#YouthLead Dialogues Summary

Highlights

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY). WPAY provided a policy framework and guidelines for national action and international support to improve young people’s lives around the world. Leveraging this moment to critically reflect on the journey so far, the United Nations Youth Office (UNYO) launched the #YouthLead Dialogues, a global youth-led initiative to gather perspectives directly from young people as well as key stakeholders, including UN entities, country teams, youth-led organisations, and civil society partners. UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight and the United Nations Futures Lab/Global Hub partnered with UNYO to integrate strategic foresight into the design and implementation of the initiative.

Over 75,000 children and young people from more than 180 countries answered the call by leading their own dialogues, sharing their lived experiences, aspirations, and recommendations on how we can create a better future for young people. Decentralised youth foresight processes such as these can model meaningful youth participation in decision making, placing young people’s visions at the center of global action. The key findings are captured in the #YouthLead Dialogues Summary, which served as one of the key inputs to inform the High-Level Meeting celebrating WPAY30 and other key moments during the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. 

Dive into the #YouthLead Dialogues Summary to explore:

• Key priorities for youth affairs identified by children and young people
• Core elements of the futures children and young people want to live in
• Seeds of change they see in the present that have transformative potential and deserve more attention
• Actionable recommendations for policy and action

This summary report captures the voices, visions, and commitments of over 75,000 children and young people from around the world. Whether you are a policymaker, educator, activist, or a citizen interested in the youth agenda, this is an opportunity to see the future through the eyes of an emerging generation of changemakers—and to discover how you can play a part in bringing their vision to life. 

Visit United Nations Futures Lab to learn more about the #YouthLead Dialogues initiative.