Igniting innovation to serve the most disadvantaged children

WHAT: UNICEF-Tsinghua Youth Innovation Forum (download agenda)

UNICEF and Tsinghua University invite you to the opening of the inaugural Youth Innovation Forum, an event to identify new ways to address the needs of world's most disadvantaged children and help contribute to global development.  

The forum will bring together more than 200 young people, designers, technologists, social entrepreneurs, academics, policy-makers and industry leaders from China and the global South, who will highlight their stories of innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as see how the application of technological advancements can contribute to the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. A number of key innovative projects from China and Africa will also be presented at the Youth Innovation Forum.

WHEN: 10.00 am on Saturday 17^th October 2015

WHERE: A301 Reporting Hall, Academy of Arts & Design (No.1 Qinghua yuan) Tsinghua University, Beijing

WHO:  Dr Lu Xiaobo, Dean, Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University

             Dr Sharad Sapra, Director, UNICEF Global Innovation Centre

             Dr Yinuo Li, Director, China Office of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

             Young innovators from China and technologists, designers and researchers from private sector

             Experts from the United Nations agencies and other development organizations

WHY: In a world with many complex challenges from urbanization, climate change, extreme poverty, as well as growing disparities, new innovative ways are needed to solve these complex problems. Innovative ideas and new technology can help address these challenges and help contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and meeting the rights of the world's most disadvantaged children.

In 2015, UNICEF's Global Innovation Centre was launched to accelerate UNICEF's work to take pro poor and development focused innovations from start-up to scale-up. UNICEF offices around the world, in partnership with academic organizations, Governments, NGOS and the private sector, are currently piloting hundreds of innovative projects to help improve the lives of the world's poorest children and their families. These projects tackle serious, seemingly intractable problems and come up with inventive and sustainable solutions. They are making children's lives better in areas like health, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, protection, and other needs.

Meanwhile, in China, “innovation-driven development” has become an important national strategy, contributing to addressing social and economic challenges. By partnering with Tsinghua University, a champion for innovation in China, UNICEF hopes to leverage new ideas, research and approaches to improving the development outcomes for children, not only in China but also in the other parts of the world, and contributing to reaching the sustainable development goals.

The Youth Innovation Forum is an example of how the public and private sectors can join hands to bring together the brightest young talents from China and the global South and inspire them to contribute to identifying solutions for the most vulnerable children in China as well as around the rest of the world.

Join us in the topic discussion #innovate4children (#创新为儿童#) on Weibo:  http://weibo.com/p/100808e804926119bde2ddd68fe067f96436c8