SINGAPORE 2027
SDGs Youth Impact Developers Conference 2027
Social Innovation for the SDGs
Singapore
Organised by Global SDGs Alliance (GSA) and The Experiential Labs (TEL).
28-31 January 2027
A four-day international learning programme where young people investigate community needs with Singapore changemakers and develop social innovation proposals for the Sustainable Development Goals.
About the Conference
The SDGs Youth Impact Developers Conference 2027 brings overseas youth participants together with students based in Singapore to explore how social innovation can respond to community needs. Through local cases, field research and collaborative design, participants connect the Sustainable Development Goals with people's everyday experiences.
The programme follows four stages: Discovery Day, Survey Day, Solution Day and Demo Day. Teams begin by framing a research question, gather evidence in local settings, develop a response and revise it through feedback. They finish with a proposal that explains whom it serves, the sustainability choices involved and a practical next step.
Throughout the journey, participants practise listening, critical thinking and collaboration across cultures and disciplines. Learning is demonstrated through the reasoning behind each proposal, the changes made after feedback and the insights participants can apply in their own communities.
Why Singapore
Singapore offers a setting for examining how community needs, environmental conditions and resource choices influence one another. The conference uses local cases to explore these relationships and consider what young people can learn for their own communities.
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Sustainability under Real Constraints
As a small island city-state with limited land and natural resources, Singapore must balance housing, infrastructure, economic activity and environmental protection. This makes the trade-offs behind sustainability decisions visible in everyday life. -
Community Life and Diverse Perspectives
Singapore's multicultural society provides a context for asking whose needs are understood, how different groups experience services and how people can participate in shaping responses. -
Local Learning with Global Relevance
Overseas youth and Singapore-based students bring different experiences to the same cases. By comparing perspectives, teams can examine which ideas depend on the local context and which questions may be relevant elsewhere.
Who Should Join
The conference is intended for young people interested in the SDGs, community research and social innovation who want to learn through observation, dialogue and teamwork. It connects two participant communities.
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Global Impact Developers
Youth participants joining from overseas who bring perspectives from their own communities and an interest in exploring sustainability challenges through international collaboration. -
Singapore Youth Fellows
Students based in Singapore, including local and international students, who want to connect local experiences with global perspectives and take part in collaborative social design.
Participants contribute their observations, question assumptions and develop ideas with their teams. Detailed eligibility and application information will be published with registration arrangements.
Programme Highlights
Learning with Local Changemakers
Engage with Singapore social innovators and organisations to understand the needs they address, the responses already in place and the practical conditions that shape their work.
Market and Community Research
Observe local settings and listen to people's experiences. Examine needs, services and barriers, then organise the findings into a focused design direction.
Sustainability Learning at NTU
Solution Day is planned at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Teams will connect field findings with social needs, environmental conditions and resource choices as they develop their proposals.
Proposal Development and Feedback
Visualise how a proposed response would work. Use feedback to revisit assumptions, improve feasibility and explain the sustainability benefits and trade-offs.
Demo Day and Reflection
Present a proposal supported by field findings and a record of revisions. Exchange insights across cases, reflect on individual learning and identify what should be tested next.
Core Outputs
Team Social Innovation Proposal
Each team develops an informed concept addressing a focused need. The final presentation explains six elements:
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Need and people. Whose experiences and needs does the team seek to address?
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Field findings. What did the team observe, what responses already exist and what remains unclear?
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Proposed response. How would the idea work, and what resources or relationships would it require?
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Sustainability. What are the intended benefits, trade-offs and relevant SDGs?
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Feedback and revision. What changed during development, and why did the team make those choices?
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Next step. What should be tested, and what evidence would help assess progress?
Visual Concept or Simple Prototype
Teams use sketches, a visual explanation or a simple prototype where useful to communicate how their idea works. These materials support discussion and help identify assumptions that need further testing.
Learning and Reflection
Teams record how feedback influenced their proposal. Each participant reflects on an assumption that changed, a contribution they made and an insight they can apply in their own community.
Recognition
Feedback and awards recognise learning alongside the final proposal. The assessment considers how teams understand a need, use evidence and explain their decisions.
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Understanding and evidence: a clear need, relevant findings and awareness of missing information.
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Sustainability reasoning: intended benefits, trade-offs and effects on people or resources.
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Practicality: a coherent explanation of how the idea works and what needs testing.
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Learning and collaboration: different perspectives and feedback visibly shaping the proposal.
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Communication: a clear account of the proposal, its limitations and the next step.
The conference concludes with an awards session and closing dinner on 31 January. Award details will be announced separately.
Core Programme Schedule
Day 0 | Arrival and Welcome (Optional)
Wed 27 Jan
Early arrivals can meet fellow participants through informal activities before the core programme begins.
Afternoon Icebreaking activities and introductions.
Evening Welcome Party and informal connections.
Core orientation and team arrangements take place on Day 1. Day 0 is optional.
Day 1 | Discovery Day
Thu 28 Jan
Main Focus
Discover how local social needs connect with the SDGs and prepare for field research. Participants explore cases with social innovators, discuss the situations they encounter and identify a question for their team to investigate.
Programme Elements
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Morning opening address, SDGs introduction and theme orientation.
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Core programme orientation and team arrangements.
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Afternoon engagement with social innovators and exploration of local situations.
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Team discussion to identify a case, initial assumptions and a field learning plan.
Day 2 | Survey Day
Fri 29 Jan
Main Focus
Build an understanding of the selected case through market and community research with Singapore changemakers and organisations. Teams examine how people experience a need and how existing responses work in practice.
Programme Elements
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Observe and listen to understand needs, services and barriers in the local setting.
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Examine available resources, relationships, opportunities and practical constraints.
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Organise field findings, identify gaps in understanding and focus on a need the team can address.
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Develop an initial concept grounded in the evidence collected.
Day 3 | Solution Day @ NTU
Sat 30 Jan
Main Focus
Apply sustainability perspectives to the field findings and develop a response. Teams examine how their idea would affect people and resources, then use feedback to revise its design and feasibility.
Programme Elements
Morning Sustainability learning that connects social needs, environmental conditions and resource choices. Teams examine assumptions and trade-offs in their proposed response.
Afternoon Develop and visualise the concept, use feedback to refine feasibility and sustainability, record revisions and prepare the presentation.
Day 4 | Demo Day
Sun 31 Jan
Main Focus
Communicate what the team has learned and how its proposal developed. Presentations connect the identified need with field evidence, revisions and a practical next step.
Programme Elements
Morning Team presentations and feedback on the need, supporting findings, proposed response and next step.
Afternoon Exchange insights across cases and reflect on individual learning and team contributions.
Evening Awards and closing dinner.
Leadership & Speakers
Presidium
Jack Huang
Enterprise Application Center Consultant/Data Analyst, UN-OICT
Jay Wei
Lead of Steering Committee, Global SDGs Alliance
Lilly Wong
Project Director, Global SDGs & Leadership Development Center
Advisors
Dr Le Chencheng
Lecturer, Asian School of the Environment
Assistant Chair (Student Life), Asian School of the Environment
Featured Guests & Mentors
Coming soon...
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Global Youth Delegates
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Host
Strategic Partners
