From vulnerability to economic empowerment: the role of technology in youth inclusion

• In Event: Digital innovation and youth resilience: opportunities to overcome barriers and gaps in mental health and entrepreneurship

Proposal

This panel explores how Information Technology (IT) offers innovative solutions to reduce gaps, eliminate economic barriers and provide opportunities for youth in territories affected by armed conflict and economic precariousness. In regions like Tibú, Tumaco and Quibdó, where corporate sector is weak and jobs are scarce, IT training is a crucial tool for transforming the lives of youth.
Initiatives like “Alianza Conecta Joven: Empowering Youth and Businesses for a Prosperous and Resilient Future” and “Campus Tibú: Programmers Training and Developmnet Center 1.0”, illustrate how YRA with support from the Council of American Enterprise Foundation (CEA) and Campus Land, combines technical IT training with psychosocial support. These programs teach skills such as programming, data science, digital marketing and software development, while strengthening essential soft skills for life and work, preparing them to access employment opportunities within and outside their territories.
A key component is the promotion of remote employment, which enables youth to work outside their territories without leaving their communities. Technology thus serves as a bridge, opening new doors to decent employment and removing geographical barriers that often limit growth.
The “Campus Tibú” project, inspired by the Station F pedagogical model from France, offers a learning environment focused on practice, to generate a tangible impact on the lives of vulnerable youth. Similarly, “Alianza Conecta Joven: Empoderando a Jóvenes y Empresas para un Futuro Próspero y Resiliente” aims to train 60 youth in Tumaco and Quibdó, strengthening technical and life skills to foster resilience and self-employment.
Another YRA experience promotes sustainability for youth entrepreneurs thorugh access to digital education services such as those offered by Platzi and Hubspot, opening new opportunities and fostering connections. Through training in Artificial Intelligence, marketing and digital economy, participants acquire skills to face the demands of a technological market, even if they face conditions of isolation or poor connectivity. By providing access to accessible, flexible and asynchronously available educational platforms, the training gap that typically affects youth with higher care burdens, mostly women, is reduced.
Advanced technology, such as satellite internet, is integrated to ensure that participants located in areas with low internet connectivity can access educational resources and develop their entrepreneurs. The implementation of AI and digital tools strengthens their entrepreneurial skills and facilitates their adaptation to new market dynamics.
These initiatives promote a comprehensive digital certification strategy, encouraging continuous learning and ensuring that youth stay up to date with the latest market trends. This combination of training, connectivity and certification creates an enabling environment for sustainable development, allowing vulnerable youth to overcome barriers, access new opportunities and generate significant change in their lives and communities.
This panel will deepen into how these initiatives generate technical skills and contribute to youth’s emotional and social development, preparing them to face the labor market in a comprehensive manner. The crucial role of public-private partnerships with technology-based organizations will be discussed, as well as the transformative impact of technology in territories where the business sector faces great challenges and employment generation is limited.

Author

• Enrique Maruri, ACDIVOCA