UNICEF India Youth Advocates
Empowering Youth Voices: UNICEF Youth Advocate Programme Shines Globally! 🌍
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Hey Youth Supporters! 👋
UNICEF’s Youth Advocate Programme, launched globally in 2018, empowers young people with advocacy skills, amplifies their voices on major platforms, and fosters global dialogues. Join our team of over 120 young leaders from +30 countries and make a difference! ✊
Check out the Global UNICEF Youth Advocate Programme for more details.
India Joins the Movement! 🦚
Exciting news from India! The Youth Advocate Programme, which kicked off here in 2023, is expanding rapidly.
We welcomed our very first Youth Advocate on 3 October 2023 and three more on 4 May 2024, at a thrilling event in Delhi, alongside a new UNICEF Celebrity National Ambassador!
Now, on 19 November 2025, the programme grows even stronger as three new Youth Advocates, Unnathi, Shyam & Prasiddhi, join the movement, alongside our continuing advocates from the first cohort - Gauranshi, Nahid & Kartik. Together, they form a strong group of six UNICEF India Youth Advocates, as an extended UNICEF India family.
Stay tuned for more updates 📢 and scroll down to meet our Stellar Youth Advocates!
Meet UNICEF India's first cohort of Youth Advocates
In May 2024, UNICEF India announced four new Youth Advocates to work on issues such as child rights, mental health, and climate change. This programme provides young people aged 18–24 with an opportunity to collaborate with UNICEF and drive meaningful change. The selected Youth Advocates include Gauranshi Sharma (Inclusion), Kartik Verma (Climate), Nahid Afrin (Mental Health), and Vinisha Umashankar (Innovation).
All four advocates have been actively raising awareness and working on issues such as climate change, mental health, innovation, and girls in STEM, and they bring deep understanding and experience in their respective areas. These Youth Advocates, aged between 16 and 24, have specific interests and have already contributed significantly to their chosen fields.
Gauranshi Sharma from Madhya Pradesh advocates for the right to play and disability inclusion, while Kartik Verma from Uttar Pradesh focuses on climate change and child rights. Nahid Afrin from Assam raises issues related to mental health and early childhood development. Vinisha Umashankar from Tamil Nadu is an emerging innovator and a leader in STEM.
These young ambassadors are part of UNICEF’s global programme and are part of a network of more than 93 Youth Advocates appointed worldwide, working to bring positive change to issues affecting children and young people.
UNICEF India Youth Advocates - The Second Cohort
The new UNICEF India Youth Advocates are Shyam Shukla, 15, from Karnataka, Prasiddhi Singh, 13, from Tamil Nadu, and Unnathi Suranaa, 19, from Gujarat. At 13 and 15 years, Prasiddhi and Shyam are the youngest to take on the role.
These Youth Advocates bring their passion and commitment to supporting social issues, their ability to inspire peers, and their potential to grow as positive role models. The new batch joins the UNICEF India Youth Advocates, Gauranshi Sharma from Madhya Pradesh, Kartik Verma from Uttar Pradesh, and Nahid Afrin from Assam, who were appointed in 2023 and 2024.
Relive the excitement of the Appointment of the Youth Advocates
