Young Dragons

Entrepreneurs with sustainable projects

1997 was a momentous year: Labour won the General Election with a landslide; Hong Kong was handed over to China; and Princess Diana died in Paris.  At the same time, Live Earth, a small environment trust, created a proposal to raise millions of pounds in “earth shares” for school kids.  Under the Local Agenda 21 umbrella, they would learn to engage with and allocate the funds to social and ecological initiatives.  The project was to be featured at the £42M Earth Centre near Doncaster but, within only a few years of opening, this closed, taking Live Earth’s idea with it.

In 2019, over twenty years later, environmental issues are high on the agenda again, thanks partly to the efforts of the Friday Climate Strike movement of school children inspired by Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg.

The Young Dragons will have a fund to invest in the projects they support

Designer Mustafa Sami, one of the originators of the 1997 project, is now keen to work with Cotswold social business and not-for-profit Stroud Common Wealth, to revive and repurpose the idea for the 21st Century.   

They believe the time is perfect: there is heightened awareness of the threat of climate change, of the need for sustainable businesses and projects, and our children are motivated to future-proof their lives as never before.

The proposal is to set up a series of Young Dragons Den events. Entrepreneurs with sustainable projects that proactively address the urgent need to avoid the 1.5 degree tipping point will pitch to panels of young people who, in turn, will be coached in what to look out for in a business idea and how to winkle out any weaknesses.

The Young Dragons will have a fund to invest in the projects they support.  This fund will be crowd-funded and donated to by local people who believe in and will benefit from the chosen projects.

In this simple way, young people will literally be investing in their future.  They’ve already demonstrated their determination to challenge the lack of progress in tackling climate change.  Now they can turn protests into projects.