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

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.