The Outcome Document of the 2025 World Youth Development Forum

International Youth Advocacy on Unleashing Youth Potential for Global Development

On the significant occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations and the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, we, youth representatives from over 100 countries across six continents, gathered in Suzhou on July 15 for the 2025 World Youth Development Forum. Under the theme “Unleash Youth Potential for Global Development”, we seek to facilitate joint development, envision future blueprints, and demonstrate the commitment and actions of youth in helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to build a global community of shared future.

Over the past three decades, global youth development has continued to reach new milestones. The formulation of comprehensive and integrated youth policies has become an integral component of national development strategies. Youth education and health have seen sustained improvement. Across areas such as science and technology, culture, volunteerism, and social innovation, youth have demonstrated transformative power. Youth have emerged as a critical force in driving the global development agenda, with their meaningful participation increasingly vital to global governance. Today’s generation of young people is actively unlocking their potential, transitioning from policy beneficiaries to value creators, from professional learners to social changemakers and from community actors to global development advocates.

At the same time, we are aware that the world faces serious challenges: including but not limited to the worsening climate change, widening gap between the rich and the poor, frequent conflicts and instabilities, governance challenges related to artificial intelligence, and a crisis of confidence in multilateralism. Addressing these complex and profound global issues requires more than traditional approaches. It demands new ideas, innovative methods, and fresh momentum. As a vital force for change, youth have both the responsibility and the capacity to respond with openness, inclusivity, and creativity, demonstrating their sense of duty through action and unleashing their potential through collaboration.

We call for empowering youth through effective policies and programmes, prioritizing youth development and safeguarding their rights and opportunities in education, employment, healthcare, and social participation. We urge all stakeholders to increase investment in comprehensive youth capacity-building and assist young people in better navigating complex challenges, so that they can contribute their unique insights and strengths to global development.

We call for equipping youth with innovative skills to meet future challenges by enhancing the development of digital, green, and cross-disciplinary competencies, and fostering stronger alignment between education systems and the industries of tomorrow. We advocate for the establishment of inclusive lifelong learning mechanisms to bridge skills gaps and ensure that young people play a constructive role in the latest wave of technological and industrial revolutions—leaving no one behind.

We call for advancing science and technology for the greater good through collective responsibility. This includes encouraging young people to actively participate in the development and governance of frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence; promoting independent innovation and ensuring the security and controllability of core technologies; and formulating inclusive, fair, and transparent technical standards. We further call for strengthened exchange and cooperation among global scientific and technological communities to eliminate technological barriers and bridge knowledge divides, ensuring that scientific and technological achievements further contribute to our well-being.

We call for promoting sustainable development through green practices. This includes embracing a green, low-carbon philosophy; encouraging the adoption of more environmentally responsible lifestyles; and advocating for energy conservation, emissions reduction, green consumption, and resource efficiency. We urge all stakeholders to create opportunities for youth-led green entrepreneurship, and to expand pathways for green employment, working together to build a future in harmony with nature.

We call for fostering human progress through mutual learning among civilizations. This includes encouraging youth to actively participate in the protection and creative transmission of cultural heritage; leveraging technology to revitalize traditional cultures; and sustaining the diversity of civilizations. We advocate for deeper intercultural exchange among young people, promoting mutual learning grounded in understanding and respect. Through these efforts, we aim to cultivate an equitable and inclusive humanistic environment in which we all flourish, infusing the advancement of human civilization with youthful wisdom and the spirit of our times.

We call for jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind through peaceful development. We urge all stakeholders to create more platforms for dialogue and greater space for cooperation with and for youth. On the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the World Anti-Fascist Victory, we encourage young people to uphold the principles of multilateralism, strengthen peace education, and embody the shared values of humanity—peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom. Through these efforts, we commit to advancing global governance toward a more just and equitable future.

We express our sincere appreciation to the All-China Youth Federation and the World Youth Development Forum for providing a valuable platform where young people worldwide can contribute to global development and global efforts are gathered to promote youth development. We thank all partners for their collective efforts in advocating for the youth agenda and supporting youth-led action. Let us move forward together, unlock our full potential, and write a new chapter in youth development and global progress—leaving an indelible mark of youthful energy on the journey toward building a community with a shared future for mankind.