NEW YORK - The first edition of the Youth Solutions Report, which identifies 50 youth-led projects aiming to solve the world’s toughest problems, was released today at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. 

The report, produced by the youth initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Youth) identifies and celebrates youth-led projects and ground-breaking ideas to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It reflects a growing interest in supporting and scaling innovative solutions to address problems such as poverty, inequality, clean and affordable energy, access to healthcare and education, e-participation and waste.

The report highlights the work of youth-led organisations, such as Liter of Light who bring over 750,000 affordable solar lights to 15 countries; the talented team behind BenBen who operate a Blockchain-based land registry that facilitates secure land transactions to encourage investments and transparent land resource management; FinFighters who run a citizen shark science program to collect genetic data and information from Moroccan fishing ports and market; and the group running the SHAPE project using mobile technology to promote citizens’ e-participation in their city’s public life.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, UN Secretary General’s Adviser on the SDGs, and Minister Karen Ellemann, Danish Minister for Equal Opportunities, launched the report during a two-day forum on youth and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The report was produced in partnership with Ashoka, Sustainia, the Resolution Project and Panorama (joint initiative of IUCN and the German government) and has been reviewed by a panel of experts, comprising leading figures from business, civil society and academia. 

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, has supported the initiative. “SDSN Youth and its Youth Solutions Report are excellent examples of initiatives crucial for helping young people realize the full potential of their abilities, innovations and solutions.”

“Today we have the largest generation of youth in history - a powerful force for change. 84 percent of millennials are convinced they have a duty to make the world a better place, and many already are, through socially aware businesses and youth-led campaigns in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.” Mr. Polman said.

Max Thabiso Edkins, Climate Change Expert on the Connect4Climate program of the World Bank Group, highlights that "this generation is the first generation to live with the impacts of climate change and it is the generation that will build a sustainable, low-carbon and resilient future."

"The Youth Solutions Report shows that young people are already building that future. At the Connect4Climate program of the World Bank Group we believe in the power of youth to change the world." Mr. Edkins emphasized.

Siamak Sam Loni, Global Coordinator of SDSN Youth, says that young people must be seen as key stakeholders in the sustainable development debate and that there is a pressing need to acknowledge their essential role in achieving the SDGs.

“Young people are already contributing to the implementation of the SDGs but they face common challenges that prevent them from realizing the full potential of their ideas and solutions, including the lack of visibility, limited access to finance, and the lack of training and technical support. The Youth Solutions Report will help investors, donors and supporters better understand the multi-faceted role of young people in sustainable development and give them additional opportunities to showcase and scale their work.” Mr. Loni said.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was launched at UN Headquarters in September 2015 and adopted by 193 member countries of the UN. The SDGs, which are relevant to all countries, aim to achieve social inclusion, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.

For more information on the Youth Solutions Report visit: www.youthsolutions.report

For media enquiries and interview requests, please contact: solutions@sdsnyouth.org

Part two of our series "A day in the life of a city" looks at the ways in which offices are changing and how cities are coping with the ever-growing problem of pollution. 

The morning rush hour is over and, if you live in a city in the developed world, you are likely to be settling down at your desk for the next eight or so hours.

However, the office block and skyscraper, which have been part of our urban landscape since the end of the 19th Century, may also soon become surplus to requirements.

Cities are at their busiest during the day - and their most polluted. Photo Credit: Thinkstock

Urban architect Anthony Townsend thinks cities need more creative approaches to how we work and is keen to reclaim the streets by creating pop-up workspaces in the parks and plazas of the financial district in New York.

- Urban architect Anthony Townsend

An atrium filled with natural light and the smell of fresh coffee greets workers at Deloitte's Edge headquarters in Amsterdam, which also uses an underwater aquifer to provide ambient temperature all year round and a sensor network to monitor the use of lights - providing a better working environment while saving money.

The Edge has been dubbed one of the world's greenest offices and now many are following suit - installing sensors to monitor light, electricity and water usage, planting urban gardens and offering employees access to bike or car-sharing schemes.

When you pop out to buy your lunchtime sandwich though, it is a different matter.

Cities are huge polluters - responsible for 70% of the world's carbon emissions, according to the United Nations.

In Singapore huge man-made super-trees house a variety of flora and fauna. Photo Credits: Flickr

And, according to the World Health Organization, more than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits. While all regions of the world are affected, populations in low income cities are the most impacted.

Cities are literally getting greener - with foliage-covered walls popping up in many. Photo Credits: Patrick Blanc

To counteract this, cities are rushing out a whole series of green initiatives - from electric buses (being trialled in many cities including Perth, London and Paris), to bike-sharing schemes, such as those in Montreal, Barcelona and Amsterdam. 

Some are committing to "urban greening" - London is considering a garden bridge - while in Paris, 20,000 residents have backed plans via a citizen engagement app 'Madam Mayor, I have an idea' for a 2m euro ($2.2m, £1.7m) investment in vertical gardens across the city.

Officials have found 40 potential sites and are now calling on gardeners, landscape designers, urban farmers and architects to bid for projects.

Horticulturist and designer Patrick Blanc has been creating vertical gardens since 2001 in city hotels, malls and tower blocks around the world.

The benefits are many-fold, he said. As well as acting as a natural biofilter and providing a habitat for birds and bugs, it also feeds humans' natural sense of well-being in nature, a phenomenon known as biophilia.

China is turning to machine learning to predict smog levels. Photo Credits: Thinkstock

In China, it will take more than planting trees to combat pollution. The city authorities in smog-ridden Bejiing are working closely with IBM to use machine learning techniques to analyse weather and emissions data to predict how bad air will be over the next 10 days.

According to Jonathan Batty, an IBM executive who helped set up the system, it has allowed the authorities to take short-term preventative measures.

- Jonathan Batty, IBM executive

The government also uses the data to provide a traffic light warning system for citizens - red means air pollution is high so spend the minimum time outside, while green indicates safe levels.

London provides a similar system on its city dashboard which is available to Londoners on the web.

Prof Andy Hudson-Smith, who heads up University College London's Centre for Advance Spatial Analysis, came up with the idea to share data with the wider public.

- Prof Andy Hudson-Smith

Would you take an internet-connected gnome seriously? Photo Credits: Thinkstock

The problem with the current way of collecting air pollution data is that often people do not understand what the readings mean, he thinks.

So he has a cunning plan to "humanise IoT" (the internet of things).

He is putting around 100 internet-connected gnomes in the Olympic Park in East London.

The gnomes will talk back to people as they go around the park and among other things will tell them how bad the air pollution is.

Unlike more complex data sets, they will be more plain speaking, said Prof Hudson-Smith.

- Prof Andy Hudson-Smith

Nyasha Duri from the UK has been voted the winner of the inaugural Sustainable Worlds on Minecraft competition. Of the three finalists the 20-year old received the most votes from the viewing public, in a closely fought contest.

The competition which forms part of tvebiomovies 2016 has been supported by Connect4Climate, the World Bank Group's global partnership program that empowers people to act on climate change. Young people were invited to use the Minecraft gaming platform to design a sustainable world, and to showcase their innovative ideas on transport, food production and renewable energy. 

- Lucia Grenna, Program Manager of Connect4Climate 

- Nick Turner, Manager of Digital Projects of tve