A global youth-led movement for change

Young people everywhere have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their education has been disrupted. Many have lost jobs. Their mental health has suffered and too many have experienced gender-based violence.

The Global Youth Mobilization, an initiative of the World’s Big Six Youth Organizations (World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Associations, World Young Women’s Christian Association, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, World Organization of the Scout Movement, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award) was launched in December 2020 together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Foundation (UNF), as a response to alleviating the negative impacts of the pandemic on young people. WHO is proud to join forces with the Big Six and the UN Foundation to mobilize and empower youth worldwide to be the driving force of the recovery to COVID-19.

To strengthen the collaboration, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 13 May 2022 with 5 of the Big Six Youth Organizations. The partnership agreements signed by five of the Big Six are designed to increase multilateral collaboration and put young people at the heart of decision making, whilst the IFRC will use its existing partnership to achieve this goal. This represents an important milestone in the successful collaboration between the Big Six, the WHO, and GYM, to enable a movement of young people to build back better now and in a post-pandemic world.

With support from the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, the movement convened a Global Youth Summit in April 2021 to reflect on the pandemic from a youth lens. This unique event was designed with young people, for young people. Over three-days, the Summit convened young people from all over the world and key stakeholders from UN agencies, national governments and corporate partners to discuss the needs of young people in a post-COVID-19 world. 

Powering change

Young people are an essential part of the solution to pandemic recovery.  Through the “Local Solutions” young people, regardless of background or location, can submit their ideas and solutions to the health and societal COVID-19 challenges facing young people and their communities today.

In February 2022, the Global Youth Mobilization released an impact report, Powering Change: Young People Leading the COVID-19 Response and Recovery, which demonstrates the power of collective action and decision-making by young people, for young people. 

The report includes case studies of global youth-led projects and outlines recommendations, developed from discussions with young people and youth-led organizations, to help multinational agencies and institutions, governments, policymakers, and the private sector to address and prioritize the needs of young people and future generations.

Unstoppable together

The Global Youth Mobilization has released its final report Unstoppable Together: celebrating 2 years of youth-led global action highlighting the reach and impact of youth-led solutions, the challenges, lessons learned and key recommendations.

The success of the Global Youth Mobilization has demonstrated the power of youth-led decision-making on the allocation of funding, and the importance of implementing new and accessible funding opportunities for youth.

Read the report, executive summary and all related information materials here.

To get involved or learn more about the Global Youth Mobilization, contact us here.