Youth Summit: New Horizons Youth-Led Innovation for a Sustainable and Equitable World Program 2025

This year, the summit will center on innovation in climate action, digital transformation, and the creative industries.

The Youth Summit is the World Bank Group’s largest annual event will be held on May 19-20, 2025, featuring activities and engagements both at the World Bank Group headquarters in Washington DC and across various regions.

The mission of the Summit is to:

• Empower youth to explore innovative solutions to development challenges;
• Equip youth with the tools to create and participate in impactful projects; and
• Foster dialogue between youth, the World Bank Group, and other key global stakeholders.

Themes

• The World Bank Group Youth Summit 2025 Pitch Competition themes are:
  • Pillar 1: Data Driven Transformation
    • Data Analytics & AI: Leveraging data analytics and artificial intelligence to craft data-driven policies and solutions in critical fields.
    • Digital Health / Telemedicine: Using digital health platforms and telemedicine to expand healthcare access for underserved and remote populations.
    • Financial Inclusion and Fintech: Deploying financial technology (fintech) innovations, such as microlending, mobile banking, and blockchain, to bridge the financial gap and reduce poverty.
    • Cybersecurity and Privacy: Prioritizing robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information and safeguard privacy in an interconnected world.
  • Pillar 2: Climate Action & Resilience
    • Climate Data, IoT, and Data-Driven Disaster Risk Reduction: Harnessing climate data and IoT-enabled smart devices to monitor pollution, track energy usage, and manage environmental resources while supporting disaster risk reduction.
    • Digital Agriculture and Methane Mitigation for Climate Resilience: Leveraging digital agriculture technologies (DATs) and methane mitigation methods to enhance agricultural resilience and sustainability.
    • Geothermal Innovations for Sustainable Energy: Geothermal technology offers a low- emission solution for district heating, cooling, and power generation.
    • Enabling Carbon Markets through Data-Driven Approaches: Building robust, high- integrity carbon markets to finance climate action, particularly in developing regions.
    • Electric Vehicles (EVs) for Sustainable Mobility: Accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles to reduce emissions in the transportation sector.
  • Pillar 3: Empowering Change through Creative Industries
    • Digital Art for Good: Explore the use of digital platforms and tools to create and share content that actively promotes positive social change, raises awareness about important issues, educates people, encourages action, and contributes to a better world, often with a focus on causes like environmental sustainability, human rights, health, education, and social justice.
    • Sustainable and Inclusive Fashion: Engaging with fashion, be it by making, consuming or repurposing clothing, in ways that considers the environmental and human impacts of the industry or cater to people of all body types, genders, and cultures, challenging norms and promoting inclusivity.
    • 3Art for Social Change: Creative expression can drive meaningful societal transformation. Art projects and spaces can play a vital role in fostering social cohesions and inclusion as well as promoting civic engagement and voice.
    • Media for Inclusive Societies: In today’s interconnected world, media plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion, influencing policy decisions, and fostering social cohesion.

Benefits

• The six finalists selected after the interview round will join the hybrid WBG Youth Summit 2024 at the WBG Headquarters in Washington D.C. Travel expenses, including lodging and a nominal stipend for up to three nights, may be covered for up to one representative from each team.

Eligibility Criteria

• All team members are between 18 – 35 years old, on the date of the application deadline.
• Each team member should be from one of the World Bank Group member countries.
• The solution should address at least one of the three thematic pillars. Cross-thematic and scalable solutions across more than one pillar are also accepted for consideration.

For more information, visit The World Bank Group.