Youth for Innovation Trust (YIT) joins the rest of the world in celebrating the 2024 International Youth Day (#IYD2024) which falls on a Monday this year and is riding under the theme: “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development.” As YIT we are very excited about this theme because it reflects innovation towards sustainable development.
This theme comes at an opportune time when YIT is looking forward to implementing it’s Digital and Green project that is supported by the City of Bulawayo under it’s Climate Action Fund from the Bloomberg Philantropies. Through this project and inline with this year’s IYD theme, YIT acknowledges the need for Youth Digital Pathways under Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG13) on Climate Action.
In the crafting of this project, YIT realised that there is a gap in the use of the digital space by Bulawayo businesses, they still use paper based communication, transactions, and marketing strategies among other activities. As an example, restaurant businesses still print paper for menus and receipts while the rest of the world is now using QR codes. Therefore, the aim of the project is to change the business culture and behavior so that it prioritizes climate issues in their day-to-day work. YIT will be escalating awareness around the use of the digital space as a solution to the climate crises and pioneer localized green softwares.
Though YIT is currently pushing these digital solutions for SDG13, we acknowledge that there is need for these to spill over to other aspects of sustainable development. YIT encourages multi stakeholder engagements and partnerships for sustainable development that support Youth Digital Pathways. In this vein YIT is calling government, local authorities as well as the business sector to come to the party.
Youth For Innovation Trust 