Leading Minds
Young people changing the world
It has long been a strength of UNICEF to bring together different stakeholders and partners, including children and young people, to make a change in the face of challenges.
UNICEF Innocenti makes the most of this strength with Leading Minds, a regular series of multi-generational events and a platform for thought leadership created with and driven by young people.
Each event focuses on a topic of critical concern to children and young people – e.g. mental health, child identity, climate change and human capital – and connects generations. Thought leaders, policymakers and knowledge brokers are invited to meet young people – and are often challenged by their ideas. Together, young people and people in positions of power consider issues and seek opportunities.
Leading Minds is built on five key principles:
- Connect to yourself and each other to build a culture that feels safe and secure
- Listen curiously, observe and learn
- Share expertise, experience and opinions
- Discuss ideas in small and large groups
- Act by developing action points
Youth leaders are at the heart of the events, co-facilitating sessions with experts and academics. They come from around the world and represent many different groups.
Their work has an impact well beyond the events. Young people play a pivotal role in UNICEF’s ongoing dialogue on building a better world for children, ensuring that we are always putting their needs and interests at the heart of our work.
2025 Leading Minds Conference
The 2025 Leading Minds Conference explored the many ways that education in Africa could evolve in coming decades.
Led by youth, with input from education experts, the conversations at the three-day conference in Nairobi made use of tested foresight methodologies to envision possible futures.
Some of the possibilities featured a future of education that was rooted in foundational learning. This form of education existed in inclusive settings with teachers who had the skills, tools and support they needed for success. In this future, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies were critical aids to teachers and learners and were put to use in contexts where risks were carefully managed.
For Africa, the two possibilities for education led two futures: a road of promise and prosperity for the growing population of children and young people or a world of missed opportunities for children, nations and the world.
