Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Caribbean Development Trends

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Agribusiness
    • Antigua and Barbuda
    • Barbados
    • BehaviorChange
    • Belize
    • Bermuda
    • biodiversity
    • Blockchain
    • Caribbean
    • Caribbean Culture and Media
    • Climate Change
    • Creative Economy
    • Crime Prevention and Citizen Security
    • Data and Knowledge
    • De-risking
    • Dominica
    • Dutch
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Economic Growth
    • Education Policy
    • energy
    • entrepreneurship
    • Environmental and Climate Change
    • Events
    • Extractives
    • Finance
    • Fiscal Rules
    • gender
    • Governance and Regulatory Policy Reforms
    • Grenada
    • Guyana
    • Haiti
    • Health
    • Health Policy
    • Hurricane
    • Hurricane Irma
    • infrastructure
    • Innovation and change
    • Intellectual Property
    • IWD
    • Jamaica
    • JumpCaribbean
    • Labor
    • Labour Markets
    • MOOC
    • Music
    • Natural Disasters
    • Nurturing Institutions
    • OECS
    • Podcast
    • Poverty
    • Private Sector and Entrepreneurship
    • Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • Saint Lucia
    • Saint Vincent and Grenadines
    • skills
    • Sports for Development
    • Suriname
    • Technology
    • The Bahamas
    • The Blue Economy
    • Transportation
    • Tourism
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Uncategorized
    • VAWG
    • Webinar
    • women
    • Women for Change
    • youth
  • Country Offices
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Press Releases
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Authors

Bahamian Youth Leaders Visit MIT’s Media Lab and Plan a Sustainable Urban Future for Nassau

September 20, 2018 by N. Bethel Leave a Comment


On February 1, 2018, the Sustainable Nassau Action Plan was launched under the auspices of the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Emerging and Sustainable Cities Program. The Sustainable Nassau Action Plan is the product of a three-year collaborative effort between the Office of the Prime Minister and the IDB. The Action Plan highlights four strategic areas: resiliency and sustainability; revitalization, inclusion and competitiveness; smart and transparent governance; and empowered people.

Following the launch of the Sustainable Nassau Action Plan, forty-one Bahamian students brainstormed ideas within small groups, proposing solutions to urban challenges, and then presented to a small panel of judges, receiving feedback on how they could improve their respective proposals. Using MIT Media Lab’s CODE NEXT methodology as a guide for disruptive, innovative, and creative thinking, teams of high school and college students considered ideas for a sustainable future in Nassau around the topics mentioned in the Sustainable Nassau Action Plan: Smart City/Community Solutions based on the Internet of Things (IoT); Human Mobility; Water Conservation, and Renewable Energy.

On June 22, 2018, the top three winning teams comprised of ten students travelled from The Bahamas to Cambridge, Massachusetts to present their pitches to a panel of experts at MIT’s Media Lab. During the visit, the Bahamian students toured ongoing research projects at the Media Lab, and participated in a CodeNEXT demonstration called ‘’Scratch”. When the students returned home, they met with representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport,  and the Ministry of Education and were encouraged to develop prototypes that could be scaled-up.

While some of the students are beginning their first year of undergraduate studies in The Bahamas and abroad, a network is very much in place and the group continues to meet and exchange ideas.  The IDB Country Office in Nassau is working alongside partners, including the Ministry of Education, the United States Embassy (Youth Leadership Initiative), and the Utilities Regulatory and Competition Authority (URCA) to ensure that, as ‘youth ambassadors’ of the Sustainable Nassau Action Plan, the cohort of students are mentored through local technical experts who can also offer further guidance in the development of these ideas.

Now that the seed has been planted, perhaps some of these students will be inspired to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and design.  This initiative exemplifies the possibilities of young people when empowered and given opportunities to find solutions toward a better future for The Bahamas. The IDB aims to inspire young island citizens to think as mature, global citizens who can solve the urban problems that they will inherit. With these young bright minds focused on transformational change, a sustainable, revitalized urban future in Nassau is quite possible.


Filed Under: Innovation & Change, Social Systems

N. Bethel

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Caribbean Dev Trends

We provide unique and timely insights on the Caribbean and its political, social, and economic development. At the IDB, we strive to improve lives in the Caribbean by creating vibrant and resilient economies where people are safe, productive and happy.

Similar posts

  • Youth Unleash Ideas for a Sustainable Urban Future in Nassau
  • Nassau: A Brand with Tons of Potential
  • The Bahamas hosts first National Development Conference for Small Island States
  • 5 Steps Towards a More Sustainable Nassau
  • Young Bahamian Entrepreneurs Compete to Develop Business Concepts on “Starter Island” Journey

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT