Broaden knowledge and build capacities of at least 300 representatives from youth, civil society groups, academia, the private sector, and local governments.
Innovation Lab for Youth (DIA Lab Belize): Improving Digital Skills and the Creation of Livelihood Solutions in Belize
Project completed
Description
The Innovation Lab for Youth or the DIA Lab Belize aims to create a youth agents-of-change network in which innovation can be fostered through access to training and capacity-building sessions, technology, collaboration spaces, specialized curricula, mentorship, and best practices from the region.
This network engages youth, social actors, and local governments, including vulnerable communities, in generating livelihood opportunities and good governance in Belize.
With this project, The Trust for The Americas seeks to develop the talent of young people and improve innovation processes in the country through capacity-building opportunities, linking new skills to the labor market and creating a new collaborative mentality between public officials, civil society leaders, and youth.
Project purpose
To foster multi-stakeholder collaboration, support a long-term process to spur innovation, and improve local government services while strengthening the skills of young people to participate in the economy of the future.
Project goals
Strengthen the social innovation ecosystem to support the development of sustainable solutions.
Support youth-led innovation projects with seed funding to promote solutions that generate livelihood opportunities and good governance.
Main achievements
Structure
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Training will be divided into two tracks: Innovation & New Technologies; and Social Entrepreneurship & Business. Topics and tools will include digital literacy, Computer Science, Data Science, Coding, GovTech, Cybersecurity, Financial literacy, canvas business model, entrepreneurship, life skills, citizen participation and co-creation processes, introduction to Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, data visualization and analytics, data-driven projects, database administration, the development of public policies with data, data interpretation languages such as Python and R, introduction to machine learning, internet of things, among others.
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This project will build ownership, networks, and long-term commitments of government and non-government organizations by developing Train the Trainers sessions.
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Business Training & Incubator. Key components will include digital marketing, critical thinking and communication with clients and partners, intellectual property, social media strategies, and modern tools for commercialization.
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Youth will learn to set up mechanisms for collaboration, define joint agendas, conduct coordinated approaches to improving government services, and develop solutions to public problems through technology and data.
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Collaborative Networks for Local Innovation and Ideathon sessions are brainstorming/community events for communities to define challenges in a thematic area. The best solutions will get start-up resources and mentoring to translate them into reality.
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Caribbean Forum, a networking meeting that will bring together the main actors from the public sector, companies, academia, and multilateral organizations, to promote the technology and innovation ecosystem in the Caribbean.
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Stakeholders will collectively identify challenges in service delivery as well as come up with ideas to address them.
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Through an open competitive grant cycle, the project will support the most innovative and viable solution proposals with seed funding for implementation. Preference will be given to proposals that promote the participation of youth and vulnerable populations and collaboration between multisectoral actors.
Strategic partners
Success Stories
Briannie Young
Pitch Tank Competition Participant
"I believe that, as entrepreneurs, we have ideas, and passion drives us to execute them. The DIA experience pushed us to know and understand that there is help, mentorship, and guidance out there that we can all look forward to receiving. It is programs like these that ensure Belizean youth and across the Caribbean that they can move forward."
Which of the following SDGS (Sustainable Development Goals) this project support?
Relevant Links
