International Youth Day

“In a world that so often decries the apathy of its youth, we can open our arms for the millions of adolescents eager to contribute their new ideas and bounding enthusiasm.”

— Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and first president of South Africa

This Friday (August 12) is International Youth Day, an opportunity “to celebrate and mainstream young peoples’ voices, actions and initiatives, as well as their meaningful, universal and equitable engagement.” On this day, we’d like to celebrate the 70,000+ young people that have participated in the iGEM Competition, engaging with their communities to solve local problems and tackle global challenges using the tools of synthetic biology. Over 3,600 multidisciplinary teams from 46 countries and regions have helped create a better future by pioneering advances in healthcare, biodiversity conservation, agriculture, and so much more. 

The theme “Intergenerational Solidarity” for International Youth Day 2022 is particularly meaningful in the context of iGEM, where teams actively work towards iGEM’s purpose of ensuring that the field of synthetic biology, and all the power that this technology holds, gets developed everywhere by everyone. Within the Competition, iGEMers strive to create diverse and inclusive teams and to honor the perspectives of people from all different backgrounds. They also engage with their local communities in developing their projects, so that everyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, physical ability or other difference, can contribute to, participate in, and be represented by their research.

The young people in the iGEM Competition are the future leaders of the field of synthetic biology. iGEM teams have forged many technical advances in synthetic biology, ranging from the design and construction of biosensors for detecting environmental contaminants or monitoring health conditions, to engineering biomaterials that can replace petroleum-based products, to developing technologies for DNA digital data storage. Many iGEM projects have developed into PhD thesis topics and new areas of research, and become the basis for start-up companies that can translate the proofs-of-concepts tested in the iGEM competition into products and services with real world applications. 

Beyond the Competition, iGEMers have gone on to engage with policy makers, government officials, and other stakeholders to advance contemporary discourse on synthetic biology through iGEM’s Respect & Responsibility Program. Since 2016, iGEMers have served as delegates at international policy forums, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the IUCN Global Youth Summit, and the Biological Weapons Convention. These young people are contributing to scientific diplomacy and international policy by bringing their unique voices, enthusiasm to share knowledge, and eagerness to learn to the global conversation on synthetic biology. As future science diplomats, entrepreneurs, and regulators, these young people are already making a positive impact by demonstrating their leadership on important global issues.

We are proud of all the young people who have participated in the iGEM Competition over the years and are playing a key role in pioneering the field of synthetic biology. We invite you to celebrate the young people in the iGEM Community on International Youth Day, and to witness the future of synthetic biology at the iGEM 2022 Grand Jamboree on October 26-28 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. 

Invest in the future by partnering with iGEM, exhibiting at the iGEM Grand Jamboree, or sponsoring iGEM teams. Contact: sponsor [AT] igem [DOT] org..