International Youth Day 2022 Webinar
Towards a more age-inclusive generation of creators, innovators and entrepreneurs
On August 12, 2022, people across the globe gathered virtually to celebrate International Youth Day (IYD). This year’s IYD highlighted intergenerational solidarity and its importance to leverage the full potential of all generations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To commemorate this special day dedicated to Youth, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) partnered with the International Trade Center (ITC) to organize a flagship virtual event around Intergenerational Solidarity: creating a world for all ages.
Here’s how it went down...
The event acknowledged and celebrated the young people who are innovating to create a better future for their communities. WIPO Assistant Director General Edward Kwakwa opened International Youth Day 2022 by providing an inspirational keynote address that appealed to the child in each and every one of us. He reminded us to dream big and dance to the beat of our own drum just as he did when he started drumming in his youth.
The session was moderated by Ms. Aya Chebbi, Tunisian youth activist and former African Union Special Envoy on Youth. She seamlessly took the audience through two panel discussions featuring inspiring young innovators and entrepreneurs. The panelists reflected on their experience with intergenerational solidarity in their innovation journeys as well as the age and gender related barriers they faced, and the path to creating an inclusive, sustainable ecosystem that empowers young people everywhere.
The panelists had a clear message for the world. They want people of all generations to come together to create viable avenues for young people to express their ideas and voices on a global stage, by allowing them to take their proverbial seats at decision making tables alongside their older counterparts across fields of politics, entrepreneurship, academia, activism, innovation and many more. With adequate support, young innovators have the potential to bring about much needed change by designing solutions to the world’s most pressing issues like inequality, climate change and global health challenges.
During the session, Mr. Kwakwa renewed WIPO’s commitment to supporting youth and reiterated the importance of intergenerational collaboration to empower young people to make the most of the intellectual property system.
While we celebrate all young people across the world, let us as elders be reminded that we also have a role to play to ensure that they have the most enabling environment to thrive.
Edward Kwakwa, Assistant Director General, Global Challenges and Partnerships Sector, WIPO
Creating an enabling environment means making a concerted effort to close the generational divide that exists in functional economic activity and especially in leadership. Reflecting on her tenure as the very first African Union Special Envoy on Youth, Ms. Aya Chebbi proposed the concept of “intergenerational co-leadership”, arguing that “we cannot inherit systems we did not co-design...We have to start co-leading now, we have to reform together the failing systems and bridge this generational gap”.
On that note, we must consider how to empower the young innovators of today while also respecting the youth of yesterday who paved the way for the new generation. How do we create a balance between preservation of traditions and the advancement of knowledge through innovation? The panel of young innovators spoke to these pivotal questions by sharing their experiences of starting businesses and the ways in which they navigated various age-related dynamics along the way. They each shared key points on creating an inclusive ecosystem for all ages. Most of our speakers agreed that intergenerational solidarity has been an essential component to the creation of their brands. Many said that they benefited from the help of older mentors who gave them the foundation to evolve in their fields, gaining wisdom by learning from the mentors’ past mistakes. A lot of them agreed on the importance of maintaining the line of communication between generations to enable the passing on of traditions, an act that contributes to keeping them alive. The young panelists also reflected on the importance of supporting indigenous groups to reach global markets and to sustain and protect their cultural practices.
Another hot topic that was touched upon is the phenomenon of ageism. Discussions revealed several challenges the panelists had encountered as young inventors, creators and entrepreneurs. A recurring theme related to age and gender-based inequalities and discrimination that contributes to undermining the ability young people and especially young women to enter the global economic market.
With this conversation around intergenerational solidarity, we are trying to close a gap, we want the older generation to be able to look at us young people and know that we are filled with so much creativity, and have so much knowledge to bring to the table.
Nadia Owusu, Youth Advocate, United Youth Initiative for Africa, Ghana.
Offering some insightful advice to other young innovators facing the same hurdles, all speakers agreed that young people today would do well to surround themselves with role models, be critical thinkers and collaborate. The key message that can be taken from this webinar is that intellectual and creative production are not exclusively preserved activities for certain groups and demographics. Considerations of inclusivity and diversity therefore become important aspects of any discourse around systems of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Panelists stressed that we must be honest about unfair power dynamics that create hurdles for youth and for women and girls if real progress is to be made.
Your contribution in the space is unique and you should make that contribution […] spaces aren’t necessarily meant or designed for you but that’s why you have to enter them, design it for yourself and in doing so, you are designing it for all the other young people that are behind you and also young females that are behind you.
Kiara Nirghin, Inventor & Co-Founder, Stealth Health Startup, South Africa.
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If this webinar managed to inform, entertain and inspire, then it will have served its purpose. If you missed the event or want to watch it again, click on the recording link below.
Watch the recordingWhat's on the horizon?
ITC and WIPO would like to keep the momentum going and as such have planned two more events along the same theme as the IYD webinar: Intergenerational solidarity, creating a world for all ages.
We invite you to register to participate on Tuesday, 20 September 2022 in the ITC-WIPO Youth Film Screening either in person or virtually.
Join us thereafter on Tuesday, 4 October 2022 for a Youth Art and Innovation Fair. Check the official WIPO website regularly for more information.
