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Documents

Overview

In September 2015, the world leaders signed off on the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global agreement identifying the world’s policy priorities for the next 15 years. As the governments of Asia and the Pacific and the UN look towards implementation of the SDGs, it is increasingly being realized that one of the greatest challenges facing policymakers in the region is how to engage the region’s large youth population in achievement of the SDGs.

The UNDP believes that youth can make a real and positive difference by engaging with challenges head on through innovation, exploring dynamic approaches to mobilizing their peers and communities and creating adaptive solutions. An emphasis on promoting innovative solutions can help ensure that scarce resources are leveraged for maximum impact and engagement.

Since 2012, UNDP has been investing in exploring innovation by providing seed-funding to initiatives with the belief that innovation happens through practical explorations of new ways to address old problems. “Innovation” has tended to be understood by lay people as focusing primarily on tech solutions, but it is important to recognize that innovation can occur in multiple ways using multiple media. Innovation encompasses the creation of new ideas and processes to better harness talent and the development of new understandings of old problems or solutions. Japan presents fertile terrain for leading innovation practices in the Asia-Pacific region, and can lead the way to address ongoing social challenges domestically and internationally.

Through the Regional Youth Programme on Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Youth Co:Lab), a regional programme supported through the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub and co-led with Citi Foundation, UNDP Representation Office in Tokyo is seeking to empower and engage youth to internalize innovation, co-design and develop the next generation of services by prototyping new ideas and solutions that address national and global agenda.

It will support youth and other stakeholders to:

• Strengthen the ecosystem for enhanced coalition building and networking among young entrepreneurs, social innovators and youth-led networks and organisations with leaders and experts in the fields of business, development, finance, technology and innovation
• Build the capacity of young entrepreneurs, social innovators and youth-led networks and organisations through developmental exercises and mentoring, and recognise their skills and talent
• Provide funding and investment platform to scale successful innovations both nationally and regionally.