Policies and programmes involving youth- a priority item for the United Nations

Preliminary observations

The year 2025 has offered the 193 members of the United Nations the opportunity to reflect, individually and collectively, on the past, present and future of the younger generation from a multitude of specific perspectives. The celebration of the International Youth Year in 1985 under the motto Participation, Development, Peace, on the basis of a resolution introduced by Romania with a large number of co-sponsors from all continents, as well as the adoption of subsequent youth-related documents, prepared the ground for more extensive activities dedicated to youth.

In this regard,mention should be made of the World Programme of Action for Youth, adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 14 December 1995, and of the fact that in September 2025 a high-level plenary meeting was convened during the general debate of the UNGA at its eightieth session to mark the thirtieth anniversary of this Programme.

From the very beginning, it is necessary to note that the total global population of youth (defined by the UN as those aged 15 to 24 years) is estimated to be approximately 1.2 billion at the end of 2025. This accounts for about 16% of the total world population, which is expected to reach around 8.2 billion in 2025.

In 2025, the UN General Assembly adopted, on the proposal of its Third Committee, an 11-page programmatic resolution with a long preamble and 35 operative paragraphs, entitled Policies and programmes involving youth. It was co-sponsored by a large number of Member States, including, inter alia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Spain, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam.

Investing in Youth - A Call to Action

In a world facing unprecedented challenges - from climate change, economic inequality, digital disruption, to social exclusion and global conflict - young people stand at the intersection of risk and opportunity. The already quoted 2025 UN resolution Policies and programmes involving youth affirms in clear terms: the destiny of nations and the planet lies significantly in the hands of youth. The document calls for a comprehensive, global effort to empower, protect, and invest in young generations - not only as beneficiaries of policies, but as full partners in shaping the future. Turning these commitments into concrete action is an urgent task.

In this chronique we will explore the core calls of the resolution which outlines what must be done - globally, nationally, and locally - to realize the potential of youth today and for generations to come.

The resolution underscores a number of interlinked priorities which can be enumerated as follows:

• Empowerment and inclusion: It affirms the importance of empowering youth - including young women and girls - to play a central role in addressing global challenges such as poverty, food insecurity, inequality, climate change, biodiversity loss, technological disruption, and sustainable development.

• Long-term, intergenerational perspective: Recognizing that today's decisions affect future generations, the resolution calls for public policies that ensure long-term sustainability, foster intergenerational solidarity, and integrate young people's perspectives and interests.

• Protection from violence, discrimination and exclusion: The resolution expresses concern about the many forms of violence, discrimination, stigmatization and exclusion that young people face - especially in schools and the digital sphere. This includes online bullying, misinformation, racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, and gender-based violence.

• Digital inclusion and skills development: The resolution notes that many young people, though part of the online population, often lack essential digital and technical skills needed for employment and full participation. It calls for providing them with access to digital educational resources, tools, and lifelong learning opportunities.

• Youth employment and decent work: A major challenge identified is youth unemployment. The resolution calls for a global strategy to promote quality education, vocational training, apprenticeships, internships, entrepreneurship, and to create decent jobs aligned with labour-market needs.

• Social protection, inclusion and rehabilitation: The UNGA urges Member States to adopt measures for social protection, as well as preventive and rehabilitative services to address juvenile crime, delinquency, radicalization, and to support reintegration when needed.

• Youth as agents of positive change: The document recognizes the resilience, creativity and activism of youth; their capacity to drive innovation, volunteering, social change, and to respond to global crises.

The adoption of this resolution signals a renewed global commitment to youth as central actors for sustainable development.

In practice ,adopting a UN resolution is an important symbolic ,diplomatic and political step - but its operative articles must be followed by real action. Below we summarize priority areas and concrete measures that governments, institutions, civil society - and youth themselves - must advance in the coming years.

1. Build inclusive, quality and future-oriented education systems

• Expand access to quality education at all levels, ensuring no young person is left behind because of poverty, geography, gender or other barriers.

• Integrate digital literacy, technical and vocational training into curricula. Provide resources - connectivity, devices, online courses - so that youth gain the skills needed in a rapidly changing labour market.

• Promote lifelong learning: support opportunities for young people to reskill or upskill throughout their lives, especially in light of technological change, automation, and evolving job markets.

• Encourage entrepreneurship and innovation: offer support (seed funding, mentorship, incubation) for youth-led initiatives, social enterprises, start-ups. This will not only create jobs, but also harness youth creativity to tackle local and global problems.

2. Guarantee decent employment and economic opportunity

• National governments should develop and implement a global strategy for youth employment: this includes apprenticeships, internships, traineeships, subsidized jobs, support for youth entrepreneurship.

• Partner with the private sector and trade unions to identify labour-market needs and create pathways for youth to access decent work.

• Design social protection and welfare mechanisms that support young people - especially those from vulnerable or marginalized communities - to avoid precarity and exclusion.

• Promote green jobs and sustainable development: support youth employment in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, conservation, circular economy - aligning job creation with environmental sustainability.

3. Protect youth rights - offline and online

• Enact and enforce legislation to prevent violence, discrimination, harassment, hate speech and bullying, both offline (schools, communities) and online (social media, digital platforms).

• Invest in mental-health services, psychosocial support and counselling - particularly considering the heavy burden many young people face (economic uncertainty, climate anxiety, social exclusion).

• Promote digital safety and media literacy: educate youth on risks of misinformation, disinformation, cyberbullying; teach critical thinking, fact-checking, digital rights.

• Ensure equal opportunity and inclusion for all youth - regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic background - in education, employment, social protection, civic participation.

4. Promote youth participation in decision-making and governance

• Establish and support youth councils, youth advisory bodies, youth representative mechanisms at national, regional and local levels, to ensure young voices are heard in policy development.

• Enable meaningful youth engagement in policymaking, development planning and sustainable-development strategies, not as an afterthought but as core stakeholders.

• Foster intergenerational dialogue and cooperation: encourage frameworks where youth, older generations, policymakers and experts collaborate to co-create solutions, ensuring sustainability and intergenerational solidarity.

• Recognize youth not only as "future citizens" but as current actors - agents of change, resilience, innovation, activism.

5. Invest in social protection, resilience and inclusive opportunities

• Provide social security nets, especially for marginalized youth: access to education, healthcare, housing, rehabilitation services, reintegration support.

• Support rehabilitation, restorative justice, youth crime prevention programmes, focusing on prevention, social inclusion, education, and second chances - rather than punitive models alone.

• Ensure special attention to youth in conflict, displacement, poverty or post-conflict contexts, guaranteeing their rights, inclusion and opportunities even under difficult circumstances.

6. Mobilize global cooperation and resources

• Encourage international cooperation - sharing best practices, technical cooperation, funding - to support youth policies especially in developing countries.

• Engage multilateral institutions, civil society, private sector, youth organizations in building partnerships that deliver resources, mentorship, training and opportunities.

• Track progress through data collection and age-disaggregated statistics: measure outcomes for youth (education, employment, inclusion, health, rights), to ensure accountability.

Why focusing on youth matters - and what is at stake

As already illustrated above,young people represent a large and growing share of the world's population. Their talents, energy, creativity, and idealism are among the best resources societies have - especially at a time when we face complex global crises. By investing in youth states will be able :

• to promote sustainable development, innovation and resilience;

• to build equitable, inclusive societies where all - regardless of background - have a chance;

• to give youth a stake in the future, enhancing social cohesion, stability and intergenerational solidarity;

• to reduce the risk of marginalization, radicalization, crime and social exclusion;

• to harness a demographic dividend - rather than a demographic burden - turning youth bulge into productive human capital.

If goverments fail to act, they risk leaving entire generations under-educated, unemployed, disillusioned, or worse - prone to exclusion, radicalization, poverty, and despair.

But with vision, positive political will, cooperation and resources, youth can become the driving force of a better, fairer, more sustainable world.

Conclusion

The adoption of the resolution whose main provisions have been presented above represents a historic opportunity. But words of this programmatic document risk to remain only aspirations unless followed by resolute action.

National governments, local authorities, civil society, private sector, international institutions - all must commit to concrete policies and programmes that put youth at the center.

And young people themselves must be empowered to speak up, organize, propose and build.

In investing in youth, peoples are investing in their own future - for a world shaped not only by existing challenges, but by a shared hope, solidarity, creativity, and commitment to human dignity.

It is not enough to hope for a better world. Peoples must build it - together, with youth leading the way.

Readers should note that the UN Secretary-General is requested to submit a report, in an accessible format, to the UNGA at its eighty-second session (2027) on the implementation of the summarized above resolution, and be prepared to work in consultation with Member States, with relevant United Nations organs and entities, including specialized agencies, funds, programmes and regional commissions, and with civil society, particularly youth, youth-led and youth-focused organizations.