essay on how youth can change the world

The Power of Young People to Change the World

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This is one question young people ask me these days. Young people want to change the world, they are usually aware of relevant issues that affect them and the world, but they wonder how to go about them.

Young people are fearless, brave, impetuous, dynamic and self-confident. Young people have the ideas, the creativity and great energy to shape a better world. Young people are full of hope and through innovation and imagination, they are problem solvers and have a great potential to generate a positive social change in the world.

Young people are in a continuous search for the transcendence that generates the desire of helping the environment, countries, communities and families. With globalization and technology the world has even become smaller, with unlimited possibilities of connection, there is a unique chance for young people to unite in solidarity and empathize on real friendship.

To celebrate youth and all of its characteristics, in 1985, United Nations declared the first “International Year of Youth”. This same year, young people from around the world united in Rome. During that gathering, convened by Pope Jonh Paul II, the institution of the World Youth Day was announced as a week-long international event, every two or three years. Since then, some of the countries where the World Youth Day has been held include Italy, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Spain. This year, the World Youth Day will be held in the amazing and lively city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

From  July 17 th  to  28 th , 2013, the World Youth Alliance will be present at the  World Youth Day  in  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , promoting human dignity, sharing in friendship and solidarity with the world’s youth and celebrating this great power young people have to change the world.

Young WYA members from around the globe will gather in Rio de Janeiro to encourage fellow WYD pilgrims to join WYA in the promotion of human dignity and recognize The Power of Young People to Change the World. These young Dignity Ambassadors will participate in fun games and activities with other young people from all over the world and will join discussions on life and family, and share in solidarity with one another.

 Because the Future belongs to those who believe in their own power, would you like to join us in the adventure? Apply now! 

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Young People Have the Power to Change the World

... despite half of the world's youth living on less than two dollars a day.

A social media revolution is unfolding before our eyes, forever changing the way we connect. I see this whenever I travel; the young boys of Lagos preoccupied with their cell-phones; a young girl tweeting from a health-care clinic in Bogota; a young Liberian nurse taking notes on an iPad. I also see how my own children connect with friends on Facebook.

At the same time, we are living in a world faced with huge social challenges. Last year, the world reached a historic milestone with seven billion people, 1.8 billion of which are youth aged 10 to 24. And of this young population, 90 percent live in developing countries. This generation, the most interconnected generation ever, continues to grow rapidly, and the challenges they face are ever more daunting. About half of all young people survive on less than two dollars a day. More than 100 million adolescents do not attend school. Every year, 16 million adolescent girls become mothers. Almost 40 percent of the 6,800 new HIV infections each day are among young people. And every three seconds, another girl is forced or coerced to marry.

All this, and I cannot help but be optimistic when I see the commitment of young people around the world. Over the next decade and beyond, if we are to solve the most pressing issues of our time, we need to tap into the dynamism of youth movements and young social entrepreneurs, for they have the potential to disrupt inertia and be the most creative forces for social change. We need to ask ourselves: how can we -- UN Agencies, governments, the private sector, NGOs, academia -- empower youth to drive social progress in the developing world through new and innovative projects?

As Executive Director of UNFPA , it is my vision to deliver a world where the potential of each young person is fulfilled. For this to be achieved, we must first address the widespread misconception that young people shouldn't have a say when it comes to dealing with the world's problems. It pains me to see how young people, particularly those living in poverty, are treated as recipients when, in fact, they often know best what is best for themselves.

UNFPA has a long track-record of creating innovative projects in collaboration with youth organizations such as Y-PEER , a network of more than 500 non-profit organizations and governmental institutions whose membership includes more than 30,000 young people working in the many areas surrounding adolescent sexual and reproductive health. We also work with the African Youth Network on Population and Development ( AFRIYAN ), which focuses on including youth participation in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other critical health and development challenges. One other example is our partnership with Restless Development , which has been working for nearly 30 years to place young people at the forefront of change and development in countries such as India, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Other collaborative efforts include our work with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girls Scouts , the YWCA , Regional Youth Platforms and other networks. From crowd-sourcing initiatives and mobile-projects to innovation jams and social media campaigns, we continue to learn from young, innovative change-makers.

Let me share with you some of these successful youth-led social media-driven projects we have supported.

Last year, UNFPA launched 7 Billion Actions , a global campaign for all humanity. As part of this initiative, UNFPA hosted an Innovation Jam in Silicon Valley with SAP, one of the world's biggest software companies, and Ashoka , an NGO for social entrepreneurs. Young people, technology companies, academics and non-profit thought leaders were invited to find workable solutions to empower the global youth population.

At UNFPA, we are also proud of our projects with Global Voices, a community of more than 500 bloggers and translators around the world. Last year, we commissioned young bloggers from across the globe to report on youth issues, with an emphasis on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media.

In October, UNFPA and partners launched a global social media campaign on child marriage, coinciding with the first ever International Day of the Girl Child. The aim was to mobilize support for young girls and encourage them to share stories and images from their communities.

And finally, on December 4-6, 2012, UNFPA is co-hosting the Global Youth Forum in Bali , Indonesia, in partnership with UN agencies, youth, civil society and the private sector. Recognizing that young people are particularly receptive to social networks, more than 900 delegates will brainstorm on five crucial issues: health, education, employment sexuality and civic participation.

I am always looking to partner with young social entrepreneurs. I welcome hearing your ideas on how we harness the vitality of young people to create a world where everyone counts.

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How Youth Can Shape the World: Empowering Change

Table of contents, advocacy: amplifying voices, social entrepreneurship: innovative solutions, education: empowering future leaders, technology: catalyst for global impact, collaboration: uniting for impact, references:.

• Amiri, F. (2019). Youth Social Entrepreneurship as a Driver of Social Change. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 36(3), 332-345.
• Evans, S., & Henry, S. (2008). The Involvement of Young People in Activism: The Potential for a Youth Voice in Environmental Change? Area, 40(3), 348-358.
• Knight, A. (2019). Why We Can't Wait: Youth Voices for Climate Justice. Environmental Justice, 12(6), 145-150.
• Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster.
• Yildiz, M. (2018). Youth and Social Entrepreneurship: A New Era of Entrepreneurial Thinking. Springer.

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Young people are changing the world

Across countries and continents, our world is witnessing a rise in youth engagement and even a ‘youth quake’ as one news outlet described the recent Global Climate Strike. Inspired by 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, some 1.6 million young people in 125 countries took to the streets, demanding world leaders to take climate action – now. To navigate our planet out of harms way, there is already a plan of action in place; the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Kicking off today, young leaders from different corners of the world are joining the 2019 ECOSOC Youth Forum with a mission: to put this plan into action.

The annual forum, labelled the largest annual gathering of youth advocates, takes place at a critical point in time. As UN DESA’s recent World Youth Report lays out, today’s young people face numerous challenges when it comes to education, employment and rising global inequalities.

It is therefore quite fitting that this year’s forum takes place under the theme “Empowered, Included and Equal”, inspiring us all to mobilize support for young people across the globe. After all, they offer 1.8 billion reasons for the world to stand by their side.

“Young people are a vast source of innovation, ideas and solutions. They are pushing strongly for the changes we need in the technology arena, in climate action, and in calling for inclusive and just societies,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said when he launched the UN Youth Strategy last September. “Empowering young people, supporting them, and making sure they can fulfil their potential are important ends in themselves. We want this for all people, everywhere.”

Taking place for the eight-consecutive year, the forum serves as a critical platform to move these efforts forward. At this event, youth representatives and members of the international community, can highlight opportunities, raise concerns and discuss efforts to scale up actions across the world to meet young people’s needs and help them realize their rights.

It is also a venue where young people and their roles as “critical agents of change” become apparent. Something last year’s keynote speaker, Salina Abraham, noted in her powerful address.

“They don’t only light fires, they keep them alive,” she said, stressing the potential of supporting youth and youth organizations, also advising the international community to “support, listen and engage.”

When addressing last year’s forum, Mr. Liu also emphasized the essential role that young people play for the SDGs. “I urge you to continue working with policy-makers and your governments to ensure that your voice is heard in their plans to implement the 2030 Agenda,” he said.

This year’s forum will serve as an important platform to channel young people’s contributions to world leaders and decision-makers, expected to join upcoming high-level events at the UN in September. Youth participants will for example be able to debate and develop messages to feed into the Secretary-General’s Climate Summit (23 September), the SDG Summit (24- 25 September) and the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development (26 September).

In addition to the forum’s plenary and break-out sessions, many interesting discussions will also take place in the SDG Media Zone . Wherever you are in the world, you can follow the discussions happening at the forum as well is in the SDG Media Zone, live via UN Web TV . To engage and follow the events via social media, use #Youth2030 and #SDGLive.

Young people are changing the world. And they are proving that every effort – big or small – counts. As Ms. Thunberg put it after the Global Climate Strike. “We proved that it does matter what you do, and that no one is too small to make a difference.”

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Inspiring kids to change the world

Young change-makers share certain traits. Here's how parents can bring those out.

Fourth-grader Sarina Lee likes shopping for cool clothes. What the suburban New Yorker doesn’t like is being told by retailers that some of the styles she craves are “boys’” clothes. For instance, recently she ordered a pair of sneakers. “They came to us way too large because the measurement was for ‘boy sizes,’” says her mom, Glenna. After discovering she had male friends who’d also been put off by gendered items and activities, Sarina decided to set her frustration to work.

“Sarina approached her principals about starting a club at school called ‘The Gender Acceptance Project,’ giving children the space to be who they are and not who they’re expected to be,” Lee says. Next up: Sarina plans to launch a supportive community for students to learn about gender stereotypes as well as start a letter-writing campaign to ask corporations to rethink gendered advertising.

This kind of passion for a cause is a hopeful sign of things to come, especially after a year like 2020 that brought everything from the pandemic to climate change to racial justice into children’s lives.

And it turns out that being a young activist has benefits beyond changing the world. According to a 2018 study published in Child Development , change-makers often make more money later in life and reach higher levels of education than non-activists. And, according to multiple surveys , college student activists tend to be happier and have better social well-being.

Activism brings developmental benefits, too, like learning how to express ideas effectively and engage with others. "You need to be able to communicate your passion, to be somebody who engages others and excites others about an issue,” says Nancy Deutsch, education professor at the University of Virginia and director of the Youth-Nex Center to Promote Effective Youth Development.

Change-makers often share certain traits, qualities that experts have found again and again in young activists that make them so successful. Here’s how those qualities look in some famous young change-makers—and how you can bring out those traits in your own little activist.

Change-makers see both sides of the story.

Making a difference “takes a level of empathy and perspective-taking,” Deutsch says. “You need to figure out what the issue is, and how to speak it in a way that brings other people along.” Before Sarina formed her club, she surveyed her community so she could understand other students’, teachers’, and parents’ feelings about her cause. She’ll use the information to create a slideshow she can share at her school.

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How you can raise an empathetic change-maker. “Emphasize that all change involves differences, conflict, and compromise,” suggests Gene Beresin, executive director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital. Gently presenting both sides of a story and playing devil’s advocate with your child can help, too—you can foster empathy by showing your kids what each side has to gain and lose. By understanding other people’s points of view, Deutsch says, it’s also easier to argue in a way that can be heard.

Change-makers find their special skills.

“Every social change movement requires people with all different skills and talents,” Deutsch says. “The best thing you can do for a movement is figure out what your skills and strengths are.” For instance, the Standing Rock movement gained much attention after a young photographer named Tina Malia captured an image of U.S. military veterans kneeling in front of Native Americans.

How you can help your child find her special skill.  

“You don’t necessarily have to take to the streets in a rally, or lead an effort to save a river,” says Beresin, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School. A kid can also write letters to city officials or school leaders, or participate in civic events. “Understand what their values and missions are,” he says. “Combine that with the knowledge of their kid’s strengths and weaknesses.” Then make suggestions. Can they be a writer? Produce a blog? Take photographs?

Change-makers are passionate.

Greta Thunberg’s firebrand 2019 speech at the United Nations made one thing clear: She has strong feelings about climate change. And while her powerful words polarized some audiences, they received a lot of attention. That passion is key to a successful movement. “The cause doesn’t have to be something that’s Earth-shattering,” says Adam Edwards, co-author of Surmountable: How Citizens From Selma to Seoul Changed the World . “But finding something you’re passionate about is definitely a common thread.”

How you can raise a passionate child.   “Have frequent conversations involving your child’s values, ideals, missions, and objectives,” suggests Beresin, who was a youth activist in the 1960s. “Listen to what’s important to them.” To inspire more passion, you can point out loved ones in your child’s life who are affected by the issues they care about—for instance, a friend who was once homeless, or a healthcare worker who needs personal protective equipment.

Change-makers persevere.

Change rarely happens as quickly as kids might expect, and though that can be disappointing at first, it teaches patience and resilience. Malala Yousafzai started writing about educating women in Afghanistan when she was 11; at age 15, she was targeted and shot by the Taliban. But just nine months later, she spoke openly about girls’ education at UN headquarters in New York. Today, the Malala Fund has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to build schools to help girls, but millions are still waiting to be educated. Sticking with a movement even when it gets tough is critical for budding change-makers. “I love the phrase ‘Nevertheless, she persisted,’” Edwards says.

How you can raise a child who perseveres. “ Let young people know that even the smallest changes locally are part of the solution,” Beresin says. You can point out how they’re already making a difference bit by bit, whether it’s using less electricity at home or helping a local student learn to read. Talking about great activists can also help when things gets tough. Deutsch points to civil rights activist John Lewis’ lifelong efforts as an example of major changes coming gradually.

Change-makers are strong team players.

“It can be seductive to look at individual leaders,” Deutsch says. “But in reality, move-ments are made and change is made by large groups of people working together.” Martin Luther King, Jr., was a powerful leader and organizer, yet without working with freedom riders to challenge bus segregation, sit-in participants who wouldn’t leave lunch counters, or children who marched so their parents wouldn’t lose their jobs, the civil rights movement would not have succeeded.

How you can raise a team player. Helping your child find a meaningful group to join can offer them the strength and significance of a team. “It’s really a core part of humans that we need to feel that we have a sense of purpose, that we’re here to do something,” Deutsch says. Sports are great, but becoming a team player can also mean joining a school club, participating in choir or band, or attending a house of worship. Says Beresin: “We’re teaching our kids to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

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The Power of Young People as Changemakers

Dec 11, 2018

By Mercia Takavarasha, Senior Programmes Officer and Pioneer Facilitator at Generations For Peace

“The power of youth is the common wealth for the entire world. The faces of young people are the faces of our past, our present and our future. No segment in the society can match with the power, idealism, enthusiasm, and courage of the young people.” – Kailash Satyarthi

The headmaster at the first high school I taught at believed youth have rich perspectives and must be heard and heeded, and that teachers must listen, learn from them, and provide guidance. The motto was, ‘Forget tomorrow, let the young lead today!’

The school gave prefects, club committees, and sports captains the opportunities and freedom to exercise their duties with virtually no interference from the teachers, who would provide guidance and mentorship, only stepping in with solutions when requested or when absolutely necessary. As someone new to the teaching field, the idea of giving so much power to student leaders was foreign to me: I was concerned they were too young to take on that responsibility.

What an error – the younger ones cleared my doubt: they were instrumental in building a school culture envied across the province. Since then, I still believe and am confident that youth are not merely participants but changemakers that hold the key to building peace for current and future generations.

Young girls in Jordan engage in a GFP peacebuilding activity empowering them to be changemakers in their communities

I had the golden opportunity of working with resourceful, convergent thinkers, dependable prime movers and backers of school activities, innovative and driven model leaders. Some may say that youth leadership at the school-level is possible and expected, but when it comes to leading in socio-economic and political development, youth are too young to take that leap.

Youth and power have always been a difficult relationship. According to a recent Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) report , the leadership of younger people – though still low in official positions – is rising: 1.9% of the world’s Members of Parliament (MPs) are aged under 30 (up from 1.6% in 2014). Furthermore, 14.2% of the world’s MPs are aged under 40 (up from 12.9% in 2014).

Given these statistics, it is not surprising that I have repeatedly heard youth ask themselves, “What is this power we have? How can we experience ‘ execution of youth power ?’” While we are seeing younger leaders with political and economic titles, it would be a mistake to think that this is the only level at which they can wield influence and initiate needed change. Bringing about change does not require a badge or a title. Youth leave footprints of change in their communities.

A young Lebanese Volunteer leads local children in an activity to encourage them to grow into leaders of change and peace in their communities

The world has long associated youth with risk-taking and recklessness. They have been lumped into the created and accepted stereotypes of an inherently bad generation – troubled and troublesome with the news awash with negative portrayal.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” Young people are neither problems to be solved nor merely just part of the solution: as changemakers, they can influence outcomes and achieve real change! All we have to do is encourage and mentor them, then give them the space to do it.

A range of UN resolutions recognise this need to view youth as changemakers. Unanimously adopting Resolution 2419 (2018), the UN Security Council called on all relevant actors to consider ways to increase the representation of young people when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, recognising that their marginalisation is detrimental to building sustainable peace and countering violent extremism. Meanwhile, UNSCR 2250  (which was passed three years ago yesterday) recognises not only that “today’s generation of youth is the largest the world has ever known,” but also that “youth should actively be engaged in shaping lasting peace and contributing to justice and reconciliation, and that a large youth population presents a distinctive demographic bonus contributing to lasting peace and economic prosperity if inclusive policies are in place.”

Over the past eleven years, Generations For Peace has demonstrated the power of youth by engaging thousands of young people in communities around the globe. Changing the world does not start with the world, but with individuals!

Youth in the Republic of Macedonia engaging in Arts For Peace activity in their local community.

As a GFP Pioneer Facilitator, we train young people, encouraging and mentoring them to build the world they want to live in. My facilitation assignments brought me closer to this young generation, and I realised the enormous contributions they have made in the challenging and changing social, cultural, and political landscape.

The youth I have interacted with during trainings exhibit the passion and drive to bring about the change they desire. In Kaduna, Nigeria, I was captivated by the young volunteer leaders selected to lead the GFP “ Youth Advocacy to Prevent Violent Movements in Northern Nigeria ” Programme supported by Robert Bosch Stiftung. These young people are capable of identifying what is wrong in their communities and leading the change they need because they have creative minds focused more on the present and moving forward, whereas older generations have often come to accept societal ills and anomalies as norms.

These thirty ethnically diverse youth were passionate about and committed to commencing their small actions to achieve a giant step toward change within Kaduna State. And they did this with astounding success ! As they say, “Be the change that you want to see.”

My philosophy is that everyone has strengths, passions, capacities, and abilities, meaning the focus should never be on what is wrong with youth, but instead on how to use their relatively untapped reservoir of possibility, creativity, invention, and endless reams of energy to change the world.

Mercia leads a group of Volunteers as a Pioneer Facilitator during GFP Advanced Training

My experience as a teacher taught me that if you expect the worst from young people, you will get just that. My experience as a GFP Pioneer Facilitator has enabled me experience first-hand how diverse groups of youth from conflict divides take responsibility for the change they want in their communities and put in the effort needed to achieve that change. Though it takes time, patience, and grit, youth are proving that they are up to the task in playing their part to build more peaceful communities and societies.

The insight displayed, the enthusiasm harnessed, and creativity invested by these youth leaders as they identify issues of conflict, collectively agreeing on the kind of interventions they would like to carry out and the communities they want to engage, gives me hope that the world can be better if we recognise, equip, and mentor youth for the journey toward peace they decide to embark on.

If you want to learn more about the power of youth as changemakers, you can find stories of youth making a difference in their communities here.

Sign up for our  e-newsletter  to learn more about the impact of GFP on local communities around the globe and  donate here  to support our programmes in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

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Why activism is natural for young people, don't underestimate young people's power to change the world..

Young people are demanding change. In the last few days, young Indigenous activists and their supporters blocked parliamentarians in Victoria, B.C., from accessing the provincial legislature and led waves of protest across the country.

For some young people, climate change is urgent. For others, gun violence is a crisis. From truth and reconciliation to inclusion and diversity and mental health , young people are bringing awareness to societal crises and making headlines along the way.

Historically, this is really nothing new. Young people have long been leaders and catalysts of important movements . Unfortunately, these change-makers are often thought to be outside of what is considered typical of this age group.

Young people are often labelled problematic, selfish , or not yet ready to lead . This negative view of young people aligns with the multitude of research studies that frame their questions within a deficit model .

In a deficit model, the standard for healthy development is preventing behavioral or emotional problems . In both cases, there is a failure to acknowledge youth’s capacity or motivation to contribute to something larger. Underestimating youth is a mistake. Of course, it is important to acknowledge and study the risks and barriers faced by this age group, but if we do not balance this view with understanding their capacities and contribution, it can lead to some faulty assumptions.

What youth can do

In our Community and Youth research lab, we use a positive psychology approach. As such, we examine the positive motivations and capacities of youth. We are especially interested in the role young people play in improving our society, as well as the role communities can play to offer young people contexts that allow them to thrive.

Our research is rooted in the psychosocial model of Erik Erikson developed in the 1950s and 1960s. When boiled down to its simplest form, Erikson’s theory states that we all face a series of crises across our lifespan. How we resolve these crises helps determine our developmental success.

For example, in adolescence we face the crisis of identity versus identity diffusion; in midlife we face generativity versus stagnation. That is, when we’re young, we’re trying to figure out who we are and what matters to us, and as we age, we become more concerned with what we’re leaving behind.

Generativity—defined as concern for future generations as a legacy of the self—is well-studied . Most studies on generativity only consider people in middle age, even though there is evidence to suggest that this concern for the future and one’s own legacy is important earlier in the lifespan.

In fact, young people do share a concern for the future and their contribution to it. Our research shows that young people between the ages of 14 and 29 show levels of generative motivation that are as high or even higher than adults’ . Early generativity is also associated with caring friendships , community involvement , and healthy identity development in adolescence and young adulthood. So not only are young people interested and capable of caring for future generations, but doing so is likely good for them.

Beyond the research, Autumn Peltier , a young activist advocating for clean water, has said, “We are the keepers of the generations yet to come.” She leaves little room for doubt that young people can be motivated by generativity.

Changing how we work with youth

Our team has seen firsthand the generativity of youth at the Students Commission of Canada , a not-for-profit organization that is working toward a world “where all young people transition successfully into adulthood.”

At their “Canada We Want” conferences , we have witnessed early generativity in action. Young people from across Canada with a diversity of experience, expertise, and identities work together to develop a plan to create the change that they want to see in their community, tackling issues such as poverty, employment, prejudice, and substance abuse. This work is then presented to politicians, policymakers, and other leaders and has helped inform Canada’s first national youth policy .

#canadawewant conference declared to be largest youth gathering to date to provide input into National Youth Policy by @PeterSchiefke #experiencescanada pic.twitter.com/NQGt3jYXre — Deborah Morrison (@HistoryDeborah) March 5, 2018

Taking IT Global is another organization that capitalizes on young people’s generativity. It works to “empower young people to become agents of positive change in their local and global communities.” It has given out more than 2,500 grants to youth, and also provides education and online resources for adults. The grants have helped youth educate boys about mental health, and prompted a $15 million cleanup of a river in Nova Scotia.

So how can we incorporate these ideas in our everyday interactions with young people? Whether we are parents, teachers, coaches, or community leaders, it is worth reflecting on whether our assumptions of youth stem solely from a deficit model, or whether we account for the capacities and motivations of young people. Rather than focusing on what they lack, much more focus can be placed on their capacity and desire to have a positive and lasting impact. At the same time that we are asking young people who they want to be, we should be asking young people what kind of world they want to leave behind.

Greater awareness of the importance of generativity in youth will contribute to a more pervasive narrative of young people as capable, and motivated to contribute, thus combating some useless and inaccurate stereotypes about youth.

So the next time you see a young person in the news, or in your community, making the world a bit better for the next generation, you might smile to yourself and think, “Typical.”

This article was originally published on The Conversation . Read the original article .

About the Authors

Heather L. Ramey

Heather L. Ramey, Ph.D. , is an adjunct professor in child & youth studies at Brock University.

Heather Lawford

Heather Lawford, Ph.D. , is an associate professor in the department of psychology at Bishop’s University.

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Why young people are key to achieving the SDGs

Image:  REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

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Stay up to date:, sustainable development.

Young people today face considerable challenges in creating a bright future for themselves.

In high-income economies, young people’s prospects have plummeted , and there are significant concerns for their positon in the labour market and the future of their financial security. The situation is worse for young people in low-income countries, where many workers are involved in informal employment – something the ILO describes as sporadic, poorly paid and falling outside the protection of law .

Many of the global challenges to development are especially salient for children and youth. September marks the one-year anniversary of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, where world leaders established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 . The goals established that young people are a driving force for development – but only if they are provided with the skills and opportunities needed to reach their potential, support development and contribute to peace and security.

One way of doing this would be by implementing an economic citizenship strategy for children and youth. It would help national policy-makers and leading youth-serving organizations achieve many of the SDGs and sub-targets in the drive to create a viable economic and social system for the future.

An emerging concept in the field of development, economic citizenship refers to “economic and civic engagement to promote sustainable livelihoods, sustainable economic and financial well-being, a reduction in poverty and rights for self and others ”. Ashoka, the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, defines economic citizenship as existing in “ an environment where every citizen has the opportunity and the capacity to exercise his or her economic, social and cultural rights ”.

Economic citizenship consists of four components: financial inclusion, financial education and social and livelihoods education.

Financial inclusion is access to safe, appropriate and affordable financial services. Financial education includes instruction and/or materials designed to increase financial knowledge and skills. Social education is the provision of knowledge and skills that improve an individual’s understanding and awareness of their rights and the rights of others. It also involves the development of life skills such as problem solving, critical thinking and interpersonal skills. Livelihoods education builds one’s ability to secure a sustainable livelihood through skills assessment and a balance between developing entrepreneurial and employability skills.

Economic citizenship has the potential to improve economic and social well-being, increase economic and social engagement, enhance understanding of and respect for basic rights, reduce income and asset poverty, and lead to sustainable livelihoods for children and youth.

There are seven specific SDGs that demonstrate the clear link between economic citizenship for children and youth and the attainability of the SDGs.

SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Granting access to quality, affordable and convenient financial services can contribute to eradicating extreme poverty (people living on less than $1.25 a day) and reducing the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty (SDG 1.1 and 1.2). Financial inclusion should be supported by and integrated with financial, social and livelihood education to help children and youth accumulate savings and develop responsible financial behaviours, qualities that are useful to reducing the impact of economic shocks (SDG 1.5).

SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages

Economic condition, income, working position, education and culture are all distal determinants of health and well-being, while social education provides more understanding of rights, empathy and respect. The combination of financial inclusion and social education is also useful to ensure universal access to information and education regarding sexual health (SDG 3.7).

SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education

Financial and livelihoods education can increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and soft skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship (SDG 4.3, 4.4, 4.6). Social and financial education can help ensure all young people, both male and female, achieve literacy and numeracy (SDG 4.6).

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls

Providing financial access and developing financial capabilities for young women and girls builds social and economic empowerment, allowing them to take advantage of greater economic opportunities alongside their male counterparts.

SDG 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth

The current employment situation is very critical, especially for youth, as they represent the category with the highest unemployment rate in the labour market. A lack of relevant skills and the absence of access to appropriate financial services for entrepreneurs are two common barriers to youth employment. Through livelihoods education, youth can enhance their employability, obtain sustainable livelihoods and stimulate entrepreneurial activity (SDG 8.3, 8.5, 8.6).

SDG 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

In order to create safe, resilient and sustainable settlements and cities, it is essential to include children and youth in urban development strategies. Engaging youth through financial inclusion, financial education and livelihood education makes the goal of creating sustainable and safe cities more achievable (SDG 11.3).

SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies

Financial education should not be limited to simply teaching children and youth how to manage finances, but also be grounded in ethical and ecologically responsible behaviour. Social education plays an important role in steering children away from financial behaviours and attitudes that may negatively affect not only personal well-being, but also that of the wider community.

Economic citizenship is a crucial factor in the fight to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities globally.

Each of the core components represented in the conceptual model for economic citizenship support various aspects of poverty eradication efforts individually, but in combination they offer a viable force to affect systemic change and break enduring cycles of poverty.

Achieving the 2030 agenda relies not only on setting goals, but also on a responsive approach to the voice and needs of youth. By equipping young people with skills, knowledge and confidence in their abilities, there is a real chance that global leaders can harness the potential of young people to reach the SDGs over the next 14 years. Together we can work towards creating a generation of empowered youth and support long-term sustainable development.

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International Relations Online

10 Youths Changing the World

February 11, 2014 

Kesz Váldez

Position:  International Children’s Peace Prize Awardee Country of Citizenship:  Philippines Organization:  Championing Community Children Charity, Club 8586

15-year-old Kesz Váldez symbolizes how commitment and passion can come a long way, despite a lack of resources. Kesz’s drive comes from his personal experiences as a young child subjected to violence and child labor while living within a rubbish drum in Cavite City. Kesz is the voice of 240,000 invisible street children in his community. He is known in his community for helping more than 10,000 children in matters of health, hygiene, and child rights, by handing down 5,000 gifts to underprivileged children. These parcels are called “Gifts of Hope.”

His efforts in the “Championing Community Children” campaign made him the recipient of a $130,000 International Children’s Peace Prize at The Hague this year. The young boy received his award from 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, a South African human rights activist. Kesz’s commitment to raising awareness for child safety and health promises a healthier and more productive workforce in the future.

Annie Gersh

Position:  Advisor and Co-Chair on National Girl Up Board Country of Citizenship:  United States of America Organization:  Girl Up

A resident of Los Angeles, California, Annie Gersh is a ninth grader and advocate for young girls’ rights. Gersh was inspired by a Girl Up event featuring Jordan’s Queen Rania. The Girl Up Campaign is led by the United Nations Foundation, and gives American girls the chance to lead and reach young adolescent girls deprived of education, health, and safety elsewhere. The goal is to unite girls to fight for basic rights of other girls. It is a girl-to-girl grassroots advocacy tactic that has gone viral in the United States with 356,024 female youths signed up. Since then, Annie has become an active voice in her school as well as nationally, participating in Girl Up Leadership Summits in Washington, D.C. and meeting with representatives from Congress.

Along with winning the title of co-chair of the National Girl Up board, Annie Gersh is leading a successful Girl Up club in her Marlborough school in California. Girl Up clubs try to turn inspiration into action with unique fundraising activities in partnership with private-sector organizations. The Girl Up club hosts events such as Viva Dress Up, which allows young girls to donate clothes lightly worn. Annie and her small-scale advocacy efforts are backed by other youth champions, including Bosilika An, Karin Jougla, Lucy Lohrmann, and Rocio Ortega.

Adeline Tiffanie Suwana

Position:  Founder of Sahabat Alam Country of Citizenship:  Indonesia Organization:  Sahabat Alam (Friends of Nature)

In response to a flooding that forced her to evacuate her home in Indonesia, Adeline organized a group of 150 school friends to plant mangroves that would eventually deter damage from natural disasters in her hometown. Adeline’s initiative led to the formation of a community group called Sahabat Alam, or Friends of Nature, which is involved in ecotourism activities such as planting coral reefs, reforestation, cleaning marine debris from beaches, and energy development and sustainability.

Adeline hopes to build local and international “environment ambassadors” for advocacy of crucial environmental and climate issues. The passionate Indonesian has represented her country as a youth delegate in several United Nations conferences including the United Nations Environment Programme’s International Children and Youth Conference in 2011. The same year, Adeline won the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) Golden Green Awards and a $6,000 cash prize. Adeline’s organization empowers and educates 15,000 youths nationwide and has the potential to instill a sense of urgency and action in citizens at an early age so that the planet’s atmosphere is brighter for tomorrow’s youth.

Malala Yousafzai

Position:  Education Activist and Blogger Country of Citizenship:  Pakistan Organization:   The Malala Fund

From the Swat District of Pakistan, Malala represents the outpouring of education activists residing in developing countries today. From the young age of 12, Malala started writing blogs for the BBC explaining her life under Taliban rule. Later, the young girl became a prominent figure in documentaries, interviews, and newspapers. In October 2012, the Taliban attempted to assassinate Malala by shooting her in the head, but she miraculously recovered. Now, Malala is the winner of the National Youth Peace Prize of Pakistan, the Sakharov Prize, and the Simone de Beauvoir Prize.

Malala stands as one of the youngest individuals to address the United Nations Youth Assembly and the youngest child to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition, July 12 has been dubbed “Malala Day” by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Malala also wrote a memoir, co-authored by Christina Lamb, called “I Am Malala” and has become a symbol of female empowerment, resilience, and determination.

Dylan Mahalingam

Position:  Founder of Lil’ MDGs Country of Citizenship:  United States of America Organization:   Lil’ MDGs , Green Your Lives, Sentenced for Life, Coral Crisis: Reefs in Peril, Killer Waves

From a young age, Dylan has campaigned to promote public health in order to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged groups. The teenager has developed websites that raise awareness on going green, caring for endangered species, protecting coral reefs, and taking precautions from natural disasters. Dylan was the recipient of President Obama’s Environment Award in 2009 and was later named as one of the 25 most influential young people by  Youth Service America (YSA) .

The 11th grader is also the founder of Lil’ MDGs, a nonprofit organization that believes in the power of the Internet to empower youths to work toward the global Millennium Development Goals. A small group of three has grown to more than 24,000 youth volunteers in about 40 countries. Dylan’s creativity and initiative continue to impact development on a grass-roots level.

Jack Andraka

Position:  Gordon E. Moore Awardee Country of Citizenship:  United States of America Organization:  Intel Corporation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Even before Maryland resident Jack Andraka could drive, he became an inventor and scientist from his groundbreaking research. Jack is now a patent holder for his unique test to detect early pancreatic cancer. Jack’s development of a new and cheap method for earlier detection of increased protein for pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer means there’s a higher probability of curing patients. The teenager emailed approximately 200 professors with his research design, budget, and timeline in hopes of getting laboratory help. Finally a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine realized the potential in Jack’s project and assisted Jack with laboratory space.

In 2012, the high school student was the recipient of prestigious prize awards totaling $100,000 in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with the $75,000 Gordon E. Moore Award named in honor of Intel Corporation’s co-founder. It’s only a matter of time until Jack refines these tests and more, licensing them to pharmaceutical companies around the world to save lives from cancer.

Karen-Alexandra Nogues

Position:  Founder and Executive Director of Megabook Initiative Country of Citizenship:  United States of America Organization:   Megabook Initiative

Washington, D.C. resident Karen turned her hobby of reading into a mission to deliver the same passion for reading to children around the world. Karen dreamt about providing a library filled with books in local languages and content to everyone—through an e-reader. With the understanding that paper books are heavy, subject to damage, and costly to ship, Karen brought the e-reader to a local primary school on the Ivory Coast.

Building partnerships between U.S., French, and Ivory Coast publishers, Karen is able to provide each child with an e-reader that has 50 pre-loaded books—15 local and 35 international—along with a French dictionary. This year, the young girl was nominated for the Global Teen Leaders by the We Are Family Foundation for doing extraordinary work by helping society meet a basic human need—education. Karen’s goal of making readers of today leaders of tomorrow is taking its roots slowly in Sub-Saharan Africa and is expected to help eliminate illiteracy, economic stagnation, and conflict and harbor peace and prosperity.

Alhassan Omar

Position:  Founder of Balady Helwa and Ebny Nafsak Country of Citizenship:  Egypt Organization:  Balady Helwa, Ebny Nafsak

Alhassan Omar is from Port Said, Egypt, and experienced Egypt’s recent revolution in his backyard. It was then that he realized how education and good leadership can not only bring positive change to Egypt, but also prevent future problems. Alhassan’s ultimate goal is to educate 100 young men and women each year to become skilled leaders in the fields they work in. Alhassan started an initiative called Balady Helwa—“my country is beautiful” in Arabic—and set up a community cleanup system in Port Said’s slums, while also teaching 20 youngsters living in the slums.

In 2012, he initiated a one-week training called Ebny Nafsa—“develop yourself” in Arabic—to teach 25 underprivileged youth about leadership, human development, and basic entrepreneurial skills that would make them competitive candidates for jobs in the future. The governor awarded Alhassan the Community Dedication and Commitment Award for his vocational training work. Alhassan’s goal of educating and preparing youth for employment is one that could avoid poverty-inspired conflict and crime in unstable developing countries today.

Sophie Mvurya

Position:  Chief Executive Officer and Founder of I AM KENYAN project Country of Citizenship:  Kenya Organization:   I AM KENYAN , Hope Inspire Transform (HIT)

Sophie Mvurya was almost killed by two men who mistakenly identified her as a member of the opposing tribe, and this experience led her to initiate campaigns for unity in Kenya and other parts of the world. She uses the power of social media and interactive tools such as art, music, and photography to spread cultural diversity and acceptance in Kenya and other parts of the world. As a result, Sophie collected 10,000 Facebook photos from users who participated in her campaign, 8 million visitors viewed the I AM KENYAN! website per day starting in March 2013, and a peaceful protest against ethnic divisions took place on the streets of Nairobi.

In addition, Sophie expanded the use of art, by creating a high school program called Hope Inspire Transform (HIT) that also incorporated music and sports education development. Using HIT as a forum for students to express ideas and celebrate the high school’s diversity, Sophie has seen a significant decrease in conflict and violence among students based on ethnic differences. We Are Family Foundation recognized Sophie as a Global Teen Leader in their Global Youth Summit on Innovative Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship. Sophie’s will and determination to speak out against conflict in Nairobi serves as a reminder that local social activism can make a difference and ultimately impact social development.

Alexia Paradzai

Position:  Founder of PenAfrica Country of Citizenship:  Zimbabwe Organization:  PenAfrica

Alexia Paradzai’s passion for putting her thoughts on paper inspired her to launch a venue where young Africans like herself could express their ideas and share their experiences. At the same time, the African youths could practice writing, in turn helping with literacy in the region. PenAfrica is a youth-run nonprofit organization that seeks to promote and cultivate African literature by encouraging and showcasing young writers’ work. The organization plans to launch a writing expo that will connect more than 200 writers with readers to create noteworthy literature and books for children.

Alexia was recognized as a Global Teen Leader in the Just Peace Summit for her inspiring work for education through PenAfrica. Africa is filled with ethnic tensions and community conflicts, and PenAfrica helps unify young Africans and encourage them to write about their African identity. The organization offers young individuals the chance to understand one another through words and speech rather than crime and war.

Read our  20 Women Changing the World  post.

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Essay on We Can Change the World

Students are often asked to write an essay on We Can Change the World in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on We Can Change the World

Belief in change.

Change begins with belief. We can change the world if we truly believe it’s possible. Our thoughts and actions can make a big difference.

Small Steps Matter

Every small step counts. Planting a tree, helping a friend, or recycling waste are simple actions that contribute to a better world.

Working together amplifies our impact. By uniting our efforts, we can achieve significant changes.

Think Future

We must think about our future generations. Our actions today will shape their world. Let’s make it a better place for them.

250 Words Essay on We Can Change the World

The power of individual action.

Change is a natural aspect of life, and it can be harnessed to transform the world. Each individual, regardless of their status, has the potential to contribute to this change. The belief that change is possible starts with the individual. A single action, like reducing personal waste or advocating for social justice, can create ripples that influence others to act.

Collective Effort and Its Impact

While individual actions are vital, collective effort is the driving force behind significant change. Movements like the Civil Rights Movement and the fight against climate change have shown how people coming together can create substantial impacts. This collective action, powered by shared beliefs and mutual support, can alter societal norms and create a more equitable world.

Technology as a Catalyst

In the digital age, technology serves as a catalyst for change. Social media platforms enable individuals to share ideas, mobilize support, and challenge oppressive systems. Technology has the potential to democratize information, providing everyone with the tools to understand and act on global issues.

The Journey Ahead

Changing the world is a continuous journey. It requires persistence, resilience, and a commitment to learning. It is about understanding that every action, no matter how small, contributes to a larger cause. By harnessing the power of individual actions, collective effort, and technology, we can shape the world into a place that reflects our shared values and aspirations.

In conclusion, the power to change the world lies within us. It starts with a belief in the possibility of change, followed by consistent action. Together, we can change the world.

500 Words Essay on We Can Change the World

Change is a fundamental part of human existence. It is the driving force behind evolution, progress, and the transformation of societies. While the idea of changing the world may seem daunting, it is not an impossible task. The notion of changing the world implies a collective effort, but it starts with the actions of individuals.

Small Actions, Big Impact

The first step towards changing the world is recognizing that small actions can have a significant impact. The butterfly effect, a concept from chaos theory, illustrates this point perfectly. It suggests that a butterfly flapping its wings can ultimately cause a tornado thousands of miles away. In the same vein, a single act of kindness, a novel idea, or a passionate endeavor can set off a chain reaction of events leading to substantial global change.

Education as a Catalyst for Change

One of the most powerful tools for change is education. Knowledge empowers individuals and societies to challenge the status quo and seek improvements. It fosters critical thinking, enabling individuals to question prevailing norms and ideologies. Furthermore, education equips us with the skills and competencies to bring about desired changes. By promoting education, we can create a more informed populace capable of making decisions that positively impact the world.

Technological Innovation and Change

Technological innovation is another significant agent of change. From the printing press to the internet, technology has always been a catalyst for societal transformation. Today, advancements in areas like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and renewable energy are not just changing the way we live but also the way we interact with our world. Embracing and promoting technological innovation can thus be a potent strategy for world change.

The Role of Policy and Governance

Policy and governance also play a crucial role in world change. Sound policies can promote social justice, economic development, and environmental sustainability. They can help address systemic issues and create an enabling environment for positive change. Therefore, active participation in governance and policy-making processes can significantly contribute to changing the world.

Conclusion: The Power of Collective Action

While individual actions are crucial, collective action is the key to changing the world. It is through the combined efforts of individuals, communities, and nations that we can address global challenges like climate change, poverty, and inequality. The power to change the world is not exclusive to a select few. It resides in each of us. As Margaret Mead famously said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

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Home — Essay Samples — Arts & Culture — Youth Culture — The Role of Youths in Shaping the Future of the World

The Role of Youths in Shaping The Future of The World

• Categories: Future Youth Youth Culture

About this sample

Words: 498 |

Published: Mar 19, 2020

Words: 498 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Works Cited

• Beazley, H., & Morrissey, J. (Eds.). (2018). Engaging Youth in Sustainable Development : Principles, Strategies, and Practices. Routledge.
• Cammarota, J., & Fine, M. (Eds.). (2008). Revolutionizing Education: Youth Participatory Action Research in Motion. Routledge.
• Checkoway, B. (2011). Creating Community-Based Youth Organizations. In K. H. Hahn, M. R. Leffert, & R. F. Kettner (Eds.), Promoting Successful Transition to Adulthood for Students with Disabilities (pp. 185-203). Springer.
• Hart, R. A. (1992). Children's Participation: From Tokenism to Citizenship. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.
• Jones, M. L., & Wallace, M. (2016). Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality. Critical Sociology, 42(4-5), 699-715.
• Kirshner, B. (Ed.). (2018). Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality. NYU Press.
• Nelson, R., & Stoltenborgh, L. (2019). Young People and Social Change: Individualization and Risk in Late Modernity. Routledge.
• Pinkerton, J. (2016). From Tokenism to Authentic Participation: Transforming the Role of Children and Youth in Program Evaluation. New Directions for Evaluation, 2016(149), 37-51.
• Shier, H. (2001). Pathways to Participation: Openings, Opportunities and Obligations. Children & Society, 15(2), 107-117.
• Skelton, T., Valentine, G., & Chambers, D. (Eds.). (2009). Geographies of Children, Youth and Families: An International Perspective. Routledge.

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How young people can make effective change in the climate crisis, according to experts

The consequences of a century of global warming is on their shoulders.

The fate of the world is in their hands.

The youngest generations may feel that they have the smallest ability to impact the devastating effects of climate change at the moment but also shoulder the burden of its future effects.

This responsibility -- along with the prospect of living under a looming humanitarian crisis -- sparked by rising sea levels and extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change -- has caused widespread psychological distress among young people.

Many say they don't trust their leaders to make the right decisions for them and the planet. They are frustrated with older generations for putting them in this position and they are scared about the future of the planet -- about what living conditions will look like decades from now.

But it has also sparked a camaraderie among young people, who are using their collective voices and actions to become the most vocal generation to fight for the planet in recorded history.

"The climate emergency is already here," 19-year-old Jeeva Senthilnathan, an engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines, told ABC News. "We're seeing the entire climate emergency in front of our eyes."

Older generations have a responsibility to foster and encourage young people's goals to conserve the planet as well, Lise Van Susteren, a general and forensic psychiatrist who has researched how climate change has affected the psychological health of young people, told ABC News.

"We have to listen," Van Susteren said. "They recognize that the cumulative toll of climate change is on their shoulders."

These are the things young people can do to get ahead of climate change:

Make your voice heard

One of the biggest assets young people have in the climate fight is the ability to make themselves be heard on a global scale.

Ever since Swedish teen Greta Thunberg inspired millions of teens to skip school to demonstrate for climate change in 2018, the world's media has been paying attention to youth climate strikes.

The protests, filled with passionate young people, and often led by Thunberg, now 19. They have captured the attention of the world's media, reverberating with the anger and angst the young attendees feel about the future.

Young people, especially teens, are experts at arguing with their parents, Van Susteren said, adding that, when it comes to the climate crisis, that catharsis is "absolutely critical."

"Don't hold it in," she said. "If it's churning inside you, let it out. Talk about it. Don't stop talking about it."

MORE: COP26: These are the young activists taking the fight against global warming by storm

Students, who are dealing with other overlapping crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustice, are pushing to bring those topics into the classroom.

Senthilnathan, who has not only led climate strikes but has also met with local legislators to discuss policy, said more of those type of interactions will move the needle on awareness.

"When they work together and put their voices together, it has much more impact," Van Susteren said. "Make as much noise as you can."

But beware of the "false dichotomy" between collective action and individual action, Morgan Edwards, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a leader of the university's Climate Action Lab told ABC News, adding that reducing personal emissions or shaming others' lifestyles is not fulfilling or effective.

"There's no price of admission to the climate movement," she said. "Trying to think just about how you can reduce your personal emissions can feel really lonely, whereas, being part of something bigger, finding a community to take action together with -- I think that's a much more empowering way to think about climate change centers the conversation around those who are responsible for the crisis, which isn't you as an individual."

Participate in local politics

As young people grow to voting age, it will be important for them to use that power to spark change.

And if they believe that none of the candidates are up to the task, young people can run for office themselves.

Senthilnathan has already run for city council in her town in Parker, Colorado. Although she was not elected she encourages her peers to continue to fight for those positions of power.

"Election after election after election, we're still seeing the fact that the climate emergency isn't really being addressed," she said. "Running for like a city council position is a great place where they can like input those policies."

One of Senthilnathan's goals is to become an adviser to the White House on science and technology committee, she said, adding that it will be important for people her age to not let older generations tell them they are too young to lead.

"As youth, we barely have any resources to run for office," she said. "I hope people are paying attention to the youth who are trying to make a change."

MORE: Young people experiencing 'widespread' psychological distress over government handling of looming climate crisis, researchers say

Apply your interests to the climate fight.

Young people do not need to dedicate their entire lives to climate activism to make a big difference in protecting the environment, the experts said.

"The best way to take climate action is to think about the thing that you already love to do," Edwards said. "So if you're, if you're an artist, you can make art about the climate crisis. If you're a writer, you can tell stories."

While studying for her engineering degree, Senthilnathan learned that about 40% to 50% of pollution comes from construction engineering. This is something she hopes to address in future policy, she said.

"I think, whatever you're interested in, climate intersects with that," Edwards said. "Bringing conversation into the things that you already love, I think, is the most one of the most sustainable ways to take action."

For college students who feel like they can't get involved in the climate crisis because their major has nothing to do with the environment, Senthilnathan said there are ways to apply every course of study to the climate fight. For instance, people with a focus on business administration or property management can apply their studies to finding ways to construct and maintain buildings with more sustainable materials and less toxic waste, she said.

"I think we need so many more perspectives coming into the climate crisis, and to really be thinking about how it interacts with all of these different fields," Edwards said. "So it's not just a science or policy or an engineering problems."

Living with fear of the future

Senthilnathan got a front row seat to the climate emergency after multiple wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes near Boulder, Colorado, just weeks ago.

Winds that help spread the fires rapidly were so high that they broke her window, Senthilnathan said, describing that week as "terrifying" and "emotional." There was dust and debris all over Jefferson County, where Senthilnathan lives, and because her father had contracted COVID-19, she had no where to escape to.

Activism is the only way she knows how to take control of her destiny, rather than live in fear, she said.

It will also important for young people to find like-minded peers to discuss ideas over, Van Susteren said. It's easy to feel like an outcast or "the weird one" when you're young, especially when older people keep telling you you're too young to know anything.

In the past, kids who found that their concerns about the climate were not taken seriously felt like outsiders, Van Susteren said.

MORE: Thousands of young activists challenging lawmakers to act in Global Climate Strike

"Kids find that when they talk to each other, they feel a sense of camaraderie," she said. " This is critical, because it makes them feel like they're not weird," Van Susteren said.

Van Susteren also advised young people to find a mentor who does not write off their concerns.

"They want their teachers and administrators to provide the space and the time for them to talk about their fear, and they want their school districts to create the curricula that enable them to speak intelligently about climate," Van Susteren said. "And also to show that the adults who are involved in education, understand what it is that they are going to need to know."

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America’s happiness score drops amid a youth ‘midlife crisis’

The United States is no longer among the world’s 20 happiest countries, according to a new report — with young people hit particularly hard and reporting lower levels of well-being than any other age group.

The United States fell from 15th in 2023 to 23rd in this year’s World Happiness Report , which was released Wednesday to mark the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness. The country’s results varied dramatically among different age groups, however, with young people under age 30 ranking 62nd out of 143 countries for happiness, while U.S. adults age 60 and above ranked 10th.

This is the first time the United States has slipped out of the top 20 since the report was first launched in 2012. But a similar downward trend in youth well-being is also seen in Canada, which ranked 15th overall but 58th among young people this year.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Center and an editor of the report, said in an interview Wednesday that the findings are concerning “because youth well-being and mental health is highly predictive of a whole host of subjective and objective indicators of quality of life as people age and go through the course of life.”

The report’s findings show “that in North America, and the U.S. in particular, youth now start lower than the adults in terms of well-being,” he said. “And that’s very disconcerting, because essentially it means that they’re at the level of their midlife crisis today and obviously begs the question of what’s next for them?”

The report is based on data from Gallup World Poll surveys from 2021 to 2023 that is analyzed by some of the world’s leading experts on well-being. The number of participants varies, but about 1,000 people usually respond from each country each year, rating their current life satisfaction on a scale from zero to 10. The happiness report is then based on a three-year average of those figures.

Nordic countries once again dominate the 2024 rankings, with Finland occupying the No. 1 spot for the seventh year in a row, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden.

The report found that happiness has decreased for all age groups in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand since 2006 to 2010, with a particularly notable drop for young people — and young females recorded even lower scores than males. Youth happiness has also fallen in Western Europe, albeit less dramatically.

De Neve said the findings for youth in the United States in particular were “really striking.” He said questions remain about the reasons behind the trend.

Normally, well-being is reflected in a U-curve, he noted, whereby “youth start higher, then they drop in well-being virtually all the way down to a midlife crisis, which is typically the late 30s, early 40s,” before rising again in later life — unlike in the U.S. data.

There’s “no real smoking gun” that explains this drop in youth happiness, which began just over a decade ago, he said. Issues such as polarization, social media use and growing health and income disparities could play a role, he said.

Many young adults began college or a career amid a pandemic and have faced high housing prices, misinformation exacerbated by social media, and a loneliness epidemic , as The Washington Post has previously reported .

The researchers met Tuesday with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, who “spoke of K-12 high school students … talking about sort of a change in culture where there’s no longer a culture of speaking to each other,” De Neve added. “And that is really horrible because we all know from well-being science that nothing’s more important than your social capital — having quality connections and people to rely on and speak with on a very frequent basis.”

The study found that “social support” and “social interactions of all kinds” are important for happiness and reducing loneliness . But in many countries, including the United States and Canada, loneliness is “significantly higher for the Millennials than for the Boomers” — a pattern also seen in Southeast Asia and Western Europe, but not in Central or Eastern Europe, the report said.

De Neve noted that the “general negative trend for youth well-being in the United States [was] exacerbated during covid, and youth in the U.S. have not recovered from the drop.”

Yet the research found that the pandemic also had the effect of making people more likely to help others in need. “This increase in benevolence has been large for all generations,” the report said, but the increase was especially large “for the Millennials and Generation Z, who are even more likely than their predecessors to help others in need.”

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Days After U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution, Has Anything Changed in Gaza?

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Monday that demands an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Here’s a closer look at where the situation stands.

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By Matthew Mpoke Bigg

• March 29, 2024

Although the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Monday that demands an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, it remains to be seen whether ​i​t ​w​ill have a concrete effect on the war or prove merely to be a political statement.

The measure, Resolution 2728, followed three previous attempts that ​t​he United States ​had blocked. It passed by 14 votes, after the United States abstained from voting and did not employ its veto.

The resolution also calls for the unconditional release of all hostages and the end to barriers to humanitarian aid.

Israel’s government condemned the vote, and early indications are that the U.N.’s action has changed little on the ground or spurred diplomatic progress.

Days after the vote, here’s a look at what has changed and what might happen next:

Has the resolution affected fighting?

Senior Israeli officials said that they would ignore the call for a cease-fire, arguing that it was imperative to pursue the war until it has dismantled the military wing of Hamas, the militant group that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Since Monday, there has been no apparent shift in the military campaign . Israel’s air force continues to pound Gaza with strikes, and Hamas is still launching attacks.

Israel’s military is pressing on with a raid at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, the territory’s biggest medical facility, as well as its offensive in Khan Younis, the largest city in the south, where fighting has been fierce.

If Israel doesn’t heed the resolution, what can the U.N. do?

The Security Council has few means to enforce its resolutions. The Council can take punitive measures, imposing sanctions against violators. In the past, such measures have included travel bans, economic restrictions and arms embargoes.

In this case, however, legal experts said that any additional measure would require a new resolution and that passing it would require consent from the council’s five veto-holding members, including the United States, Israel’s staunchest ally.

There may be legal challenges as well. While the United Nations says that Security Council resolutions are considered to be international law, legal experts debate whether all resolutions are binding on member states, or only those adopted under chapter VII of the U.N. charter , which deals with threats to peace. The resolution passed on Monday did not explicitly mention Chapter VII.

U.N. officials said it was still binding on Israel, but some countries disagreed. South Korea said on Monday that the resolution was not “ explicitly coercive under Chapter VII,” but that it reflected a consensus of the international community.

Crucially, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, maintained that the resolution was nonbinding . The United States, which holds significant power on the Security Council because of its permanent seat, likely views the passage of the resolution as more a valuable political instrument than a binding order, experts said.

The U.S. abstention sends a powerful signal of its policy priorities even if, in the short term, the Security Council is unlikely to take further steps, according to Ivo H. Daalder, a former American ambassador to NATO.

“Neither Israel or Hamas is going to be swayed by a U.N. resolution,” Mr. Daalder said.

What about aid?

Israel controls the flow of aid into Gaza, and after five months of war, Gazans are facing a severe hunger crisis bordering on famine, especially in the north, according to the United Nations and residents of the territory.

Aid groups have blamed Israel, which announced a siege of the territory after Oct. 7. They say officials have impeded aid deliveries through inspections and tight restrictions.

Israel argues that it works to prevent aid reaching Hamas and says that its officials can process more aid than aid groups can distribute within the territory. Growing lawlessness in Gaza has also made the distribution of aid difficult, with some convoys ending in deadly violence.

Little has changed this week. The number of aid trucks entering Gaza on Tuesday from the two border crossings open for aid roughly matched the average daily number crossing this month, according to U.N. data. That figure, about 150 trucks per day, is nearly 70 percent less than the number before Oct. 7.

How has the resolution affected diplomacy?

Israel and Hamas appear to still be far apart on negotiations aimed at brokering a halt in fighting and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Mediators have been in Qatar to try to narrow the gaps. But late Monday, Hamas rejected Israel’s most recent counterproposal and its political leader, on a visit to Tehran this week, said the resolution showed that Israel was isolated diplomatically.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has argued that the resolution set back negotiations, emboldening Hamas to hold out for better terms.

The biggest sticking point in the cease-fire talks had recently been the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released, in particular those serving extended sentences for violence against Israelis, U.S. and Israeli officials have said.

Matthew Mpoke Bigg is a correspondent covering international news. He previously worked as a reporter, editor and bureau chief for Reuters and did postings in Nairobi, Abidjan, Atlanta, Jakarta and Accra. More about Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to call for early elections to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . Many of them believe he has put his political survival  ahead of the broader interests of the Israeli people.

Israeli soldiers withdrew from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City  after a two-week raid in which they killed around 200 Palestinians and arrested hundreds of others, the Israeli military said.

Netanyahu’s cabinet is divided about whether ultra-Orthodox Jews should retain their longstanding exemption from military service .

Internal Roil at TikTok: TikTok has been dogged for months by accusations that its app has shown a disproportionate amount of pro-Palestinian and antisemitic content to users. Some of the same tensions  have also played out inside the company.

Palestinian Detainees: Israel has imprisoned more than 9,000 Palestinians suspected of militant activity . Rights groups say that some have been abused or held without charges.

A Hostage’s Account: Amit Soussana, an Israeli lawyer, is the first former hostage to speak publicly about being sexually assaulted  during captivity in Gaza.

A Power Vacuum: Since the start of the war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has done little to address the power vacuum that would appear after Israeli forces leave Gaza. The risks of inaction are already apparent in Gaza City .