Y-Hub for youth & adolescent to be set up by Telangana, UNICEF India

HYDERABAD: 'Y-Hub,' the India's first youth and adolescent focused innovation centre to promote problem-solving, creativity & design thinking, 21st century skills, innovation, and entrepreneurship among young people in the state will be launched in Hyderabad. The framework of Y-Hub was launched few months ago and today, a Statement of Intent (SoI) was signed between Government of Telangana, and UNICEF India & YuWaah. K T Rama Rao, Honorable Minister of IT for Telangana, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of Government. of Telangana, Dr Shanta Thoutam, Chief Innovation Officer to Telangana, Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF India Representative, Apoorva Bhasker Dasyam, Education Lead at Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC) were present at the SoI exchange occasion.

Speaking at the signing occasion Minister of IT K T Rama Rao, said, " This is truly a historic moment for the youth and innovation ecosystem of Telangana. We are happy to partner with UNICEF India to strengthen the efforts of promoting innovation & entrepreneurship from school age. Through Y-Hub, we will ensure our youth continuously innovates in a joyful manner and we will curate experiential methodologies for them to become tomorrow's problem solvers."

The hub aims to cultivate innovation by engaging schools, colleges, and civic organizations of Telangana to serve every child and youth. It will serve as a bridge between young innovators and the wider ecosystem, connecting them with government agencies, corporates, academia and other stakeholders to provide opportunities for collaboration, learning, impact and scaling.

Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF India Representative, said "The Telangana Y-Hub is envisioned as an innovation and incubation hub that nurtures young innovators and potential entrepreneurs. It provides a platform for them to learn, get inspired, innovate and collaborate as active change agents. By drawing on the ecosystem to enable opportunities that fosters the creative potential of young people, the Y-Hub envisages a generation of innovators in every district across the state."

Y-Hub will provide access to a range of resources and services including mentorship, skilling programs, workshops, bootcamps, co-creating spaces and funding opportunities for young innovators.

The Y-Hub is also part of the YuWaah (Generation Unlimited India) initiative of UNICEF, which aims to prepare young people to transition from education and learning to productive work and active citizenship together with public and private sector partners, UN Agencies, civil society organisations, foundations and young people themselves.