UN-backed telecom summit shines spotlight on young innovators

“These talented young people have made great use of ICTs [information and communications technologies] to meet a wide range of development goals, and their innovations have the potential to impact lives for the better,” said ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao.

“Start-ups such as these have a key role to play within our ICT ecosystem and I am very pleased that ITU Telecom World 2015 is providing them the global platform to showcase their innovations,” he added.

The programme took place at the ITU Telecom World 2015 event, which has been under way in Budapest since 12 October and which wraps up tomorrow.

The Young Innovators Competition onsite programme provides opportunities for participants to connect, share experiences and learn from other representatives across the industry, including with other small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups present at the event, from developed and developing countries alike.

“The Young Innovators are an inspiring group. Every time I speak with them, it’s a window onto a generation of young people willing, ready and able to answer the challenges of the future using innovative technologies. They are absolutely a group of young people to watch, they’re going to change the world, and they know it,” said Tayo Akinyemi, CEO at AfriLabs Foundation, and Young Innovators Competition Mentor.

The winners of the competition showcased their entries in the InnovationSpace shared and also took part in the Acceleration Platform.

Moving forward, new challenges have been set in motion for the next Young Innovators Programme where young social entrepreneurs with big ideas on how to apply technology to help improve the lives of refugees and people displaced by situations such as war, oppression, and natural disaster are being sought.

Photo: ITU/R. Farrell