Global Citizen NOW: Perth x Bloom: Design Challenge

Power Tomorrow’s Energy System

Global Citizen and Bloom are bringing different perspectives together to explore what the future of energy, climate and resilient communities could look like.

The future won’t be shaped by one profession, one industry or one kind of thinker. It will take engineers and entrepreneurs, designers and scientists, policy thinkers and storytellers, technologists, creatives, artists and people who simply see the problem differently.

You don’t need to arrive with a solution.

You don’t need to be studying climate or energy.

We’re bringing young people from different disciplines into the same room to challenge assumptions, build connections and develop ideas for the systems, communities and partnerships our future needs. The ideas developed across the weekend will feed into the wider conversation around Global Citizen NOW: Perth, giving young Western Australians a place in a global discussion about climate, resilience and the future of energy.

Every participant will also receive a ticket to Global Citizen NOW: Perth.

How it works

You’ll be placed into a multidisciplinary team of 4–6 people. You don’t need to register with a team we’ll bring together people with different skills, areas of study and perspectives.

Across the weekend your team will:

• Choose a challenge track

• Explore and define the problem

• Develop a solution

• Test, challenge and iterate your idea

• Build your final proposal

• Prepare and deliver a pitch

• You’ll have support from expert mentors throughout the weekend, alongside a range of energising activations designed to help you reset, connect and keep the ideas moving.

• Every team will pitch on Sunday afternoon.

From those pitches, 3–5 finalist teams will be selected to continue into dedicated pitch coaching on Monday before presenting their idea at Global Citizen NOW: Perth on Tuesday.

Your mission should you choose to accept it:

• Friday 16 October — Connect

  • 5:00pm — Doors, registration + dinner

  • 5:30pm — Official program begins

  • Meet your team, get across the challenge and take part in a critical problem-solving workshop before the sprint begins.

• Saturday 17 October — Create

  • A full day of designing, testing and building.

  • Work with your team and expert mentors to investigate your challenge, test assumptions, combine your different skills and turn your thinking into a practical solution.

• Sunday 18 October — Commit

  • Refine your idea, prepare your pitch and put your work in front of the judging panel.

  • 3:00–5:00pm — Team pitches

  • Every team will pitch.

  • At the end of the session, 3–5 finalist teams will be selected to progress to the Global Citizen NOW: Perth finals.

If you’re selected as a finalist

• Monday 19 October — Pitch Coaching

  • 5:00 -7:00pm

  • Perth Convention Centre

  • Finalist teams will receive dedicated coaching to sharpen their story, presentation and final pitch.

• Tuesday 20 October — Global Citizen NOW: Perth

  • 2:00–3:30pm — Final pitches

  • Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre

  • Take your idea onto the Global Citizen NOW: Perth stage and present it to leaders, innovators and changemakers from around the world.

• Global Citizen Nights

  • 6:00–9:00pm

  • The winning team will be announced as part of the evening program.

Before you register:

By signing up, you are committing to participate in the full Design Challenge Weekend from Friday 16 October through Sunday 18 October.

If your team is selected as a finalist, you are also committing to attend:

Monday 19 October, 12:00–5:00pm for pitch coaching, and

Tuesday 20 October, 2:00–9:00pm for the final pitch and Global Citizen Nights.

Please make sure you are available across these dates before registering.

Who’s Behind It?

Global Citizen is an international movement driving action on some of the world's biggest challenges, from climate to global development. It brings people together, working with communities, business, government and philanthropy to turn that action into real commitments.

Bloom is Western Australia’s Centre of Innovation, helping young people turn ideas into real-world impact through entrepreneurship programs, mentoring, events and coworking. 

St Catherines College combines exceptional accommodation, chef-prepared meals and a vibrant residential community with comprehensive academic support. With campuses at UWA and Curtin University, residents benefit from small-group tutoring included in College fees, mentoring, leadership and wellbeing programs, industry events and alumni connections while building lifelong friendships and making the most of their university experience.

Global Citizen NOW: Perth brings together leaders from government, business, philanthropy, First Peoples and Indigenous communities, academia and civil society ahead of COP31 to build partnerships, mobilise investment and turn ambition into measurable action.