Youth at the Wheel: Startups Reinventing Digital Mental Health

“Youth at the Wheel” showcases youth-led digital mental health ventures tackling a crisis institutions haven’t solved: 60-70% of adolescents needing support never get it, while burnout erodes creative and caregiving fields. Convened by Project:IGYB, a UN ECOSOC-registered youth organization running a peer-counseling network of 80+ trained student counselors serving 600+ students across seven Maryland and Virginia counties, the session gathers founders including the Global Alliance for Medical Innovation and pAInter, plus additional ventures. Rather than a panel discussing young people, founders will demo their tools and speak openly about unsolved problems: privacy, crisis safety, funding, trust. Aligned with the Summit’s 2026 thesis that community-level actors are the real front line, the session spans SDG 3, 4, and 10.