Today’s youth will be responsible for implementing the newly adopted 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approved by the UN in September 2015. The SDGs are an ambitious and transformative set of goals, covering a broad range of interconnected issues, from sustainable economic growth, to social issues, to global public goods. To realize this vision, a just-as-ambitious plan for financing and implementation is needed.
In July, UN member states endorsed a financing for development action agenda, which outlines a wide range of different action areas and commitments for the international community. Youth engagement and innovation will be critical for success. The Ideas for Action competition engages young people from around the world to encourage them to develop and share their ideas for financing solutions to deliver the SDGs.
Ideas for Action, a joint program of the World Bank and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the Wharton School, is a youth competition centered around financing sustainable development.
Every year, students and young professionals from around the world participate to design ideas for financing and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Winners of the competition present their ideas during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, receive support from a dedicated startup accelerator at the Wharton School, and benefit from unique networking opportunities with other young leaders as well as some of the most senior decision-makers in international development, academia, and the private sector.
The competition is intended to help catalyze a global conversation among young people all around the world. Conversations happen virtually, over social media networks, and in person, and we hope that you will engage with others who share your passion for international development.
We want you to join this conversation. We want you to change the world!