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Meet the new generation of youth innovators

August 4, 2014 por Jennifer Doherty-Bigara Leave a Comment


Boyan is a 19 year old Dutch, who just invented a viable solution to clean up the ocean from millions of tons of plastic. Thankfully, he is not the only one of the committed young minds at work.

As we look for solutions to tackle climate change, we tend to blame two major groups: governments for their inaction; and the private sector for its lack of initiative. But what if we were to focus on youth’s potential and innovative creativity? There are some interesting stories in effect today, which lead me to think we could start being positive about finding concrete and feasible solutions to the climate problem.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, youth represents 26% of a 600million population (15-29 years old), and this new generation cares about its environment and building a legacy for the community. Below are some of the innovative youth stories that caught my attention:

Enrique Lomnitz is installing rainwater harvesting systems to provide marginalized communities in Mexico City’s slums with water. In a water stressed metropolis were water cuts have become common standard this measure represents a new alternative to address social and climate challenges of the country.

Green entrepreneurship is also booming. Some young designers promote a second artistic life for garbage. In Argentina, Nazarena Pereyra creates handbags with tires and Malikca Cummings, a Guyanese entrepreneur, has set up the first e-waste recycling business in Barbados, “Caribbean e-Waste Management Inc”, and is partnering with other firms to cover all the Caribbean.

Innovation for development also concerns climate change, and these youth examples are just a few of the many projects we know are out there. That is why today we are launching the Greenovators contest. The IDB looks forward to identify, award and give a voice to those youth leaders who may just have the answers to the challenges of our region.

The contest runs through August 30th and winners could be awarded up to US$15,000. If you are one of these bright minds, or know someone who is, don’t miss out! Follow the link to find out more!

Follow us on Twitter: @BIDcambioclima

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Filed Under: Climate change, Responsible Production and Consumption

Jennifer Doherty-Bigara

Jennifer Doherty-Bigara is a policy advisor and climate change specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank, based in the country office of Barbados. With over ten years of experience in the sustainability agenda, she has mainly focused on climate governance and national and local climate change policies (NDCs, LTS, SDGs), fiscal policy and green budgeting, climate finance and long-term planning exercises with an adaptation approach. Jennifer has gained analytical and operational knowledge advising governments through the coordination of the NDC Invest Platform and afterwards mainstreaming climate change considerations in the IDB portfolio of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, ensuring the design and implementation of sustainable development projects. She also gained key insights as an external appointee in the Agence Française de Developpement (AFD), coordination the efforts of the Adapt ‘Action Platform in the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean. She has also worked on climate finance and coordinated fundraising efforts as part of the SECCI Funds, ACL, PROADAPT, and bilateral donations. Jennifer holds a master´s in International Development Policy from the McCourt School of Public Policy (MSPP), University of Georgetown and a Master’s in International Affairs from Sciences Po Toulouse. Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @jdohertybigara @jdohertybigara

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This blog is a space to reflect about the challenges, opportunities and the progress made by Latin American and Caribbean countries on the path towards the region’s sustainable development.

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