The Global Alliance for YOUth, founded a decade ago by Nestlé, announced a new partnership with the Global Shapers, an initiative by the World Economic Forum, and Accenture to further support youth innovation. Starting in 2024, each year, innovators from the Global Shapers' community will be invited to apply for support to accelerate their breakthrough ideas.
This is an important milestone for the Global Alliance for YOUth that has extended its outreach and impact and provided more than 40 million opportunities for young people around the world in the past decade.
The Global Shapers Community was established by Klaus Schwab, Chairman and Founder of the World Economic Forum in 2011. It is a network of inspiring young people under the age of 30 working together to address local, regional, and global challenges. The community includes more than 10 000 members in more than 500 city-based hubs in over 150 countries and territories around the world. In each city, teams of Shapers self-organize to create projects that address the needs of their community.
Young people are leading positive change as innovators and organizers. Many of them are already leading initiatives to tackle the issues that impact their own lives and those of their communities. While these young changemakers have the passion and desire to drive positive change, they often lack access to critical support and mentorship to turn their ideas into reality.
The private sector is playing an increasingly crucial role in creating economic opportunities for youth on the issues they care most about. Companies and executives are stepping up and playing an important part in expanding and accelerating progress for the next generation.
Global Shapers with the most promising solutions for improving the livelihoods of their communities will gain access to dedicated upskilling, mentorship, funding and storytelling support. The solutions will focus on a wide range of topics including upskilling-reskilling, environmental sustainability, building more inclusive societies and beyond.
At the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2024, executives from Global Alliance for YOUth member companies, including Nestlé, met Young Change Makers to discuss and strategize the criteria for the Innovation Prize and the exciting collaboration that lies ahead.
Laurent Freixe, CEO Zone Latin America at Nestlé and Global Alliance for YOUth Founder and Chairman, commented on the launch: "We are living in times that require bold and decisive actions. More than ever, the private sector must join forces to build bridges and support younger generations to play an active role in solving society's biggest problems. In that context, The Global Alliance for YOUth is proud to collaborate with the Global Shapers Community to launch the Innovation Prize, a platform to reward and accelerate breakthrough solutions for youth by youth."
Nestlé founded the regional Alliance for YOUth in Europe ten years ago, with the purpose of helping prepare young people to enter the professional world. After its successful launch, the Alliance was expanded to the Pacific Alliance countries in 2017 (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru), the Mercosur countries in 2018 (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the Sub-Saharan Africa region in 2019 (South Africa, Angola and Ivory Coast). At Nestlé, we are committed to helping youth by joining forces with our colleagues from the private sector to provide access to the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the world of work.
To date, 25 global companies have joined the Global Alliance for YOUth: Accenture, The Adecco Group, BT, Buhler Group, Cargill, CEMEX, dsm-firmenich, Engie, EY, HCL, IDEMIA, ISS, L'Oréal, Meta, Microsoft, Nestlé, NielsenIQ, Publicis Groupe, SAP, Sodexo, Starbucks, Rockwell Automation, White & Case, Willis Towers Watson and Zurich Group. The Alliance is proud to work with non-private sector partners such as the International Labour Organization, and the World Bank through initiatives such as Decent Jobs for Youth and Solutions 4 Youth Employment, The Global Apprenticeship Network, Junior Achievement, UNESCO and The Global Shapers Community.
