News

November 23, 2023

First UEF Youth Initiative meeting

Meeting summary



Attendees:

• Reza Pourvaziry, Chair, Urban Economy Forum, Canada

• Fazileh Dadvar, Director of Annual Forums, Head of Capacity Building and Networking at the World Urban Pavilion 

• Alex Venuto, Acting Deputy Director 

• Alyssa Martschenko, program manager and EA, Urban Economy Forum

• Dorsa Sabouri Dodaran

• Kianoush Gholami Zarandi 

• Ali Azarbaijani

• Hamidreza Shojaei

Over the course of two consecutive sessions which were hosted by Urban Economy Forum on November 22nd and 23rd, a group of ambitious young attendances were given the opportunity to express their perspectives and raise some thorough arguments regarding sustainable urban finance, networking, and style of interaction with the global active cities and countries in sustainable development.

The discussion started by brainstorming some new opportunities to accelerate the process of Urban Economy Forum. Dorsa Sabouri referred to UEF as an organization to bring stakeholders together to invest on initiatives which could be issued by youth as active participants and decision-makers. She further clarified a new concept which is called “Youth Bonds” as a youth-led urban finance initiative to mobilize global capital to empower young people as shareholders, enable them to actively participate in shaping a better future. She proposed the establishment of connections with youths, such as university students, as a community to listen to their concerns and increase their commands of current crisis by choosing some relevant raised arguments. She believes that the chosen arguments which are aligned with SDGs can be referred to UEF for further support and investigation. 

Setting up and implementing a databank of active mayors and NGOs and negotiating with city pioneers were the extraordinary ideas mentioned by Hamidreza Shojaei. He also believes that activists can play an outstanding role in boosting public awareness. He expanded upon Dorsa`s statements and highlighted the importance of making a databank of active universities in Economy and Environment fields to look for enthusiastic students, ISI writers, and professors for upcoming seminars and events as ambassadors. Making a database of active parliaments in SD and urban economy and invite them to upcoming events for seeking sponsorship were the ultimate points brought forth by him.

Kian Gholami is also of the opinion that AI (Artificial intelligence) could be a useful tool for general concepts which can further be used for creating straight-forward materials to send clear messages to potential audiences through different social media platforms. He believes that advertising and intensifying messaging systems can significantly affect the efficiency of awareness-raising. Email marketing, press releases, specific video teasers and trailers, and networking events were some of the key ideas he stated to address the challenges in urban economy. 

In conclusion, these discussions and proposals reflect a commitment to innovative approaches, and youth empowerment in shaping a more sustainable urban development. As the forum continues, these ideas could be considered as roadmaps for fostering a significant change in the field of sustainable urban development.