Youth CITIES
Youth CITIES (Creating Impact Through Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability) is a program that introduces high school students to social entrepreneurship. This rigorous bootcamp inspires, educates, and equips youth to take action and make a difference. Its mission: to empower students to use the principles of entrepreneurship to drive change in their communities. Youth CITIES moves beyond the academics of building businesses, framing real-life problems, real-life constraints, and real-life criteria as the launch pad for students to create a value-driven, sustainable solution to a real-life market opportunity.
Youth CITIES partners with prominent executives from the business and nonprofit community who teach fundamentals of leadership, entrepreneurship, presentation skills, and business plan creation, and share strategies for leveraging business principles to impact society. Students compete in teams to start-up and build a social venture to solve real-world problems. The top 3 teams will present their ventures to a panel of judges. The prize? $1500 in seed grant funding and the benefit of a hand-selected Advisory Board to help launch a prototype/pilot of the winning social venture.
The following is an outline of the program with key dates that students are required to attend
September 16th @ 5:30pm – Sponsored by Microsoft
Kick-off reception with Keynote delivered by Chad Green, Director of Community Service, Phillips Academy This will be an opportunity for students and parents to meet and network with the Youth CITIES instructors, mentors, and judges. All students are required to attend, and parents are strongly encouraged to attend. Heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served.
September 19th through Nov 7th (Saturdays from 9am to noon):
Classroom lecture, case studies, and interactive discussion + lab time for teamwork with active mentorship + mock-pitches. Only registered students may attend.
November 14th (9am to noon):
Semi-final presentations – all teams will present. Parents are encouraged to attend.
November 21st (10am to 1pm):
Finalist Pitches and Awards Ceremony Luncheon with Closing Keynote by former Lt. Governor Kerry Healey Top 3 teams will present their pitch for funding and support network to launch a pilot program. Lunch and awards ceremony will follow. This event is open to all students and their respective families, program judges/mentors/instructors, and special guests.