Mainstreaming youth leadership is a cross-cutting priority of CCUNESCO's 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.
We foster positive social change by ensuring that youth can meaningfully engage in all our initiatives. Youth engagement takes various forms:
- Joining CCUNESCO networks and creating partnerships
- Contributing to dialogues and decision-making processes
- Integrating youth perspectives into programs and policies on education, science, culture, and communication
- Participating in community service, forums, leadership programs, and social media activities
UNESCO’s Youth Programme provides the framework for our work in these areas to ensure that youth voices are heard.
Youth Advisory Group
We created the Youth Advisory Group (YAG), composed of engaged youth aged 18-30 from across the country, to support youth engagement actions and involve youth in our programs and working committees. This network invites youth perspectives and insights through IdeaLab articles and participation in our Annual General Meeting. We ensure the representation of youth from various groups, including geographically isolated youth (particularly from Northern Canada), culturally and linguistically diverse youth, Indigenous youth, newcomers, differently-abled youth, and gender and sexually diverse youth.
Youth-led consultations and publications
We proudly support Canadian youth who share their perspectives and gain new insights by participating in international conferences. By attending, for example, the UNESCO General Conference, the UNESCO Youth Forum, and the RightsCon Summit, Canadian youth work towards change and help shape the policies and programs that matter most to them. Youth perspectives are also reflected in our Youth Engagement Toolkit, a collaborative initiative written by the Chair of the Youth Advisory Group. The toolkit identifies the concerns and priorities of youth working with UNESCO’s National Commissions by gathering best practices from commissions, youth councils, and youth groups from around the world.