Although progress has been made in involving young people and students in global decision making in education, much more needs to be done to address their concerns and aspirations.  

This year, UNESCO is dedicating this year’s International Day of Education (24 January) to the power of youth as co-creators of education. 

The International Day of Education will be celebrated through a hybrid event at UNESCO Headquarters. On this occasion, UNESCO will release a new global measurement by the Global Education Monitoring Report assessing student and youth participation in education legislation and?policymaking, in collaboration with the UN Youth Office, and introduce the new cohort of the SDG4 Youth & Student Network. UNESCO’s action for youth across the globe, as a tangible expression of ‘UNESCO for the people’, will also be showcased.

When it comes to shaping the future of education, youth have a special role to play: they are the beneficiaries of education programmes which hold the key to their future. This is particularly true at a time of radical transformation induced by the technological revolution, which calls for rethinking the purpose and modalities of teaching and learning. 

Meaningful youth engagement demands more than consultation. It requires formal mechanisms, transparent representation, adequate resources, clear feedback loops, and youth involvement from design through monitoring to ensure that education programmes and policies are designed with youth as equal partners.

UNESCO, as the lead agency for education in the UN system, is leading the way by giving youth a voice in decision-making bodies such as the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee, placing them at the centre of global consultations for the post-2030 education agenda and amplifying their voices through UNESCO networks such as ASPnet, SDG4 Youth & Student Network, the Global Youth Community, and the Youth Climate Action Network. On the ground, UNESCO empowers youth as leaders and changemakers, notably in crisis-affected contexts. 

Education policies must be shaped with youth, not just for them.