As part of ITU Telecom World 2012 -- scheduled for October 14-18 in Dubai -- the conference will present the Young Innovators Program. With its theme of Youth Innovation for Development, the Young Innovators Competition is a chance for the next generation of young visionaries to demonstrate their ideas and innovations on this global stage and show how their fresh digital thinking can change the world for the better. The program seeks to attract dynamic, engaged young people and identify projects with a genuine potential to succeed. The goal of the program is to build a cohesive international community of highly talented of social entrepreneurs from age18-25 who are working on ICT-based initiatives from the conceptual stage through to projects in areas of critical relevance to the burning issues facing the world today.

All submissions are due no later than 0000 UTC July 1, 2012. Applicants will be able to enter and update more than one submission up to three times in either category up to the deadline. The Selection Committee will announce the 12 finalists on the Young Innovators Program website on September 1. All 12 finalists will receive a fellowship to facilitate their participation at ITU Telecom World 2012 and will receive a fellowship that covers travel and accommodation expenses, as well as a daily subsidiary allowance. The 12 finalists will be joined by winners of the 2011 competition and representatives of the seven United Arab Emirates. Finalists will be interviewed and asked to present their submissions to the Selection Committee (consisting of the mentors) and an audience of event participants where they will be evaluated and ranked to determine their award.

Submissions must be relevant to at least one of the following seven issue areas: economic development, education, human rights, healthcare, environmental sustainability, transparency and cyber security. Finalists will receive an invitation to ITU Telecom World 2012 where they will be introduced to a network of mentors who are top level representatives of various sectors, and an invitation to participate in workshops focusing on developing entrepreneurial skills, as well as the chance to win prize money up to 5,000 CHF in the Concept category and up to 10,000 CHF in the Project category to realize their dreams.

All information, including evaluation criteria, application forms and business plan guidelines can be found on the Young Innovators Program website.

ITU Telecom World 2012 is the leading platform for high-level networking, strategic debate and knowledge-sharing for the global information and communications technology (ICT) community. Key stakeholders from across the entire industry ecosystem actively engage in conference discussions and workshops in a collective drive for meaningful ICT solutions to the world’s most pressing economic and societal challenges.