Intellectual Property and Youth: Innovating for a better future
World Intellectual Property Organization
Session 262
Intellectual Property (IP), Youth and ICTs: Innovating for a better future
Millions of young people around the world use ICTs to communicate, learn and engage with cultural and creative content. The intellectual property (IP) system plays an important role in incentivizing the production and dissemination of the wealth of information, knowledge and entertainment products which are accessed and consumed by young people using digital technologies. The world celebrates World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) annually on April 26 and this year young people are at the center of WIPD with the theme IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future.
This session forms part of the global celebrations of WIPD 2022, and will showcase how young innovators in the ICT ecosystem are making a difference in their societies by contributing to sustainable development.
It will also discuss some of the policy issues relevant to creating an enabling environment for young people, everywhere to create a better future for themselves by leveraging the IP system to support their innovation and creativity.
Some of the questions that will be addressed include:
- What is the role of IP in global efforts to empower youths for a better future?
- To what extent are young people currently using the IP system in the ICT space?
- What is needed to strengthen innovation ecosystems and ensure that young people have the best possible chance to be active players in the IP system.
Nadine Hakizimana is of Rwandan heritage, born in Botswana and raised in South Africa, and has a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is WIPO’s Youth Engagement Facilitator and supports initiatives that help young people unlock their full potential to innovate meaningfully and to benefit from their ingenuity using the global intellectual property system. Nadine has supported education and skills development programs for migrants at Panaf in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. She did internships at ITU as well as UNCTAD and thereafter became a fellow for ICT and Gender Mainstreaming at the People Centered Internet. Nadine was also a WSIS Youth Campaigner, advocating for increased youth participation in global discourse around ICT for development through the auspices of the annual WSIS Forum. She has also done communications, marketing, and promotional work at UNAIDS ESA and worked as a Community Coordinator at ConnectAID, supporting sustainable development projects together with a team of young SDG community advocates.
Dr. Bartosz Gdaniec, is Polish-born scientist trained in the field of biotechnology, microbiology and molecular medicine. His research on bacterial interaction was supported by a PhD Booster grant, to promote young biomedical research talents. He was awarded the prize of Swiss Society for Infectious Diseases for his outstanding achievements in basic research (2020). Dr. Gdaniec also received the prize of best dissertation of the Geneva Life Sciences doctoral school (2020) as well as an award for best thesis in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva (2021).
He has had training in the field of global health diplomacy at the University of Oxford and was the President of GIMUN, an NGO with special consultative status at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations based in Geneva.
As a scientist with an entrepreneurial mindset Dr. Gdaniec wants to take innovation and translational research to the next level while working as a scientific advisor for a biotech company based in Switzerland.
Dr. Imodoye Abioro is a Medical Doctor from Nigeria and CEO of Healthbotics Limited. Formed in 2015, Healthbotics aims to increase the efficiency and quality of health care workers. Imodoye’s innovative technology helps health authorities track disease outbreaks quickly and in remote areas using a cloud-based electronic medical records system called Mediverse. This AI-powered system allows health workers to input and retrieve patient records through voice activated technology on their PC, laptop, tablet, or phone.
Mr Kedumetse Liphi is a 31-year old electronic engineer and innovator from Botswana with 7 years practical experience in the engineering industry.
He is the Founder and Chief Engineer at Ked-Liphi (pty) ltd and holds certificate in AutoElectric engineering.
His innovations have been features on various local and international networks, including, CNN.
Tamara Nanayakkara is Counsellor at the IP for Business Division, IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva, Switzerland. Since she joined WIPO in January 1994 she worked in the Cooperation for Development Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Economic Analysis, Forecast and Research Division and the Least Developed Countries Division. Before joining WIPO she worked as an Attorney at Law and as an Assistant Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka. She holds a Bachelors and a Masters Degree in Law from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and a Masters Degree in International Management from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Tamari Tateshvili is a student at Ilia State University, and is studying a Computer Science program in
Georgia. In her free time, she leads a Digital Leadership Student Club at Ilia State University. Tamari Tateshvili has organized multiple projects in her hometown, including opening up a STEM school club at her
high school with the help of one of the teachers. She has won multiple STEM competitions where she created a mobile application for people who need more information about public transportation.
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C6. Enabling environment
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-health
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-environment
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Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all
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Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
