By Secretary-General AntÓnio Guterres

Youth participation must be the rule, not the exception. Around the world, young people are organizing, innovating, and leading. They are not waiting for permission — they are shaping the future. Institutions must keep up.

The 2023 Policy Brief on Meaningful Youth Engagement called for a decisive shift: from symbolic inclusion to genuine partnership. Member States answered that call through the Pact for the Future.

The Core Principles for Meaningful Youth Participation take the next step — turning commitment into practice and toward shared decision making that reflects young people in all their diversity.

These Core Principles are grounded in human rights and demand action: removing barriers, protecting civic space, and investing in youth leadership.

Let us make meaningful youth participation standard in the inter-governmental processes of the United Nations and everywhere — restoring trust, renewing democracy, and building a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world for all.