MaRS Studio Y, which supports young people between 18-29 build entrepreneurial skills, is spearheading the first-ever National Youth Leadership and Innovation Strategy Summit.
The Summit will gather youth leaders and innovative organizations from across Canada to collaborate on a national plan for engaging youth to pursue entrepreneurship.
“To address the economic challenges ahead we must create an ambitious innovation agenda, and this requires investing in youth leaders and entrepreneurs with bright ideas that will continue to transform our nation,” said Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. “Today’s youth will determine Canada’s long-term success.”
The summit will be held on April 29 and 30 at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, and attendees will contribute to a strategy that provides recommendations on how to train more youth leaders in Canada to adopt entrepreneurial thinking.
Summit participants will be selected through a national application process. The summit is free to attend with flight and accommodations funding available for some participants.
“As globalization and disruptive technologies continue to impact our economy, we need nimble, adaptive young leaders who can navigate change,” said Lekan Olawoye, program director of MaRS Studio Y and former advisor on Ontario’s strategy on youth opportunities. “Our recipe for the future is to bring together key stakeholders from across the country to share successes and prototype new approaches to leadership development.”
Twenty-five organizations, including Engineers Without Borders Canada, Venture for Canada, and LinkedIn Canada, have partnered with Studio Y to present at the Summit and commit to implement the Summit’s strategy to communities they serve.