2024 UNFPA/Abdoulatif Keita: Over 400 young people from 130 countries gather at the Global Youth Dialogue in Cotonou, Benin.
UNFPA – partnering with youth to build more resilient, inclusive societies
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) works shoulder-to-shoulder with young leaders, amplifying their voices where it matters most and charting the path forward, not for them, but with them.
For decades, UNFPA has worked toward a clear goal: a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. This last point depends upon safeguarding individuals' agency to freely and responsibly make their own choices about their bodies, lives and futures. From local communities to the global stage, youth have been the true architects of bodily autonomy – transforming individual rights into a collective movement for a more just world.
By moving beyond youth inclusion toward empowerment, UNFPA strives to ensure the next generation has the resources needed to drive sustainable change and build peace.
To understand their vision and impact firsthand, we asked UNFPA five quick questions.
What is your main area of work with youth?
UNFPA works to safeguard sexual and reproductive health and rights, including ending gender-based violence and harmful practices. Rights and bodily autonomy are preconditions for young people's ability to shape the world and contribute to peace. Our work empowers them to become the leaders the world needs.
[Left] 2023 UNFPA Bosnia and Herzegovina/Imrana Kapetanovic: Bosnian youth take part in a youth exchange in Italy. [Left] 2024 UNFPA Afghanistan: Seventeen-year-old Mursal gets support from the UNFPA-backed Y-PEER programme. [Right] 2025 UNFPA Angola/Noriko Hayashi: Sixteen-year-old Francisca participates in UNFPA's Safeguard Young People programme.
Why are young people key to building lasting peace?
Young people have a deep stake in sustainable development, gender equality, human rights and peace. They are challenging harmful norms, breaking intergenerational cycles of violence, and building more resilient, inclusive societies. Their ability to build bridges and foster social cohesion makes their full, effective and meaningful participation essential for sustaining peace.
"Their ability to build bridges and foster social cohesion makes their full, effective and meaningful participation essential for sustaining peace."
UN Population Fund
If you could bust one myth about youth, what would it be?
Youth are often portrayed as naive interlopers in decision-making spaces. Sometimes, they are even criticized as selfish for demanding rights and opportunities. In the worst cases, they are even seen as threats to security. The reality is that most young people are positive agents of change and partners for peace.
[Left] 2024 UNFPA Guinea-Bissau/Gaia Squarci: Twenty-three-year-old Malan collects condoms from dispensers installed across Guinea-Bissau's capital through UNFPA-supported programmes. [Centre] 2024 Mario Achucarro: A young member of Somos Pytyvõhára talks about the EIS De Par a Par hotline – a safe space to discuss sex and sexuality in Paraguay. [Right] 2025 Shirin Bhandari: Seventeen-year-old Shameerah De Guzman advocates for adolescent health and safe sex in her community in the Philippines.
What's the one key thing that young people are doing today that gives you hope for peace?
Young people are leading their own efforts, building inclusive coalitions across social and political divides, and developing far-reaching youth peace and security policies. Young advocates everywhere are strengthening the foundation for lasting peace both in the home and in the world. We work with many of these leaders through youth networks that advocate to end gender-based violence and harmful practices like child marriage and female genital mutilation, and through grassroots organizations engaging in cross-party peace initiatives.
"Young people are leading their own efforts, building inclusive coalitions across social and political divides."
UN Population Fund
What's one action anyone, anywhere, can take to support youth's contribution to peace?
We need to empower youth to meaningfully participate in decision-making at all levels. This includes engaging in intergenerational dialogues that address the concerns of young people – from climate change and emerging technologies to violence and gender inequality. In other words, all of us, everywhere, need to get better at listening.
"We need to empower youth to meaningfully participate in decision-making at all levels."
UN Population Fund
2025 UNFPA Palestine/Ahed Izhiman: Young volunteers from Sharek Organization engage in planting activities as part of a youth skills development initiative in the West Bank.
Learn more about how UNFPA is partnering with youth around the world.