Youth engagement is critical to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. To tackle the challenges the world faces, we will need the full participation of the youth so they can share their innovative ideas for solutions. Ideas for Action (I4A) is a competition for youth to share their ideas for financing sustainable development. It is jointly organized by the World Bank Group and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The winners were selected from more than 740 submissions from 118 countries. The I4A competition engages young people around the world to encourage them to develop and share their ideas for financing solutions to deliver on the ambitious 2030 development agenda.
The event will feature the launch of the book, Financing Sustainable Development: Ideas for Action 2017.
The key objective of the event would be to highlight the importance of the ideas, inspiration, and leadership of those who will soon assume global and local responsibility for sustainable development and shared prosperity. The competition does not offer a financial prize, but something just as, if not more, important — access and opportunity. It provides opportunities for the next generation of leaders to contribute to the narrative shaping the 2030 Development Agenda and its objectives, and take ownership of its financing and implementation. It also provides access to some of the leading professionals in the global development industry and the private sector.
Profile of expected participants: In addition to WBG practitioners working on youth issues and/or the SDGs, we expect the event to be relevant and of interest to any development practitioner. The winning teams, indeed many of the teams that participated in the competition, have compelling stories that resonate with youth innovators around the world grappling with exactly these everyday developmental challenges. These solutions provide inspiration for the development of solutions to some of the most pressing challenges.