Challenges. For a host of reasons, young people have been led to believe they are in some way incapable and unprepared to inherit the earth. Perhaps it’s a function of the country they are born in and its culture, or even media and ingrained social conditioning. The World Bank estimates that 1 billion young people will enter the labour market in the next 10 years, but only 400 million of them are likely to find formal jobs. Nine tenths of today’s 1.8 billion young people live in the low and lower middle income countries, and many will face barriers to accessing meaningful work. In truth, climate change, social inequality, gender discrimination are legacies of previous generations. But we believe that gen-next has the potential to tackle the challenges with innovation, creativity, determination and new ideas that will shape a better future. Innovators at heart, they are used to tackling problems at scale, transforming the communities and industries in which they and their families work.

This very minute. As we speak, there are countless young people from around the world demonstrating these traits. From girls risking their lives to learn, to teenage survivors of gun violence lobbying to change the law, to an entire generation of school students mobilising a strike for action on climate change, these are the young people creating a Change4Good. It is their stories that we want to share with the world.

Centre‐stage. We believe that showcasing young owners of the future will create a new breed of pro-active heirs to the world. We’re spearheading a solutions-oriented series of programmes and workshops focused on upskilling, networking, and mentoring youth to inspire new ideas, debates, data and bold analyses to reveal the gaps to facilitate young leaders from marginalised backgrounds into the innovators they are destined to be. The focus would be on unusual, cross-sector collaborations, marrying private and public sector expertise and funding, to scale up and accelerate their social impact.

Next-­gen leadership.  Low and low-middle income countries are full of opportunities for young people because many of them have the energy and eagerness to make a difference in the world. That’s why young people – students, social entrepreneurs, activists – need to play an active part in this too as drivers of change and innovation.

We’re in search of the next generation of Global South trailblazers committed to steering the change we want to see in this world. We want rule breakers. Problem solvers. Rebels with a cause. Champions of The World We Want. We aim to provide an opportunity for youth entrepreneurs to have a seat at the table, have their voices heard and to come up with creative solutions to take forward their visions to create a sustainable world.