The #YouthLead Festival is a week-long celebration of youth leadership and intergenerational action at the United Nations and beyond. Anchored around the 80^th session of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵGA80) and the 30^th Anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY30), the festival brings together young people and their allies to reflect on progress made, create momentum and continue shaping the future of global decision-making.

The #YouthLead Festival is open to all young people and those working with and for youth ¡ª including Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entities, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Country Teams, youth-led and youth-serving organizations, governments, civil society, academic institutions and other partners across sectors.

More than a celebration, this is a rallying point.

20-29 September 2025

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters in New York & worldwide

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During Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵGA High-Level Week, the #YouthLead Festival will come to life through a global wave of events celebrating youth action, promoting intergenerational collaboration, and showcasing local solutions to shared global challenges.

Recognizing that access to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters is limited, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Youth Office is curating a public calendar of youth-led and youth-focused events taking place in New York and around the world ¡ª from grassroots gatherings to global discussions. These events will be self-organized by various partners and communities to ensure inclusive, broad participation.

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The Festival calendar is continually being updated.

World Programme of Action for Youth at 30: Accelerating Global Progress Through Intergenerational Collaboration

25 September 2025 | Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters, New York

For the first time in its 80-year history, the United Nations will host a high-level meeting dedicated to youth affairs and mandated by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Member States during the high-level week of the General Assembly, with participation at the level of Heads of State and Government. This milestone event will bring together youth leaders, governments, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entities, civil society, and other partners and allies to:

• Take stock of what has been achieved over the last 30 years
• Share good practices and innovations for advancing the implementation of WPAY
• Identify current challenges and actionable solutions
• Chart the way forward through intergenerational collaboration.
• Click here to learn more about the 30^th anniversary event

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In the lead-up to the Festival, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Youth Office mobilized #YouthLead Dialogues ¡ªyouth-led and youth-focused conversations hosted by partners and allies around the world.

These dialogues took place in-person or virtually, and they were formal or informal. They were encouraged to be intergenerational, inclusive and representative. Key takeaways from the dialogues contributed directly to the High-Level Plenary Meeting marking the 30^th Anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth. Organizers were invited to focus on key themes of the High-Level Meeting, including meaningful youth participation and the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth.

Over 75,000 young people in 182 countries engaged in and co-led the #YouthLead Dialogues, sharing the realities they face today, the futures they want to build, and the actions needed to get us there. Their message is urgent and clear: the future is not something to wait for¡ªit is something to build together, on foundations of peace, justice, equality, inclusion, sustainability, and solidarity. We are not there yet, but with concrete actions and the seeds of change, we can move closer to our preferred future.

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During the #YouthLead Festival, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Youth Office is encouraging #YouthLead(ership) Roundtables ¡ª interactive conversations bringing together Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ leadership and young people.

These roundtables can be hosted in-person or virtually, and are designed to foster open exchange, inclusivity and dialogue across generations. They are spaces to exchange ideas, explore solutions and identify ways to carry forward youth recommendations from the #YouthLead Dialogues across the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ system, in line with national, regional and global frameworks.

This is an open invitation for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Heads of Entities, senior leaders and decision-makers to co-create solutions and ensure youth perspectives are at the heart of global action.

Whether in the form of a town-hall style discussion, a digital roundtable, or a small group conversation, we encourage you to host a #YouthLead(ership) Roundtable and help us turn youth voices into action!

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