The purpose of this side event is to promote dialogues about the opportunities and challenges faced by young entrepreneurs in a rapidly changing urbanization process, and how youth-led social entrepreneurship can play a role in Asia and Pacific cities to secure a more sustainable future. Young social entrepreneurs and enabling partners will showcase their approaches to social innovation and social inclusion, protecting cultural heritage, developing transformative urban solutions, etc. These approaches are strengthening the urban resilience against challenges such as climate change, rising inequalities and future of work. We will also engage with AI4GOV, a Filipino youth-led social enterprise, to showcase their innovative approach to participatory governance. A final case study on the successful collaboration between UNDP, local government and private sector in Islamabad will be showcased as well.

A participatory session with the audience will follow the case studies. Targeting key questions such as;

1. What are some of the existing public-private partnership models strengthening the youth-led social entrepreneurship ecosystem in urban areas;
2. Existing knowledge and potential gaps in research related to youth entrepreneurship in an urban context;
3. How to improve synergy between various cities facilitating cross-collaboration of governments, private sector, academia, young innovators to foster youth-led social enterprises.

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