Watch: Best Practices for Youth Engagement in Green Innovation

November 25, 2020

Watch the recent WIPO GREEN webinar on empowering youth participation in green innovation initiatives, which brought together young green tech inventors and global experts in youth empowerment and sustainable innovation.

The recording of the two-hour webinar has been divided in four parts. You are welcome to watch the entire webinar or choose a panel that interests you most.

Introductions: WIPO and WIPO GREEN

WIPO Director General Mr. Daren Tang introduced the webinar and the role of WIPO in supporting young inventors.

Further, Ms. Fleure Maricaux, Project Consultant, Climate Change and Food Security, Global Challenges Division, Global Issues Sector, WIPO, introduced WIPO GREEN and spoke about intellectual property as the springboard for youth green innovation.

Panel 1: Programs empowering the new generation of climate innovators

Four international youth empowerment and sustainable innovation experts presented their organization’s programmes and the support they offer to youth.

The first speaker, Ms. Katie Hoeflinger, Project Specialist, Climate & Environment, Global Shapers Community at the World Economic Forum, spoke about the ways in which the Climate and Environment Global Shapers community address the transition to a green economy.

The second panelist, Ms. Julia Binder, Deputy to the Vice-President for Innovation and Head of Tech4Impact at Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), explored the challenges young innovators face in developing and scaling their green technologies and businesses, and explained how EPFL Changemakers address these challenges. She also spoke about the use of intellectual property by young inventors to foster green tech innovation.

The next speaker, Ms. Luise Heidenreich, Co-Head Education & Learning at EIT Climate-KIC Switzerland, explained how Climate-KIC mobilizes and engages with communities of young innovators, particularly focusing on the Young Innovators Programme, which encourages climate change innovation.

The last speaker on the first panel, Ms. Hila Cohen, Head of Business Development and Chief of Staff at the World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator, introduced the Innovation Accelerator and spoke about the ways in which it supports young entrepreneurs as well as about its impact on climate innovation.

Panel 2: Innovators’ spotlight: business stories, perspectives, experiences

During the second panel of the webinar, four young entrepreneurs presented their green technology ventures and answered three questions:

Why did they start their venture? Why is it innovative?
What were their challenges and how did they overcome them?
How are young “greenpreneurs” supported in their region and how could this support be improved?

The four speakers on this panel were:

Hellena Sailas, Co-Founder and CEO of Arena Recycling Industry, Tanzania
Rafael Alonso, Co-founder of Cultivo, Mexico
Ali Ashraf, CIO of ForresOn, Pakistan
Kamal-deen Kassim, CEO/CTO of Hinata Energy, Nigeria

Q&A Session and Closing Remarks

A vivid questions and answers session was followed by closing remarks delivered by WIPO Assistant Director General, Mr. Minelik Alemu Getahun.

About WIPO GREEN