December 4th 2013 and October 23rd 2014 Bottletree
Globally Challenged presented a chance for Birminghamians to show off their knowledge of world culture through friendly and humor filled competition. Audience members and competitors were exposed to the best of our planet's music, art, literature, and more while interacting with one another in this participatory event. There were plenty of opportunity for the brightest, bravest, and luckiest to win fantastic prizes. Proceeds from the event went to the Birmingham International Center, a non-profit organization whose mission it is to promote global business development, including global education,
in the State of Alabama. The 2014 edition featured performances by renowned Colombian guitarist,Holguer Pimiento, three Flamenco dancers from Corazon Flamenco, and a Middle Eastern belly dancer from Aziza of Birmingham. Competitors signed up and were assigned a country within a particular continent. Four continent teams (Asia, Africa, South America, Europe) competed against each other by answering trivia questions about world culture and geography. The team with the most points advanced to the final round, where the former teammates played against each other as individual countries. Winners were awarded medals donated by the Birmingham Trophy Shop, as well as gift certificates to local fine dining restaurants and other desirable destinations. Each year was judged by a cosmopolitan tribunal of local intelligentsia, with 2014's edition featuring Carole Griffin of Continental Bakery Downtown and Chez Lulu, Eric Fournier, Geography professor at Samford University, and Rosie O'Beirne of UAB Digital Media. The challenging questions, clever game set up, and humorous dialogue between Max, the judges, and the contestants made Globally Challenged a success. Poster design by Scott Carlisle (2013) and Omari Jazz (2014).
