UNLEASH

We have just launched the UNLEASH Amazon Impact Report! In it, you can dive into the incredible journey of 150 inspiring young leaders who are shaping the future of the Brazilian Legal Amazon. With 71% of participants representing Indigenous and Traditional Communities, the UNLEASH Amazon Innovation Lab became the launch pad of 26 solutions co-created by those with lived experiences in the challenges at hand, ranging from environmental protection and accountability to sustainable economic development and bio-economy. "It was the most transformative experience I've ever had. For the first time, I saw young people representing the whole Legal Amazon together...we are strong enough to change the world and have the ancestral knowledge to solve the Amazon's bottlenecks and challenges." - Leonan Valente Martins, Riverside community representative. Read the full report on our website to discover how these changemakers are creating lasting impact in their communities, with 98% of participants now applying their learnings in their daily activities (link in comments).

We’ve partnered with RIVET to support 15 young changemakers addressing mental health and wellbeing. Do you have an idea to tackle stress, anxiety, depression, tech addiction, social isolation, digital wellbeing, or any other mental health challenge? Whether you're sitting with a good idea or already have a prototype, we’re looking to support you in making it a reality. Apply by April 13, 23.59 GMT via the UNLEASH Innovation Hub (link in comments).

What if tech were the solution to mental health challenges, not the cause? We’ve partnered with RIVET to support youth under 30 in reimagining mental health and wellbeing. Selected changemakers will receive 750 USD to implement their solution, plus mentorship, skill-building opportunities, and a global platform to bring their ideas to life. Want to know more? Visit our Innovation Hub and apply by April 13, 23:59 GMT. (Link in comments)

Hosting an UNLEASH Hack is a chance to spark real change, grow as a leader, and strengthen your connection to your community. As a Hack organizer, you’ll bring together young changemakers in your region to tackle urgent local challenges through the UNLEASH Innovation Methodology, turning your passion into impact. Ready to drive local impact with global support? Express your interest no later than Monday, March 31, at 23:59 GMT (link in comments)!

How can we ensure that young people are positioned to play an active role in shaping the policies that affect them? Earlier this month, UNLEASH teamed up with the National League of Cities to bring an UNLEASH Hack to the Youth Program of the Congressional Cities Conference in Washington, DC. 🌇 More than 200 youth from city councils across the country came together to co-create around 3 themes deeply impacting them and youth in their cities: 👥 Civic engagement and political participation 🙋 Representation and inclusion 📈 Community development & urban policymaking They worked in teams to explore challenges and generate ideas, emerging from the experience with fresh insights, a toolkit for approaching challenges with an analytic lens, and an action plan to take back to their youth and city councils. 📝 #CCC2025

Are you thinking about bringing an UNLEASH Hack to your community this year? Hosting a Hack will give you a chance to: 💻 Engage in workshops to learn about community mobilization 👤 Bring together members of your community 💡 Connect with the innovation ecosystem of your city 🌎 Create positive change at a local level You have only 2 more weekends to go! Read more about this opportunity and express your interest by March 31. 🗓️ Link in comments.

In the Arctic, temperatures are rising 4 times faster than the rest of the world, reshaping ways of life and challenging the wellbeing of communities across the North. From March 5-7, we gathered 60 changemakers in Whitehorse, Yukon, from across Canada and the Circumpolar North to tackle some of the region’s most pressing challenges. With 70% of participants identifying as Indigenous, we worked together to co-create solutions within two key tracks: 🏔️ Climate Action through Indigenous Self-determination 🏥 Reimagining Thriving Communities’ Wellness From addressing youth exodus to strengthening Indigenous youth’s connection to the land and rethinking mental health support, these solutions are deeply rooted in the Canadian North’s realities. Together with the Northern Council for Global Cooperation and the local community, we bridged user-centric design thinking with Indigenous worldviews, to ensure solutions are anchored in the local community and they’re conceptualized by those who live the challenges firsthand. Are you an UNLEASHer who’d like to bring UNLEASH to your community? Express your interest in hosting a Hack in our Innovation Hub by March 31! 🚀

Last year, 130 UNLEASH Alumni hosted 29 UNLEASH Hacks in 22 different countries. Touching on themes ranging from climate adaptation to gender equity, they engaged their communities to drive the impact they wanted to create! ⚡️ Are you an UNLEASHer eager to learn what it takes to mobilize your community? Would you like to bring UNLEASH to where you’re from? 🙋 Join this year’s cohort of UNLEASH Hack Organizers who will be leading the charge! 🚀 Read more and express your interest by March 31 to host a Hack in 2025. 📅 Link in comments.

2025 at UNLEASH started strong with already 3 UNLEASH Hacks that happened in January! 🚀 The latest one happened in Kampala, Uganda during a week-long innovation workshop where UNDP Uganda welcomed UNLEASH and representatives from 9 University Innovation Pods (UniPods) across Africa. 🖇️ During the 2 days of the Hack, the representatives were joined by some students and UNLEASH Alumni to work in teams on the theme of education and the future of work. They gained an understanding of the importance of asking ‘why’ in approaching persisting challenges within this theme that affects the youth they engage in their country’s UniPods. 📚 UniPods are part of UNDP’s timbuktoo Africa initiative with whom UNLEASH is collaborating for a series of UNLEASH Hacks that will engage local youth within user-centered design thinking to position them to develop and scale impactful solutions.

Your 2024 Wrapped… UNLEASH Edition! This year, we not only turned ideas into action across continents, but also came up with new ways to ensure changemakers around the world can drive impact in their communities and beyond. 💡✨ What was your favorite moment related to UNLEASH? Meeting someone new, an idea you came up with, a reunion with your favorite UNLEASHers, changing jobs, … everything counts! Tell us in the comments 💬 We wish you all a 2025 full  of innovation, creativity, and connection! 🥂