Nicosia, August 31, 2023 – The United Nations Development Programme Cyprus (UNDP), in a project implemented by SocialTech Lab, proudly inaugurates the ground-breaking Youth Innovation Factory (YIF), an endeavor poised to revolutionize the landscape of youth-led innovation.

“At UNDP Cyprus, we firmly believe that the transformative power of young minds is the cornerstone of a sustainable future. The Youth Innovation Factory embodies our commitment to nurturing these transformative capacities, providing a springboard for young visionaries to evolve their ideas into impactful, sustainable solutions with real-world implications,” affirms Jakhongir Khaydarov, Head of Office for UNDP Cyprus.

Set to commence in late September, the Youth Innovation Factory (YIF) is designed as an extensive venture-building endeavor, committed to expediting the progress and release of technology-based innovations originated by young individuals in Cyprus, aged 18 to 35. The first cohort will guide selected teams through a transformative 3-month experience, facilitating the conversion of novel concepts into potent and expandable innovations centered around the themes of Environment and Social Cohesion, closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Selected teams will enter the Factory, validate their ideas, build their Minimum Viable Product (MVP), craft impactful stories, and lay the foundation for sustainable change, all while developing their personal potential with hands-on training, mentorship, and networking with various stakeholders from civil society and industry. Additionally, all participating teams will receive free coworking with access to a shared working space, a podcasting studio, a conference room, and free drinks/snacks.

At the end of the programme, teams that have successfully completed the programme and all its deliverables will pitch their solutions to a high-level jury panel and have the chance to be awarded €25,000 as seed-funding to help turn their idea into reality!

The vision of the Youth Innovation Factory (YIF) is to create an ecosystem where passionate young minds come together to address real-world challenges faced by local communities and any other relevant stakeholder. By sourcing challenges from those working on the ground, YIF will empower youth to build innovative, tech-based solutions with elements of gamification, web/mobile, AR/VR, AI, and more.

Prospective participants are invited to submit their applications until Sunday, September 24, at 23:59 EET. For further details regarding the program’s intricacies, thematic frameworks, terms and conditions, as well as the application procedure, interested individuals are encouraged to visit the following webpage: undp.org/cyprus/youthinnovationfactory

For more information, please contact the YIF team at:
hello@socialtechlab.org 

For further information and media enquiries please contact UNDP at: 

Gulten Inan, Communications Assistant 
E-mail : gulten.inan@undp.org Tel : +357 99 061560/+905488684603 

Eleni Panayiotou, Communications Associate 
E-mail : eleni.panayiotou@undp.org Tel: +35799368879/+905488684602

SocialTech Lab
SocialTech Lab is an award-winning social venture dedicated to building, launching, and scaling the next wave of peacetech innovations to shape a more prosperous future in fragile contexts across the globe. SocialTech Lab works at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and peacebuilding to bridge divides, empower local change-makers, and cultivate resilient ecosystems.

SocialTech Lab operates CyprusInno, an island-wide entrepreneurship platform of digital tools and live programs in Cyprus, as well as The Base by CyprusInno - the world's first Social Impact Generator™ combining the elements of a coworking space, accelerator/incubator, innovation center, and multimedia studio in Cyprus’ Buffer Zone.

United Nations Development Programme
UNDP aims to contribute and support the peace-building process in Cyprus and to enhance cooperation between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriot by implementing a range of confidence building measures.

Get in touch: UNDP Cyprus (@UNDPCY) / Twitter |on Facebook| on Instagram| 
More resources: https://www.undp.org/cyprus