In the Philippines, Ilan Enverga, member of the SDG 4 Youth and Student Network, is rethinking what education can and should be. His journey did not begin with one moment or one project, but with a deep personal connection to schooling. Raised in a family closely connected to education, Ilan grew up seeing schools as more than buildings. For him, they were spaces where values are shaped and where societies either grow stronger or fall behind.

As a young educator, Ilan became increasingly concerned by what he saw around him. While communities faced poverty, environmental damage, discrimination, and weak civic trust, many students moved through school without learning how to respond to these realities. Students were taught about social problems but rarely given the skills or confidence to take action. Over time, Ilan realized that this was not because people did not care, but because education systems did not show young people how to care in an empowering way.

This realization pushed him to imagine a different role for schools, one where learning is directly connected to sustainable development and real community needs.

From Concern to Action in Education

This vision led Ilan to found Global Changemaker Schools, a youth-led non-profit organization built around a simple but powerful question: What if schools were measured not only by test scores, but by the positive change they create in society?

Global Changemaker Schools trains educators and schools to redesign learning so students master academic subjects by working on real community challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In these classrooms, English lessons involve writing to local governments about plastic pollution. Math classes focus on analyzing climate and temperature data. Social studies become a space where students organize anti-racism workshops or initiatives that support farmers and indigenous communities.

These activities are not treated as extra projects. They are embedded directly into the weekly curriculum across subjects and grade levels, allowing students to learn while contributing to sustainable development in their own communities.

Impact on Students, Teachers, and Communities

What started in one school quickly showed its strength. In a single school year, student-led academic projects reached and supported more than 20,000 marginalized people while taking action across all 17 SDGs. This early success showed that when students are trusted with responsibility, education becomes more meaningful and impactful.

Students begin to see their education as relevant to their lives and communities. They grow up believing they can shape society through their actions, career paths, and lifestyles. Teachers also benefit by rediscovering purpose in their work as they move from traditional teaching toward mentorship and collaboration.

Communities experience young people not as passive learners, but as partners and problem-solvers working alongside them.

Youth Leadership for Sustainable Education Systems

Today, Global Changemaker Schools operates as a network that supports schools over the long term. Instead of one-time workshops, the initiative focuses on personalized coaching for teachers and school leaders, helping entire institutions adopt a whole-school approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This ensures that changemaking becomes part of school culture rather than a short-term project.

Ilan works closely with schools, universities, education ministries, local governments, NGOs, and international organizations. Last year, he co-launched the celebration of SDG 4.7 Day with UNESCO, ESD for 2030, the SDG 4 Youth & Student Network and the Greening Education Partnership. Most recently, Ilan brought together UNESCO, along with the Philippines’ Department of Education and Teacher Education Institutions, to advance ESD in the Philippines. These collaborations help connect classroom practice with education policy at national and global levels.

Through his work with the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee and the SDG 4 Youth and Student Network, Ilan has seen how meaningful youth engagement can transform education systems. He believes youth participation must move beyond symbolic involvement and toward real leadership and co-creation.

When young people help design learning and solutions, education becomes more inclusive and future-oriented. Students learn to solve real problems, educators are encouraged to innovate, and young people develop empathy, responsibility, and confidence.

For Ilan, youth are not only the leaders of tomorrow. They are leaders today. By trusting young people and embedding action into education, schools can help students not just prepare for the future but actively build a more sustainable one.