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This year marked the 10th anniversary of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s Youth initiative, SDSN Youth. This occasion highlights SDSN Youth’s decade-long journey in mobilizing and empowering youth worldwide to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Over the course of 2025, SDSN Youth has reached thousands of young people through a wide range of activities, from future-focused dialogue sessions to hands-on skill-building initiatives in several countries, as well as participation in international high-level conferences and events. Here’s a look back at our impact in 2025:
This year, we saw the launch of several new youth networks, thereby further incorporating youth voices into the SDSN’s critical work. In the first quarter, SDSN Youth established new youth networks in Cameroon, Ghana, and Italy, and in the second quarter, in the Philippines and South Africa.
The launch of SDSN Youth South Africa was especially memorable. Held at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus, the event featured Professor Jeffrey Sachs, President of the SDSN, and Professor Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria and Chair of SDSN South Africa.
With these new youth networks, SDSN Youth marked a new milestone, expanding to 20 youth networks that span over 45 countries.
Throughout 2025, all youth networks continued their efforts to localize the SDGs and promote practical development solutions. Their activities reached various sectors and industries and featured unique themes and initiatives related to the SDGs, including: the celebration of the International Day of Sign Languages in Ghana, the launch of the Solutions for a Sustainable Black Sea Report in the Black Sea region, the commitment of Bolivia to accelerating climate action, the graduation of the first Cohort of Capacity Development for Youth-Led and Youth-Focused Organizations in Kenya, the sessions on educating youth on the SDGs in Indonesia, the celebration of the SDG Innovation League in Hong Kong, and new initiatives to empower youth to lead climate action in Nigeria. Through all these activities, SDSN youth networks reached and impacted over 6,500 youth.
2025 was also instrumental in relaunching a vital part of the youth networks, the Membership Program. This program aims to connect youth organizations worldwide to build a global network of problem solvers developing practical solutions for sustainable development. The call for membership applications attracted nearly 800 organizations, and a total of 283 new members from over 55 countries were accepted.
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This year, the Local Pathways Fellowship (LPF), SDSN Youth’s program on sustainable cities, kicked off with the call for applications for the 8th LPF cohort. Of the 1469 individuals who applied, 124 exceptional young leaders from 96 cities were selected. They then began their 10-month journey to promote urban innovation and advance SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
Earlier in the year, the LPF co-hosted an official ECOSOC Youth Forum side-event to spotlight youth-led solutions at the intersection of urban sustainability, health, and social equity. The event was hosted in collaboration with the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization, the Major Group for Children and Youth, and YOUNGO.
This year, we also introduced a new training on the Solutionary Framework, in partnership with the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), to equip fellows with the tools to develop scalable, ethical solutions to urban challenges. Additionally, selected fellows participated in various international conferences and initiatives, including the in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in preparation for COP30; and the PlastExpo 2025.
As we close 2025, the current fellows are preparing for their graduation, and looking ahead, LPF has launched the call for applications for the 9th cohort.
2025 marked a special year for SDSN Youth with the 9th Vatican Youth Symposium, held in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic last April. Organized by the SDSN Youth and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (PASS), this initiative is an annual gathering of young leaders and experts from around the world, discussing and generating solutions for the most urgent issues of humanity.
This year’s edition, under the theme “Voices of Change: Sparking Hope with Sustainable Solutions,” prompted participants to consider how youth can envision and create a form of progress that, in the words of Pope Francis, is “healthier, more human, more social and more integral. The event featured keynote speakers from diverse sectors, including policymakers, academics, industry representatives, students, and youth activists.
The event featured 72 participants, representing 38 countries, including 22 delegates from the Global South, 45 between the ages of 18 and 35, and more than half were women. Across the sessions, panelists reflected on the roles of education, urban development, sustainable entrepreneurship, youth leadership, and industry in shaping — and reimagining — sustainable development.
The discussions culminated in the Statement of Recommendations from the Vatican Youth Symposium 2025, which summarized the conversations at the event and offered recommendations to ensure the conference's themes are promoted, with young people at the core of action. Young people (aged 18-35) are invited to become signatories to support the recommendations. The Vatican Youth Symposium wouldn’t be possible without the generosity and support of Dr. Betsee Parker.
This year, the SDG Student Program (SSP) focused on evolving its operations to better serve its mission of educating young people on sustainable development. With this goal in mind, and responding to the mission of educating youth on the SDGs, the SSP has hosted two Global Issue Forums (GIF in August and November), celebrating youth to inspire change and on climate action implementation.
Additionally, SSP student members also spearheaded several activities to promote the SDGs, including climate workshops, innovation events, recycling days, and climate action initiatives.
Moreover, in 2025, SDSN Youth also partnered and collaborated with several renowned global organizations. Earlier in the year, in collaboration with Yunus Thailand, we organized a series of workshops to equip attendees with the knowledge, skills, and resources to become effective leaders and advocates for zero-waste practices in their communities and beyond. At the end of the year, SDSN Youth also worked with the Generation Hope Goals initiative to conduct two training sessions on pitching and the importance of digital communication.
In addition, SDSN Youth Global Coordinator Raquel Armendariz Sucunza participated in partner events, such as the Junior Chamber International’s Global Youth Dialogue 2025 and the Foreign Policy of Indonesia’s Virtual Global Town Hall, which welcomed thousands of participants online.
SDSN Youth members were also very active throughout 2025, participating in various initiatives and events across the SDSN Networks. SDSN Youth members were featured in SDSN Canada’s 2025 Youth Leadership for the SDGs certificate, SDSN Spain’s Youth 2030 project’s podcast, and SDSN Black Sea’s Thessaloniki Sustainability Summit 2025. SDSN Youth, SDSN Mexico, and SDSN Youth Mexico also co-hosted an event in November on the importance of indigenous peoples in building global sustainability. Additionally, SDSN Youth, in collaboration with SDSN Caribbean and the Science Panel for the Amazon, hosted a session ahead of COP30 to unite young climate leaders from the Amazon and the Caribbean to share their visions for climate justice and action.
SDSN Youth also hosted several Intergenerational Dialogues throughout the year, highlighting the role of youth across the many themes discussed — from the Women’s Day event in March, recognizing female leadership for sustainability, to a webinar on the outcomes of COP30 and how young people play a role in ensuring the goals of the Climate Conference are met.
Additionally, during the UN General Assembly (UNGA), SDSN Youth joined forces with the SDGs Secretariat, Office of the Prime Minister, Government of Uganda, to host an event on shaping policy across generations. This event was hosted under the #YouthLeadFestival by the United Nations Youth Office to explore the role of youth in shaping policy and their influence in intergovernmental processes and decision-making mechanisms.
Also for the first time, SDSN Youth hosted an event in the Spanish language, seeking to reach new audiences and showcase solutions on interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability. Ahead of International Youth Day and in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the program, we also hosted an event featuring past and present members of SDSN Youth to reflect on a decade of youth-led action for the SDGs.
Other events included the Commemoration of Women’s Day at the UN headquarters in March, the ECOSOC Youth Forum in April, the Africa Food Systems Forum 2025, the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, and the 2nd World Summit for Social Development.
The SDSN Youth communications efforts played a central role in amplifying our work and ensuring our impact reached broader and more diverse audiences. Over the last year, we led several communications campaigns to mark key milestones, such as the 10th anniversary of SDSN Youth, highlighting the achievements of our members and alumni; Youth Day, celebrating the contributions of young people to advance the Sustainable Development agenda.
To further expand our reach, we launched a new monthly newsletter, which has grown to thousands of subscribers. SDSN Youth members also contributed to op-eds featured in international outlets, covering themes such as the role of youth for the road to 2030 and the importance of accelerating SDG4 Quality education ahead of the 2030 deadline.
As SDSN Youth closes a year of significant impact and looks ahead to 2026, SDSN Youth is excited to continue empowering young people through our programs and initiatives and working with our partners and collaborators. SDSN Youth is ready to take on new challenges, remaining at the forefront of youth leadership for sustainable development.
SDSN Youth is grateful for all the volunteers who supported these partnerships, projects, and initiatives in 2025. Here’s to 10 more years of impact and to starting 2026 with more transformative action.
To learn more, please visit the SDSN Youth website. Follow SDSN Youth on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram, and subscribe to their newsletter for regular updates on their events and initiatives.
For inquiries, please contact youth@unsdsn.org.