The Youth Co:Lab is a programme brought to life by thousands of young people across the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to empower young people to lead social change in their communities and accelerate the implementation of the SDGs through social innovation and entrepreneurship.

Starting the fall of 2017, we will be embarking on a journey across several countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Each national dialogue will bring together the local youth, government, private sector and academia with the aim of promoting an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and strengthening the capacities of young entrepreneurs and social innovators to develop ideas and business models for social impact in their communities.    

Objectives:

·       Strengthen the ecosystem that fosters opportunities for young entrepreneurs

·       Develop the capacity of young social entrepreneurs and youth-led organizations

·       Provide the platform for enhanced coalition building and networking

Expected results:

Component 1: A four-day Youth National Dialogue on Inclusive Design was conveyed

1.     Training camp, over 2 days of the camp, young participants are expected to have thorough understanding of urban accessibility for marginalized group, initiate solutions with the guidance of facilitators, receive mentoring support and relevant skills development training. After the training, participants are given 3 weeks of field research and market validation, with a demo day for closing.

2.     Diagnostic workshop, over 35 key stakeholders will be brought together, to conduct an evidence-based diagnose of the ecosystem and map the way forward for more inclusive and productive regulations, services and programmes to level the playing field for young people.

3.     The Disability Equity Training (DET) has equipped participants with deep knowledge to the inclusion concept as well as better understandings to how to make an inclusive society through a more equal perspective. More importantly, participants have made friends during the trainings. They said their hearts were touched, by having such a good opportunity to have honest and equal conversations between people, even between people with disabilities and non-disabled people.

4.     The Design thinking workshop including user interviews and mentoring one-on-one session was organized. During that, the participants received comprehensive and interesting design thinking preparations, conducted interviews with their potential users (whom were invited by us), and they had opportunities to consult the mentors about their proposals.

5.     15 inclusive design proposals showcased in the final pitch. Out of 4 “scale-up” groups, the winner of the “Scale-up” Award is the “Open Your Wing Plan.” Out of 11 “start-up” groups, there are two winners. One is called “33 ̊C,” and another one is called “Travel together.”