Canada's role in tackling youth unemployment and skills gaps

📣 Today, we are so excited to announce our partnership, along with the Big Six Youth Organizations and United Nations Youth Office to accelerate progress on the #GlobalGoals. Since 2021, the Big Six have been working together to champion #YouthLead solutions, with the support of the European Union's Youth Empowerment Fund through the Global Youth Mobilization programme. And we at The World YWCA have continued to support young women and women's leadership in setting new and equitable agendas. At a time of great uncertainty in the global system and great urgency with some of the issues facing young people, this is about working together NOW to make sure that we are connecting young people in our movements to important decisions and discussions that have a bearing on young people’s futures! Read more about this landmark new chapter: http://bit.ly/4pxCU3E. #GlobalYouthMobilization United Nations Youth Office World YMCA The Duke of Edinburgh's Award World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - IFRC  

Cultural Digital Inclusion & Youth: Building Scotland’s Future Together One thing I’ve learned in my research journey is that young people are at the heart of digital inclusion. For many, the online world is where education, job opportunities, and community engagement begin. But without fair access, the right skills, and culturally relevant content, we risk leaving some of our youth behind. In conversations with young people across Scotland, it’s clear that digital inclusion isn’t just about Wi-Fi or devices, it’s about: 🔹 Feeling represented in online spaces 🔹 Having mentors who understand their cultural background 🔹 Being supported to use digital tools to share their voices and shape their communities If we want to see a Scotland where every young person thrives, then we must make digital inclusion a bridge, not a barrier. My CIPR-funded research “Cultural Digital Inclusion: A PR Toolkit for Engaging Diverse Community Initiatives in Scotland” is exploring exactly this. I’d love to hear from youth leaders, educators, and young people themselves about how we can make digital inclusion truly meaningful. You can take part by: 👉Completing the short survey here: https://lnkd.in/e6mSdkyq 👉Booking an interview slot with me here: https://lnkd.in/ev47nDme] Your input will help shape recommendations that support not just young people today, but Scotland’s future. Chartered Institute of Public Relations CIPR Scotland Scottish Youth Parliament #DigitalInclusion #YouthEmpowerment #CulturalInclusion #Scotland #CIPRResearch

#UNGA80 #SDGsConference2025 PANEL 2: Women and Youth as Leaders for Civic Engagement and Social Change features Mr. Daniel Juma Omondi, Africa Regional Representative, Global Peace Foundation (Kenya), on Ensuring Youth Leadership in Social Change and Peacebuilding: Challenges and Resolutions. He underscored that meaningful youth participation is indispensable to democratic renewal and durable peace, noting that the generation of 2050 will be shaped by the education, civic pathways, and opportunities provided today. “A dream shared becomes a movement, this is how the impossible becomes achievable,” he said, describing today’s youth mobilization as the sound of a new civilization trying to be born. He called for inclusive education, mentorship, financing for youth-led initiatives, and broad multi-stakeholder coalitions to scale community peace infrastructures and safeguard human dignity.

🔎 What does it mean to be part of the Youth Friendly Standards? Becoming YFS-accredited means creating authentic partnerships with young people. It's about building trust, credibility, and making a lasting impact 🌱 The YFS framework helps organizations to create inclusive environments where youth can thrive, and integrate youth perspectives into policies, projects, and strategies, and, thus, strengthen partnerships that are fair, sustainable, and mutually beneficial 🤝 Whether you are a youth-led CSO, a policymaker, or an institution, the YFS can help transform your approach to youth inclusion 👇 https://lnkd.in/dFViwktF AU-EU Youth Lab ComDev Africa #AUEUYouthVoicesLab #EngageEmpowerConnect #AUEU #AUEUYouthLab #YouthFriendlyStandards

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞? Too often, youth engagement feels like a tick-the-box exercise. But young people can spot tokenism a mile away. They want to be seen, heard, and included in ways that feel authentic. In our next Community call, we’re teaming up with YACVic to unpack what genuine youth engagement looks like. We’ll revisit three critical stages: 📊 Awareness – Strategies that actually connected with young people and built trust 🤝 Attraction – How organisations attracted youth participation and amplified their voices 📑 Recruitment – Inclusive approaches that broke down barriers and supported applicants This is a chance to learn from real examples, swap insights with peers, and leave with strategies you can apply straight away. -- This Learning Community is commissioned by Social Enterprise Australia as part of the Australian Government’s Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI). #GenZ #YouthEngagement #SocialImpact #LearningCommunity #FutureOfWork #Leadership Department of Social Services (DSS) Youth Affairs Council Victoria

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞? Too often, youth engagement feels like a tick-the-box exercise. But young people can spot tokenism a mile away. They want to be seen, heard, and included in ways that feel authentic. In our next Community call, we’re teaming up with YACVic to unpack what genuine youth engagement looks like. We’ll revisit three critical stages: 📊 Awareness – Strategies that actually connected with young people and built trust 🤝 Attraction – How organisations attracted youth participation and amplified their voices 📑 Recruitment – Inclusive approaches that broke down barriers and supported applicants This is a chance to learn from real examples, swap insights with peers, and leave with strategies you can apply straight away. -- This Learning Community is commissioned by Social Enterprise Australia as part of the Australian Government’s Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI). #GenZ #YouthEngagement #SocialImpact #LearningCommunity #FutureOfWork #Leadership Department of Social Services (DSS) Youth Affairs Council Victoria

🌍 Week 2 Summary – From Critique to Action | Multilateral 101 – Youth Learning & Strategy Series (YouthHubAfrica) 🌍 This week focused on moving from understanding multilateralism to identifying actionable gaps. Key Reflections: Barriers for African youth: Limited representation, unequal access to information, and dominance of powerful states restrict meaningful participation in global decision-making. Women and girls: Despite progress, they remain underrepresented in multilateral spaces, especially in leadership and policy-shaping roles. Youth consultation: Policies affecting African youth are often designed without sufficient engagement of young people themselves. Advocacy tools: Leveraging both online platforms (LinkedIn, webinars, social media) and offline methods (community forums, peer dialogues) is crucial for amplifying youth voices. Takeaway: Moving from critique to action means not just identifying gaps, but organizing, collaborating, and actively engaging in spaces where decisions are made. African youth have a critical role to play in shaping inclusive global policies. #YouthHubAfrica #Week2Reflection #FromCritiqueToAction #AfricanYouth #Leadership #Multilateralism

Policy Solutions for Today: Making the Antigonish Movement Matter A movement that began in the northeastern parts of Nova Scotia in Canada, in the earlier 20th century, to address extreme poverty, harsh labor conditions and rural out-migration faced by the citizens, drove them to learn and work together to improve the lives of their community. This movement is a socio-political-economic program based on ideas of ‘self-support’ and ‘reform’, and principles of ‘adult education’ and ‘cooperative movement’. After the World War – II, the movement gained international traction as it was widely adopted by many ‘third world countries’ (the specific term was used to describe developing countries). The popular Coady institute set-up under the movement, was adopted as a model in many training and educational institutes in Thailand, Puerto Rico, Rome and Panama. The historical movement presents unique philosophies and approaches that are relevant to today’s socio-economic-political challenges: 1. Individual empowerment is very important. In other words, faith in the potential and merit of every person in the community to solve the challenges of poverty, inequality or access to opportunities. 2. Continuous, adult and problem-based learning amongst community members can help solve the challenges of civic awareness, employability and digital literacy in today’s world. 3. Encourage locals to own their production, logistics and finances, so a select few privileged are discouraged from controlling everything. Once again, this holds relevance for today’s world challenges, as this policy can enable community-owned and fair trade, social and renewable practices.   4. Collective learning, action and development are powerful tools to achieve results. Policy research and analysis can therefore benefit from building ‘participatory development’ and ‘community resilience’. 5. Economic and political power when concentrated in select few hands can become dangerous, threatening principles of democracy and accountability. #PolicyForChange #SocialInnovation #InclusiveDevelopment #EconomicJustice #SustainableFutures #CommunityEmpowerment #GlobalSolutions #EducationForAll #LifelongLearning #AdultEducation #PowerToThePeople #CollectiveAction #CommunityDriven #ReimaginePolicy #FutureOfDemocracy #GrassrootsPower #BuildingResilience #BeyondGDP #FairEconomy Source: Pluta, L.A., Kontak, W.J. & Kontak, W.S. (1976). The Philosophy and approach of the Antigonish movement to the problems of development. Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 1(1/2), pp. 158-179.    https://lnkd.in/dNDQmFpa Image: Leveau, J. https://lnkd.in/dPfTJ5ff

What does meaningful youth engagement actually look like? Too often, we hear about “youth participation” without clarity on what makes it real. Based on global standards, there are four non-negotiables every institution should uphold: 1. Choice – Youth must have the freedom to decide whether or not to participate. Engagement is never forced. 2. Safe – Participation should never expose young people to harm, exploitation, or retaliation. 3. Informed – Youth need timely, accessible, and youth-friendly information to make decisions and contribute meaningfully. 4. Voice – Their views are respected, considered, and translated into action not just recorded. When these standards are met, engagement moves from symbolic to substantive. Young people are not just present in the room they are equipped, protected, and empowered to shape outcomes. The real challenge is this: are we building programs that meet these minimums, or are we still content with tokenism? #YouthEmerge 🚀 #YouthEngagement #YouthRights #Leadership #Peacebuilding

👥 Young people in the Pacific are eager to shape the future of their communities and countries. But what makes participation meaningful — and what still stands in the way?   Can you spot the real barrier to youth participation? A. Young people lack the interest to engage in community and government decision-making. B. Decision-making spaces are not always accessible or youth-friendly. C. There are limited pathways for young people to move from consultation to real influence.   💡 Hint: A is a myth. Youth across the Pacific are already leading change — but systems and structures need to catch up.   Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gS-Z3mzG — a new UNICEF Pacific report exploring opportunities, barriers, and what must change for more meaningful youth engagement.