Established in 2013, the Youth Summit is an annual event hosted by the World Bank Group (WBG) to engage with youth globally on the most pressing topics facing our generation. The WBG Youth Summit is an affiliate of the Youth-to-Youth (Y2Y) network, the largest volunteer organization at the WBG, which aims to inspire and empower youth within and outside the institution.
The primary goals of the Summit are to:
The theme for the 2021 Summit is Resilent Recovery for People and Planet.
The 2021 WBG Youth Summit will be a virtual event.
The economic hardship, loss of life, and global human suffering seen at an unprecedented level as a result of COVID-19 has highlighted the deficiencies in our society and ignited a call to action that is practical, inclusive, and sustainable. At the heart of the 2021 Youth Summit theme is the opportunity for a global conversation that emphasizes the role of the youth in addressing the effects of climate change and examining the measures and opportunities for a resilient recovery for people and planet.
A people centered recovery that promotes wellbeing, encourages inclusion through job creation, skill training and equitable education while addressing gender and racial inequality, housing and healthcare accessibility, and creating opportunities for fragile nations to benefit from funding and contribute to the conversation on how to mitigate the effects of climate change.
A planet centered recovery that focuses on reducing our carbon footprint by encouraging waste reduction through a gradual green transition to reduce the negative impact of consumerism. And emphasizes investments in sustainable infrastructural projects, enacts legislature to halt further loss of biodiversity, localizes production to shorten supply change, and incentivizes industries to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.
Day 1 - Wednesday, June 9th, 2021
Time | Event |
7:00 – 8:00 | Virtual Welcome to Day 1 of the 2021 Youth Summit and networking opportunity for delegates |
8:00 – 8:05 | Welcome remarks |
8:05 – 8:15 | Introduction of the 2021 WBG Youth Summit Theme |
8:15 – 8: 30 | Keynote Conversation I – Resilient Recovery for People and Planet |
8:30– 8: 45 | Innovator Spotlight Session |
8:45 – 9:45 | Plenary Session I – The Components of a Resilient Recovery |
9:45 – 10: 00 | Coffee break |
10:00 – 11:15 | Break out Session I - Resilient Recovery Solutions Case Challenge for Registered Delegates |
10:00 – 11:15 | Activity for participants not registered for the Case Challenge |
11: 15 – 11:30 | Keynote Conversation II – Empowering the Youth to Effect Change |
11: 30 – 12:30 | Plenary Session II – Bridging the digital gap for women and the youth for an inclusive recovery |
12:30 – 13:30 | Break out Session II - Resilient Recovery Solutions Case Challenge for Registered Delegates |
12: 30 – 13: 30 | Activity for participants not registered for the Case Challenge |
13: 30 – 14: 30 | Networking |
Day 2 - Thursday, June 10th, 2021
Time | Event |
7:00 – 8:00 | Virtual Welcome to Day 2 of the 2021 Youth Summit and networking opportunity for delegates |
8:00 – 8:15 | Keynote Conversation III - Prosperity at the heart of the recovery process for people and planet |
8:15 – 9:15 | Plenary Session III – The Green Promise |
9:15 – 10:30 | Break out Session III- Resilient Recovery Solutions Case Challenge for Registered Delegates |
9:15 – 10:30 | Activity for participants not registered for the Case Challenge |
10:30 – 10: 45 | Coffee break |
10:45 – 11:30 | Plenary Session IV – Infrastructure for a Resilient Recovery |
11:30 – 13:00 | Live Presentation by finalists |
13: 00 – 13: 15 | Coffee break |
13: 15 – 14:15 | Break out Session IV- Resilient Recovery Solutions Case Challenge for Registered Delegates |
13: 15 – 14:15 | Activity for participants not registered for the Case Challenge |
14:15 – 14:45 | Awards ceremony and closing remarks |
14:45 – 15:45 | Networking |
Dr. Sandie Okoro is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the World Bank Group, and Vice President for Compliance at the World Bank. She is also the Chair of the World Bank Group Task Force on Racism.
A British national and the first black woman to hold this role, Sandie is the principal advisor and spokesperson on all legal matters for the world’s leading development finance institution. She also heads the Compliance Vice Presidency that is responsible for developing and overseeing the World Bank data privacy framework based on the World Bank Group Policy on Personal Data Privacy. The two Vice Presidencies are separate and distinct. In her role as the Chair for the World Bank Group Task Force on Racism, Sandie is bringing the topics of race and racial equity at the forefront of Bank Group staff and operational matters, convening discussions and proposing action steps to help ensure racism and racial inequalities have no place in the institution, its operations, and the countries it serves.
Prior to joining the World Bank, Sandie was General Counsel for HSBC Global Asset Management, Deputy General Counsel of HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management, and Global General Counsel at Barings.
Sandie is an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple in the United Kingdom (2018) and was named one of the Upstanding 100 Leading Ethnic Minority Executives (2016), Top 20 Global General Counsel (2019) by the Financial Times, and was recognized as Britain’s 5th most influential person of African and African Caribbean heritage by Powerlist (2018). She holds Honorary Doctorates in Law from City University London (2014), London Southbank University (2018), and her alma mater Birmingham University (2019). Sandie received a lifetime achievement award from the UK Black Solicitors Network (2016), was named one of the Power 100 Women by City A.M. and 100 Women to Watch by Female FTSE Board.
Sandie received the Howard University 2019 Vanguard Women Award for her accomplishments as a woman of color who has blazed the trail and her commitment to mentoring young women and advancing the rights of women and girls globally. She is also the recipient of the Beyond the Glass Ceiling Award presented by the Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys (2019), the Chambers 100 Outstanding Global General Counsel (2019), and an honoree of Harvard Law’s 7th Annual International Women’s Day Portrait Exhibit (2020).
Sandie is an ardent defender and champion for women empowerment, gender equality, and justice for all. Outside of work, Sandie is a Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and prior to joining the World Bank Group, she was a council member of the human rights organization JUSTICE, Ambassador for the Law Society’s Diversity Access Scheme and sat on the Equality Standards Panel of the Premier League
Naria K. Santa Lucia General Manager, Digital Inclusion and US Community Engagement Microsoft Philanthropies
As general manager for digital inclusion and US community engagement at Microsoft Philanthropies, Naria leads Microsoft’s global philanthropic strategy, grant investments and partnerships in digital skills, computer science education, and career pathways. With the goal of increasing digital, computing, and AI skills for traditionally underrepresented and under-resourced communities, Naria’s team works in partnership with nonprofit organizations around the world to help millions of people thrive in the digital economy.
Prior to joining Microsoft Philanthropies, Naria served as Executive Director of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS), a unique public-private partnership helping to build the next generation of scientists, engineers, technology specialists, mathematicians, and health care professionals in Washington state through scholarships and support services for low- and middle-income college students. Under Naria’s leadership, WSOS raised over $200M in public-private support for scholarships and supports and to support 20,000+ students by 2025 - the majority of whom are women, students of color and/or first in their families to go to college.
Naria has also served as the Executive Director of the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, a juvenile and education law and social work organization in Illinois and the Director of LAW Fund and the Endowment for Equal Justice at the Legal Foundation of Washington.
Naria has served various boards and committees including the ACLU of Illinois, Seattle Goodwill Industries, the Governor’s STEM Alliance (Washington state), and Columbia Legal Services. Naria currently serves as the Chair of the World Bank’s Solutions for Youth Employment initiative.
Naria is a graduate of the Law School and the College at the University of Chicago.
David Kaczan is an environmental economist at the World Bank, specializing in oceans and marine conservation, fisheries, forestry, and water management issues. He joined the Bank in 2017 as a Young Professional, and currently focuses on countries in the East Asia Pacific region. He co-leads the World Bank’s research initiative on China’s Transition to a Green Economy, the Yangtze River Revitalization Program, and the Indonesia Sustainable Oceans Program. David completed his PhD in environmental and resource economics at Duke University, USA and his undergraduate studies in his home country of Australia.
Heng Li Seng, Founder, Green Nudge
Heng Li Seng is the founder of Green Nudge, a social enterprise that supports businesses and communities to achieve positive environmental impact through activities such as coastal cleanups and workshops, outreach talks and sustainability consulting. Li Seng graduated from the Nanyang Technological University in 2013, majoring in Mathematical Sciences. He’s a 2019 Professional Fellow under the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program, member of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, as well as an Associate under the Philip Yeo Initiative. Heng Li Seng’s experience in the public, community and social enterprise sector since 2013 has reinforced his belief that effective public policies need to be supported by ground-up actions and engagement. Playing an interfacing role within the tri-sector, Li Seng is able to provide sectoral knowledge through a system thinking lens to make informed decisions and strategies. He is happy to discuss disposables, sustainability of events, public education, and is familiar with corporate social responsibility and community / youth engagement.
Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth
Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake was appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in June 2017 at the age of 26. She is the youngest senior official in the UN and the first woman to hold this position. In this role, Jayathma works to expand the UN’s youth engagement and advocacy efforts across all four pillars of the organization’s work — sustainable development, human rights, peace and security, and humanitarian action — and serves as a representative of and advisor to the Secretary-General.
In 2019 Jayathma was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the “Time 100 Next: Rising stars shaping the future” and in 2020 she was recognized by Forbes magazine as part of its “30 under 30” list.
Originally from Sri Lanka, Ms. Wickramanayake has worked extensively on youth development and participation, including playing a key role in transforming the youth development sector in her home country.
Prior to taking up her post, Ms. Wickramanayake was instrumental in creating the movement for civic and political engagement of young people, especially young women, in Sri Lanka through the “Hashtag Generation” movement. Previously, she advocated for global youth development on an international level including as the first ever Sri Lankan Youth Delegate to the United Nations and as the youth lead negotiator and member of the International Youth Task Force of the World Conference on Youth 2014 where she played a critical role in mainstreaming youth in the Post-2015 Process and in the establishment of World Youth Skills Day.
Pablo Fajnzylber, Acting Vice President and Director of Strategy and Operations, Infrastructure, World Bank
Pablo Fajnzylber is Acting Vice President and Director of Strategy and Operations for the Infrastructure Practice Group, covering Energy and Extractives, Transport, Digital Development and Infrastructure Finance, Public Private Partnerships and Guarantees. The World Bank’s active portfolio in these areas consists of more than 400 operations for a total value of USD 75 billion, focused on providing sustainable solutions to close infrastructure gaps in developing and emerging economies.
A Chilean national, Mr. Fajnzylber has over 20 years of experience in technical and leadership positions in international development. In previous assignments at the World Bank, he has been Manager for Economic Management and Country Programs at the Independent Evaluation Group, Manager for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management in the Africa Region, and Lead Economist for Brazil.
Mr. Fajnzylber holds a PhD in economics from Michigan State University and has published extensively on a variety of development topics. In addition to authoring multiple World Bank reports, his work has been published in various professional journals, including the Journal of Development Economics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Law and Economics, European Economic Review, World Development, Journal of Development Studies, World Bank Economic Review and Applied Economics.
Mohamed TOURE is regional Head of Technology & Digital Transformation at Deloitte.
Mohamed TOURE is regional Head of Technology & Digital Transformation at Deloitte, a global professional services organization, based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Mohamed has been assisting international financial groups such as SUNU, AXA, BPCE and African governments for more than 12 years in the definition and deployment of their Strategic and Digital Transformation projects.
He holds a post-graduate degree in Management from ESSEC Business School, a French State Engineering degree and an MBA.
Mohamed actively contributes to the development of African entrepreneurship through numerous projects of deep transformation of the African continent's economy. He is also certified in Agile Scrum method, author of numerous articles and expert speaker at events on Digital Transformation in Africa.
Amna Habiba is a 15-year-old Pakistani, founder of Global Creative Hub
Amna Habiba is a 15-year-old Pakistani, founder of Global Creative Hub, international speaker, STEM enthusiast, and an advocate for girls' education and mental health. She received the Young Achiever Award at the age of 10 for being the first Pakistani to take part in a digital exchange. When COVID struck her home country, she explored e-learning and completed more than 80 courses and 40 guided projects in the span of 6 months in various fields. Not only this, but she also completed two internships and a fellowship at the age of 14. That stemmed a combined interest in AI and healthcare, which led her to develop a mental health app for teens (to be released soon) and host an international AI hackathon in her country, becoming the youngest Pakistani to do so. She takes part in STEM camps, talks on global platforms, advocates for what matters to her, and hopes to make an impact by her work around the UN SDGs.
Jurgita Campbell, librarian, ITSKI
Jurgita Campbell is long life librarian and still within the youth category. She managed to go from FOMO to JOMO in this era of information. Knowledge is power, and this presenter knows where a couple of the 'easy' buttons hide. Come and find out!"