorldSkills Competition.

To participate in the WSC, they not only had to prove themselves in the National Skills Competition, but also had to pass the selection process to join Team Korea. Their determination and hard work paid off; each scored medals in the national event, winning their tickets to the WSC. In addition, they were offered jobs at Samsung, which gave them the opportunity to prepare for the competition.

All three agreed that Samsung spared no effort to provide equipment and facilities for the WorldSkills competitors, which was invaluable. “I was even more pleased to get practical advice from our seniors who have professional experience,” said Yoo.

Though overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the venue at the WSC site in Brazil, the whole Samsung Team supported each other and cheered for the others to boost morale and confidence as competitors.

During the four-day long event, each competitor must finish four to six tasks within a given time limit. Park faced additional challenges during the contest; the interface system for his stations and software device did not function properly. Realizing that his equipment was faulty, he made a request to the expert, but it was not accepted. Instead of giving up, he skipped lunch with his partner to find the faulty part, finally fixing the problem.

Choi credits his success to hard-earned expertise through diverse training programs, provided by Samsung. Though Yoo initially found it difficult to adjust to his new environment on his first day, he soon overcame this challenge and was able to focus on the competition.

Because of age requirements and a one-time entry into the competition, winning a medal at the WSC is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Each could feel the special triumph that was “truly beyond descriptions” at the moment of victory.

Victory Comes from Hard Work and Passion

When asked the secret behind Team Samsung’s success, all three agreed it was due to “hard work and passion.”

“Some of my training coaches are champions of WSC, and their tips and know-how helped me a lot,” said Yoo. The three medalists also expressed their belief that Samsung’s dedicated support served as a driving force of the team’s success.

The young men were also eager to express their thanks to the support staff. “The entire staff, including experts, training coaches and volunteer translators, really assisted us in many ways, enabling us to concentrate solely on the competition. Throughout the event, we were really grateful to have such great people supporting us,” said Yoo, on behalf of his teammates.

With world-class expertise, good manners and attitudes, these young men truly deserve to be called among the world’s best.

What’s Next?

Having achieved their goals, Samsung Tomorrow asked the young men about what’s next. “I’ve concentrated on the practice so far, so I plan to study the theories more to be a truly skilled technician. My motto is ‘review the old to learn the new’. I will continue to study IT technologies to join the leaders of IT security,” said Choi.

Expressing his hope for the future, Yoo said “Going forward, my wish is that more people will give their attention to skills competitions and support young professionals.”

“My ambition is to be the first master engineer in mechatronics in Korea,” said Park. “I was thrilled to experience the cutting-edge automated facilities at Samsung with my own eyes. In the future, I want to design an automated production line of my own.”

Advice for the Future

The three young medalists shared their advice for young people with Samsung Tomorrow. “Don’t get distracted by what others say, but go all the way and do your best to achieve your goals,” said Yoo. “Always be positive and grateful,” added Choi.

Park’s last message reflects the spirit of the WSC. “Be proud of your own expertise, and never give up anything before you really try it.”

Samsung Electronics spoke at this year’s WorldSkills conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil – the high profile event on skills, education and job creation for young people.

Hosted by the organizing committee of the WorldSkills Sao Paulo 2015 Competition, the conference welcomed UNESCO representatives, education and labor ministers from 74 member countries and corporate sponsors.

As Overall Event Presenter, Samsung Electronics shared insights into what lies ahead in the IT industry. Dr. Ji-Oh Song, Secretary General of Samsung Skills, presented entitled “Samsung’s skills-related activities” during the Global Partner session titled “A Glimpse at Industry’s Future Skills and Technologies” on August 14th.

Samsung began its sponsorship of the WorldSkills Competition in 2007. Since then, the company has continued to support the dreams and hopes of young people by promoting skills excellence and providing them with successful role models and good quality job opportunities.

Samsung and its subsidiaries have been engaged in partnerships with related organizations, and WorldSkills member countries to operate skills-related training programs, including the WorldSkills Training Program, Samsung Vietnam Project, and Samsung Tech Institute.

Samsung has been operating the WorldSkills Training Program in collaboration with Human Resource Development (HRD) Service of Korea. The initiative focuses on career development for young people and provides them with opportunities to join a specially arranged advanced training program in Korea.

Through the WorldSkills Training Program, competitors and delegates from the six countries (Brazil , Guatemala, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa and Russia) taking part in the WorldSkills Competition visited Korea for two weeks in October 2014. During their visit, the 21 visitors participated in a range of activities to enhance their skills excellence.

For Samsung Vietnam Project, Samsung invited two Vietnamese WorldSkills competitors to Korea to help them hone their skills. Now that their 13-month long training stint at the Samsung Electronics Skills Training Center in Korea is complete, they are challenging themselves to win the first ever medal for Vietnam in the WorldSkills Competition Sao Paulo 2015.

Samsung Tech Institute program provides young people with IT training opportunities to support their transition from education to employment. To better meet the local needs of different countries, Samsung Tech Institute provides education opportunities to nurture young people in building careers as software experts and customer service engineers for IT products.

As of 2014, Samsung operates a total of 116 Tech Institutes in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. As of May 2015, Samsung has been sponsoring young technicians in Russia in partnership with WorldSkills Russia.

“We have much more to do to help skilled young people make their dreams and hopes come true” Dr.Song said at the WorldSkills Conference. “Samsung will continuously collaborate with WorldSkills members and partners to accomplish this.”

The Global Partners’ session included a number of corporate sponsors including 3M, AWS (American Welding Society), Autodesk, and Cisco.The presentation covered a diverse range of topics including closing the gap between technologies, skills development programs, future jobs, and new education models for young people. The talk introduced Samsung’s various efforts to nurture skilled workers and to promote skills excellence through its WorldSkills activities.