Established in 2013, the Youth Summit is an annual event that serves as a platform for conversation and action to make the World Bank Group more relevant to the global youth and to better involve young people in the work of the World Bank Group. The Youth Summit Organizing Committee is comprised of young World Bank Group employees and is supported by World Bank Group senior management.

They find theirselves amid the greatest information and communications revolution in human history and must take advantage of this rapid technological change to make the world more prosperous and inclusive. With youth being the early adopters and the most active users of Information and Communication technologies, their participation is essential in expanding the reach of technology and fulfilling the transformative potential of the digital revolution. This year’s Youth Summit will seek to provide youth with a forum to voice their concerns, share their ideas and learn from one another while discussing the challenges and opportunities created by this technological shift.

Structure of the Youth Summit

The two-day Summit will be held on the 4-5 December 2017 in Washington DC and livestreamed globally. The 2017 Youth Summit will have three components:

Plenary: The Summit will include dynamic high-level plenary sessions which aim to ignite conversation on fulfilling the opportunities of technological innovation. The plenary session will juxtapose youth representatives and speakers from the World Bank Group, the private sector, government, academia and civil society with the objective of engaging a plurality of views on how to reap sizable technological dividends.

Workshops: Attendees will participate in workshops that delve into the Summit’s three subthemes, giving participants an opportunity to share ideas and experiences and debate how to maximize the potential of Information Communication Technologies all around the globe.

The subthemes are:

• Transforming the Jobs and Skills of Tomorrow
• Leveraging Information & Communication Technologies
• Igniting Youth Entrepreneurship. 

Find out more about the subthemes in the competition tab. 

Competition: On the second day of the Summit, the live final of the Youth Summit Competition ‘Technology and Innovation for Impact’ will take place. The competition finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to the audience of attendees and an expert jury. To find out more about how to participate in the competition, visit our competition tab. 

A full Summit agenda including speakers will be released closer to the event date.

Register to Attend – To Register please click here. 

All registration applications must be received by 11:59PM EST October 10, 2017. This form is to register for the Summit as an attendee, if you wish to participate in the ideas competition you should also register for the competition by visiting our competition tab.

The Summit invites youth who are passionate about expanding the positive impact technology is having in the lives of all. Attendance at the Summit is open to youth aged 18-35 from around the world.

There is no admission fee to attend the event, but all travel and lodging costs are at the sole expense of the attendee. Given the scale of the event, neither the WBG Youth Summit, the Committee, the World Bank Group or any of its affiliates can provide financial assistance to those attending.

Interested youth are encouraged to find sponsors to pay for their transportation tickets and accommodation for the two days of the event. If attendance to Washington DC is not possible, please send an email to [email protected] with "WBG Country Office" in the subject line and the Youth Summit Organizing Committee will make an effort to arrange a conference room in the WBG Country Office to watch the event live. 

If you can't attend in Washington DC, we encourage you to join us online via World Bank Live. Further details on online viewing will be posted closer to the event date.

Sign up to the mailing list to keep up to date on the latest Summit information including blogs, partner events and speaker announcements.

Join the Youth Summit Mailing List by clicking here.