The Digital Youth Summit is a tech conference and startup expo which was organised in Pakistan in May 2014. It’s main objective is to bring together the next generation of digital innovators in Pakistan, with a primary focus on technology entrepreneurship, on-line work and ‘tech for social’ innovation.

DYS is a joint initiative of Peshawar 2.0, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board and the World Bank, and has already become a reference event for the tech community not only of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also Pakistan and beyond. The first edition saw an overwhelming participation: 800+ participants attended the two-day event in Peshawar, adding to the 4,000 participants over the internet, while #KPDYS14 became a trending topic on Twitter in Pakistan.

The Digital Youth Summit aims at growing further and becoming a leading platform to educate the general public, youth in particular, about tech entrepreneurship, on-line work as a high potential alternative to traditional jobs, and how social entrepreneurs can use Information and Communication Technologies to tackle social challenges.

The Summit is built on the fact that Information and Communication Technologies are more accessible than ever and can provide endless opportunities. Furthermore, anyone who has an innovative idea, once equipped with the essential knowledge and provided adequate guidance and mentorship, can become a tech entrepreneur.

The 2015 Digital Youth Summit will be a three-day event with plenary sessions with leading experts from Pakistan and all over the world, as well as breakout sessions on the various aspects of tech entrepreneurship, on-line and social innovations. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with leading and emerging innovators, entrepreneurs, freelancers, startup community leaders, investors and other staekholders.

The summit will be preceeded by a series of DYS events including Live Chat Sessions on tech entrepreneurship, on-line work and social innovation, as well as workhops that will take place in Peshawar. All the details of the events will be published on the website.

About Peshawar 2.0

Peshawar 2.0 is a social enterprise aimed at building a startup community in Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is a citizen/youth-led movement to rebuild and rebrand the City of Peshawar through innovation and entrepreneurship in technology, design and art. We believe entrepreneurship is an empowering medium to translate the creativity and talent of our youth into action that has social and economic impact. It is a medium of expression for the youth, a channel for their passion and energy, a source of income and job creation and the primary driver of a knowledge-based economy.

About the IT Board of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB) was established by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as autonomous body in 2011 for the promotion of Information Technology (IT), IT enable Services (ITeS) and IT enable Education (ITeE) in the province. Its mission is to create an environment that fosters the growth in the Information and Communications Technology sector.

About the World Bank in Pakistan

Established in 1944, the World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. The World Bank Group has set two goals for the world to achieve by 2030: end extreme poverty by decreasing the percentage of people living on less than $1.25 a day to no more than 3%; and promote shared prosperity by fostering the income growth of the bottom 40% for every country.

Since early 2014 the World Bank has been working with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board, Peshawar 2.0 and Code For Pakistan to foster tech entrepreneurship in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region through initiatives such as the Digital Youth Summit and Civic Hackathons.