Youth Summit 2025: New Horizons: Youth-Led Innovation for a Livable Planet

The 2025 World Bank Group Youth Summit invites young changemakers, innovators, and leaders to shape a sustainable and inclusive future through bold, youth-driven solutions. Under the theme "New Horizons: Youth-Led Innovation for a Livable Planet," this year’s summit focuses on three transformative areas:

1. Digital Transformation & Data: Discover how youth leverage technology, including AI and big data, to drive economic growth, bridge the digital divide, and create a future-ready labor market.
2. Climate Action & Resilience: Explore innovative solutions for green technologies, smart cities, and sustainable agriculture, showcasing how young leaders can combat climate change while creating job opportunities.
3. Creative Industries: Highlight the role of arts, media, and fashion in fostering employment, social and economic change, promoting sustainability, and preserving cultural heritage.

When discussing these subthemes, the Summit will focus on three fresh perspectives on innovation: Underserved populations, Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV), and Partnerships. By spotlighting these areas, the event aims at amplifying diverse voices, fostering innovation for sustainable development, and building collaborative networks to scale impact globally.

Join us in celebrating the creativity, technology, and entrepreneurial spirit of young leaders as they redefine possibilities, impulse new job opportunities, and lead the charge for a more inclusive and resilient world.

Why is it relevant?

85% of the world’s youth live in low- and middle-income countries, with 600 million in fragile or conflict-affected settings. Nearly 800 million young people in developing nations risk being excluded from the job market over the next decade, particularly those from marginalized groups facing barriers due to gender, ethnicity, disability, and other social identities. Despite these challenges, young people are driving innovation, which is a key factor to create new job opportunities, promote inclusion, and tackle climate change.

Youth-led initiatives are already making an impact, such as using real-time data to improve agricultural resilience, launching digital platforms for financial inclusion, and navigating their way into creative industries. These innovations offer new business models and industries, helping to address the rising youth unemployment crisis and solve some development challenges. 

The 2025 Summit will focus on amplifying these efforts, particularly in key sectors like education, healthcare, and green technologies. It will highlight how innovation can provide job opportunities and empower marginalized populations, in line with the World Bank Group’s priorities. The Summit aims to foster global partnerships among youth, governments, businesses, and civil society to scale up youth-led solutions, contributing to a more inclusive and sustainable future for young people worldwide.

The WBG Youth Summit is the World Bank Group’s premier event for young leaders worldwide. As a delegate, you will have the opportunity to engage with global development leaders, participate in high-level discussions, and contribute to shaping solutions to pressing global challenges. Delegates are emerging changemakers—students, young professionals, and entrepreneurs—who are passionate about development issues and eager to collaborate with like-minded peers. APPLY HERE NOW! Applications will be open until April 15, 2025.

Components of the Summit

Delegates will actively participate in various components of the WBG Youth Summit, which include:

• Keynote Addresses and Panel Discussions: Engage with world-renowned speakers, policymakers, and development experts on global challenges and innovative solutions.

• Innovation Lab (formerly Case Challenge): Put on your innovation hats and take part in hands-on, interactive workshops to build innovative solutions for real World Bank Group Projects (for in-person delegates only).

• Interactive Q&A and Polling: Engage with speakers and panelists through live Q&A sessions and polls.

• Networking Opportunities: Connect with professionals, World Bank Group representatives, private-sector partners and fellow young leaders from around the world.

• Career Development Session: Get an opportunity to learn about different internships and programs that can prove to be your entryway into a rewarding career. Past presenters include colleagues from WBG, WB Treasury, IMF, UN, IDB, etc. 

• Choose a Pitch Competition winner: Witness the Pitch Competition final where the top 6 finalists showcase their groundbreaking youth-led initiatives and projects in a shark-tank like competition. Vote for your favorite solution or idea to decide on the Audience Choice Award. 

Perks of Being a Delegate

• Be part of a prestigious global platform for youth-driven impact and innovation.

• Gain insights from industry leaders, policymakers, and development professionals.

• Expand your global network with like-minded individuals and experts.

• Receive an official certificate of participation from the World Bank Group Youth Summit upon completion.

• Enhance your leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in a dynamic and engaging environment.

By becoming a delegate, you will not only contribute to meaningful discussions but also gain valuable knowledge and connections to further your impact in the development space. Apply now to be part of this transformative experience!

The Youth Summit’s Innovation Lab, formerly known as the Case Challenge, provides in-person delegates of the Summit a unique opportunity to collaborate on actual World Bank Group case projects. 

Once again, this year, the World Bank Group (WBG) Youth Summit will feature an action-based learning component through the Innovation Lab on the theme "New Horizons: Youth-Led Innovation for a Livable Planet". The Innovation Lab, formerly known as the Case Challenge, is an integral part of the WBG Youth Summit taking place on May 19-20, 2025.

The collaborative element of the Innovation Lab is an essential part of the 2025 WBG Youth Summit on the promotion of innovative and efficient solutions contributing to global development, with a vision of fostering an engaging environment between all the in-person delegates, the WBG staff and the facilitators.

During the 2025 Summit, all in-person delegates will engage in the Innovation Lab designed to provide hands-on experience. This team-based, simulated scenario will allow participants to actively identify pivotal challenges and opportunities in fostering innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. These facilitated sessions will provide participants the experience to work with their peers to develop innovative solutions to real WBG case projects. The Innovation Lab will provide a unique platform to demonstrate their knowledge, problem-solving skills, and innovative ideas while co-creating and networking with peers as well as the experts in the field.

Participants are randomly divided into groups to form case teams. Teams are tasked with devising an innovative solution to the given case prompt within allotted time and presenting their solutions to a panel comprised of WBG senior leads and external partners. With an eclectic array of experiences and skills within every group, individuals will enhance their own communication and teamwork skills.

Read through the FAQ below to get more information.

FAQ

1. How does WBG define Innovation?

Innovation is finding and applying new approaches to address existing problems or serve unmet needs. From a development perspective, an innovation is a new solution with the transformative ability to accelerate impact. Innovation can be fueled by science and technology, can entail improved ways of working with new and diverse partners, or can involve new social and business models or policy, creative financing mechanisms, or path-breaking improvements in delivering essential services and products. Innovation has been and will be pivotal for reaching sustained, scalable solutions to the world’s complex problems. 

2. What is the “New Horizons: Youth-Led Innovation for a Livable Planet” Innovation Lab? 
The Innovation Lab is a 2-day case challenge for all the in-person participants of the Youth Summit, where teams propose innovative solutions to cases based on real World Bank Group projects. 

The Innovation Lab provides delegates with a unique opportunity to craft innovative solutions aimed at addressing contemporary challenges encountered by regional communities. These solutions not only address local issues but also have the potential to yield global impact upon implementation. During the Innovation Lab, the teams will focus on one of the three salient sub-themes: (i) climate action; (ii) digital transformation; and (iii) creative industries. Under these themes, the following perspectives will be taken into consideration: underserved populations, youth in Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) areas, and the potential for partnerships to create change.

3. What is the difference between the Innovation Lab and the Youth Summit Pitch Competition? 
The Innovation Lab is a case challenge for all the in-person participants of the Youth Summit, where teams propose innovative solutions to cases based on real World Bank Group projects. It is a foundational action-based learning component of the Youth Summit, seamlessly integrated into the two-day event.

The Pitch Competition is an annual competition that runs concurrent with the Youth Summit and culminates during the two-day event. Ahead of the Summit, young professionals from all over the world are invited to propose action-oriented business-level or policy-level solutions that illustrate how their innovations can solve/have impact on pressing development challenges while addressing challenges relating to youth in FCV-affected areas, underserved populations and the potential of partnerships. A jury of experts will pre-select the most compelling proposals based on three pillars and invite their authors (individuals or teams) to pitch them during the live competition. Winners will be designated by votes from the jury and members of the audience. For more information on the WBG Youth Summit Competition, please consult the Pitch Competition section of our website.

4. When and where is the Innovation Lab going to be held? 
The  Innovation Lab is fully integrated into the two days of the WBG Youth Summit so that participants can be inspired by the discussions they attend during the panel sessions on innovative solutions for a livable planet and apply their learnings to the Innovation Lab. This year’s Innovation Lab section will be 100% in-person at the WBG HQ in Washington D.C.

5. What kind of work is done on the cases? 
The proposed cases are rooted in actual WBG projects, strategically chosen to prompt delegates to delve deeply into the core development issues of the Youth Summit subthemes. Through this process, they will tailor solutions to their unique contexts. Delegates will hone their research, teamwork, consulting and presentation skills by engaging in problem-solving exercises modelled after real-world scenarios. Facilitators and frameworks will provide guidance throughout, aiding delegates in effectively addressing the challenges presented.

6. Who will take part in the Innovation Lab? 
All in-person delegates selected to attend the 2025 World Bank Group Summit in Washington DC at the WBG headquarters will be required to participate in the Innovation Lab. The in-person delegates will be randomly split into groups of 5-6 people  and will work in their assigned teams to solve the case challenge based on the subthemes of the Summit. 

7. Do participants have to apply individually or as part of a team? 
By applying to attend the 2025 edition in person, participants are automatically required to take part in the Innovation Lab. All teams are formed during the actual event, to test the effectiveness of the delegates’ communication and teamwork skills when teamed up with people they have not known previously.

8. How will the delegates participate in the Innovation Lab?

All delegates will be randomly divided into groups to form the case teams. Accepted delegates will be provided with detailed instructions about what to expect during the Innovation Lab and how to prepare for it prior to the Summit. It will be the delegates’ responsibility to go through the material shared before arrival. The team allocation for the delegates will be provided on arrival during Summit registration. The case details for the Innovation Lab will be provided during an allocated session of the Summit.

On day one of the Summit, the delegate teams will have 2 timed sessions allocated for the Innovation Lab. These facilitated sessions will allow participants the opportunity to work with their peers to develop their innovative solutions to real WBG case projects. The teams will submit their solutions at the end day one, and details for the final submission will be provided during the Summit. 

On day two, all delegate teams will present their solutions to a jury of subject-matter experts in the morning for the first round of qualifications. Later in the day, the shortlisted teams will present their case solutions to a jury comprised of WBG senior leaders and external partners for the final round of presentations.

9. Is any previous case experience required? 
This is meant to be a fun learning experience, providing delegates the opportunity to showcase their innovative and creative ideas, so no previous experience is required. We may assign delegates with prior experience in a specific subtheme to its corresponding case. 

10. Is there a participation fee? 
No.

11. Who designs/gives the case? 
The cases are provided by the WBG Youth Summit organizers and have been designed with the help of a group of young and experienced World Bank Group volunteers.

12. Who is facilitating the Innovation Lab? 
Facilitators are young, skilled professionals who possess substantial expertise in climate action, digital transformation, and creative industries. Their role is to lead participants through each stage of the Innovation Lab, fostering engaging discussions, ensuring seamless interaction, and addressing any queries that may arise, thus enhancing the overall experience.

13. How is the winning team of the Innovation Lab determined? 
On the event's second day, all delegate teams will present their solutions, based on the instructions which will be provided during the Summit, to a jury of subject experts in the morning for the first round of qualifications. This jury will shortlist teams judged on their innovative solutions and the presentation of those solutions. Later in the day, the shortlisted teams will present their innovative solutions to the WBG cases to a jury comprised of WBG senior leaders and external partners. This panel of jury members will select the winning team/s.

14. What do participants get out of this?

• Participants will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience of the work conducted at the WBG by working on cases based on real WBG projects.

• Participants will have the opportunity to experience the challenges of tackling a development case under the mentorship of professionals in this area.

• Participants will have the opportunity to apply knowledge gained during the plenary sessions and apply it directly, to learn more interactively on the global impact of localized solutions to development challenges across communities and regions.

• Participants will have the opportunity to network with professionals and team members and to learn more about opportunities for future collaboration.

Following deliberations of the panel of experts, the winning team/s will receive a prize (prizes to be confirmed). 

This year's Youth Summit Steering Committee members are: