The U.S. Young Leader Summit 2022
The YLS is a forward-facing sustainability initiative that brings together the sharpest young talent in the United States to tackle the most pressing challenges of our day and to set a new vision for the future.
The YLS is a forward-facing sustainability initiative that brings together the sharpest young talent in the United States to tackle the most pressing challenges of our day and to set a new vision for the future.
The program is centered around a Design Thinking and Agile methodology. As a result, we’ll be working in sprints. Students will be given a theme to focus on for the duration of the program and, with the support of the ecosystem of mentors, they’ll ideate solutions to solve the challenge. During the journey, they’ll develop their skill-set and mindset.
Program Launch.
Teams will connect.
The whole cohort will come together once a week on a virtual platform to learn new skills, share what they have discovered and coordinate the activities between the streams.
The Streams will meet once a week with their respective coaches to ideate and plan work. The timings and format of weekly events will be determined by the streams.
The students discover their theme, understand the issues at stake, define the problem statement and ideate solutions with different stakeholders to contribute to the Breakthrough Event.
One-day Breakthrough Event. Ideas are presented to a Judging Panel and the three best ideas are taken forward.
Build and test their prototypes. With the support of their broader network, the students initiate the building and testing of their prototypes.
One-day Pitch Event to present the prototypes in a ‘Shark Tank’ format. The best solutions / prototypes will be taken forward.
Refine their plan, their prototypes and their pitch for final presentation.
Final Summit Event with key stakeholders. Teams will submit their solutions to government stakeholders for consideration / implementation.
After review with Governor Polis's office, six key themes have emerged that are highly relevant to our community and are closely connected to students and schools. The program will focus on these following themes:
Reimagining Consumption including local manufacturing, food security, plastic usage, efficient supply chain etc.
Reimagining Living Space and how we construct in a green and sustainable way (homes, schools, offices).
Reimagining Infrastructure and the implications on green transport, cleaner energy, rainwater harvesting etc.
Reimagining Education in order to create sustainable jobs for the future. Rethinking school curriculum to reflect the needs of tomorrow. Strengthening collaboration between Academia and Corporations.
Reimagining Corporate Purpose to create more purpose-led organisations.
Reimagining “how to engage and empathize” to create community-based change, engage in decent political dialogue, and mobilize greater participation in our democracy.
The U.S. Young Leader Summit 2022 is a forward-facing sustainability initiative, beginning in the state of Colorado to bring together the sharpest young talent to tackle the most pressing challenges of our day and to set a new vision for the future.
During the YLS, these young leaders have the opportunity to be mentored by and exchange breakthrough ideas with influential and inspiring thought leaders, academics, corporations and government. The young leaders collaborate with these partners to collectively redesign a sustainable, equitable and prosperous future, driving positive change in Colorado and the world.
The primary goal of the initiative this year will be to address six key themes outlined by Governor Polis's office, with the outcome being an actionable set of recommendations that will be submitted to the Governor's office for review and potential implementation.
The summit this year is a virtual experience running for approximately nine months from June 2022 to Winter 2022.
YOUNG LEADER APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW!
(ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS THROUGH May 15th 2022)
The young leaders have been recruited from local and state schools in Colorado: We aim to create a truly diverse group of students from different backgrounds.
The YLS is also partnering with Government, Businesses to support the young leaders during the summit. For a detailed list, please go here.
The program has been centered around a Design Thinking and the Agile methodology, so we are working in sprints. Students are given a theme (i.e. a challenge) to focus on for the duration of the program and with the support of the ecosystem of mentors, they develop their skill-set and mindset. For a detailed timeline and list of themes, please see the program overview above.
