Youth Central
Annual Convening of Public-Private-Youth Partners by UNICEF YuWaah
Youth Central, the annual flagship event by UNICEF YuWaah, brings together 100+ key stakeholders from across public and private sectors, youth and civil society to engage in meaningful dialogue on key areas that influence how young people live, learn, and thrive.
By bridging gaps in collaboration and amplifying youth voices, this platform enabled the co-creation of innovative, scalable solutions to drive collective action and advance the holistic development of India’s youth.
Central to the convening are the ‘Collaboration Circles’, which are 6-7 curated parallel conversations bringing together 12-15 experts each from across diverse sectors to share their insights and explore potential pathways for convergence and collective action. Designed to encourage open and honest conversations, these sessions draw on the collective experience and expertise of participants.
Highlights from the convening
Yearly snapshots
This year, we look forward once again to a day of focused dialogue and exchange of insights, along six thematic areas:
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work, co-created with PwC India, will focus on exploring the potential of Artificial Intelligence in supporting young people in becoming entrepreneurs and setting up one-person entrepreneurial ventures.
Disability Inclusion in Youth Development, co-created with SBI Foundation, will focus on building a shared understanding of the levers that are necessary for the transition of a young person with disability to employment.
Economic Participation of Young Women, co-created with Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, will focus on identifying scalable models and potential partnerships needed to enable the transition of rural women from learning to earning.
Service-Based Learning as a Pathway for 21st C. Skills, co-created with Life Skills Collaborative, will focus on exploring the potential of service-based learning in helping young people learn twenty-first-century skills, while contributing meaningfully to their communities.
Internships as a Pathway from Learning to Earning, co-created with Capgemini India, will focus on the priority youth personas for the PM Internships Scheme, identifying the most effective approaches to engage them, and discussing the ecosystem support needed to enable their successful participation.
Youth-Centrality in the Workplace, co-created with SAP India, will focus on introducing the partnerships alliance ‘Yutopia’ to key private sector players, emphasising the importance of youth centrality to drive retention, and the shifts and commitments needed to institute principles of youth centrality.
Across 2024-2025, our discussions at Youth Central have been anchored in priority themes ranging from climate action, green skills, and livelihoods to inclusion, equity, and youth centrality - generating actionable insights that directly inform UNICEF YuWaah's strategy across both emerging and existing areas of work.
The 2025 convening highlighted critical gaps and actionable opportunities across key themes for youth development:
What does inclusion in youth programming look like?
Co-created with SBI Foundation, this discussion highlighted that inclusion must be intentional and systemic. Participants emphasised the need for collaboratives designed around marginalised youth, supported by flexible, multi-year funding, and grounded in local realities.
How can we enhance economic opportunities for young women?
Co-created with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, this discussion emphasised hyperlocal and remote employment models reinforced by family engagement and ongoing mentorship, alongside a growing focus on retention and long-term job sustainability over placement alone.
How can we drive a youth-led green transition?
Co-created with Capgemini India, this discussion emphasised the need for strong data systems and unified frameworks to define and track green roles, alongside clearer skilling to long-term green career pathways.
What does the future of youth volunteering look like?
Co-created with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, this discussion reframed volunteering as a pathway to meaningful contribution, skills development, and leadership, with participants the need recognising community-led models and local changemakers underscored.
How can youth-centrality be effectively embedded and sustained in the long-term?
Co-created with SAP, the discussion highlighted the importance of engaging young people as co-creators of programmes and policies, supported by mentorship, accountability, and clear expectations.
How can we create entrepreneurial models for rural youth?
Co-created with the British Asian Trust, the discussion focused on improving access to credit linkages for young entrepreneurs, evolving credit assessment mechanisms, and building multi-revenue models to stabilise incomes.
Highlight of the event also included the launch of Youth for a Sustainable India: Green Skills and Employment Pathways, developed with Capgemini, Sector Skill Council for Green Jobs, Council on Energy, Environment, and Water, and Sattva, which demystifies India's green jobs landscape and the role youth can play in leading the country's transition to a sustainable economy.
The convening highlighted critical gaps and actionable opportunities across key themes for youth development:
How can we build youth-centric climate action frameworks?
This discussion focused on the need for youth-centric priorities and meaningful engagement pathways in climate action, alongside addressing data gaps on climate impacts for youth.
How can we scale access to career guidance for youth?
This discussion focused on the limited access to career information and trained counselors in marginalized regions, and how pilot models can refine and scale career guidance nationally.
How can we close the employability skills gap for youth?
This discussion focused on the scarcity of employability skills and industry certifications, particularly for rural youth and women, and how digital tools and industry partnerships can bridge this gap.
How can we build scalable support systems for youth mental well-being?
This discussion focused on how stigma, lack of awareness, and insufficient support systems hinder mental health outcomes for youth, and the need for scalable interventions and awareness campaigns.
How can outcome-based financing unlock youth entrepreneurship?
This discussion focused on how high costs and a lack of success metrics discourage youth entrepreneurs, and how outcome-based funding models and ecosystem support can foster innovation.
How can we unlock young women's labor force participation?
This discussion focused on targeted interventions addressing mobility, education, and workplace policies to unlock young women's economic potential.
How can we ensure the most marginalized youth are not left behind?
This discussion focused on how high dropout rates and limited tech access perpetuate inequality, and the need for inclusive, sustainable programmes that prioritize marginalized communities.
Highlight of the event also included the launch of the Technical Guidelines for Engaging the Most Marginalized, developed with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), promoting inclusive advocacy and accessible programming for underserved youth.
