Youth participation in policy and decision making on education is deeply personal to me. My journey into public service began in the student movement at my university in my home country, Uruguay, where I experienced first-hand the transformative power of meaningful youth participation. Those early lessons shaped a lifelong conviction: when we create real spaces for young people to engage in policy and decision making, we do not only empower individuals. We strengthen institutions and drive positive change for society as a whole.

Since my appointment as Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs and Head of the United Nations Youth Office, that conviction has only grown stronger. Young people are not passive beneficiaries waiting to inherit the future. They are rights holders and partners who must help design it, together with other generations. Working with young people is not about appeasing them; it is a moral imperative and a practical necessity in a world facing deep, interconnected crises that require urgent actions and innovative solutions.

The youth edition of the Global Education Monitoring Report, focused on leading with youth, arrived at a critical moment. Across the globe, there is growing recognition of the role of young people as agents of change, but recognition alone is not enough. Too often, youth participation remains symbolic, with no clear structures to ensure accountability or influence. We need institutionalized and mandated pathways for meaningful youth participation in policymaking and decision-making processes, grounded in clear principles and sustained over time. It is not only about consulting young people, but about working with them at every stage. By building a strong body of evidence and concrete examples of the education sector, this report helps clarify how meaningful youth participation can move from aspiration to responsibility.

The education sector is a particularly powerful place to examine this, because education sits at the heart of young people’s lives. Education equips young people with civic literacy, critical thinking skills and the agency needed to participate effectively, while schools and universities can also serve as spaces where democratic engagement is practiced, not merely taught. Across the world, young people and students are already leading — from global advocacy efforts to local organizing, grassroots campaigns and community-based action. Yet these initiatives too often remain marginal and under-resourced. Greater visibility, sustained investment, intergenerational solidarity and genuine political will are urgently needed.

As we enter the final stretch toward 2030, this report issues a clear call to action: education policies cannot be designed for young people without being shaped with them. If we are serious about building inclusive, resilient and just societies, leading with youth must become the norm, now and beyond 2030. The future of education – and of our world – depends on it.

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