A year of youth-driven dialogue and action to contribute to the Secretary-General’s report on youth’s contribution to peace, rooted in the Pact for the Future

18 September 2025, New York — From grassroots action to global impact, a new campaign to be launched on International Day of Peace, 21 September, by the United Nations will harness the power of youth to surface urgent, often-overlooked solutions to today’s escalating challenges. Against the backdrop of a world which is increasingly polarized and witnessing rising conflict, division, and erosion of trust in institutions, the need for inclusive dialogue has never been more urgent.

Young people are leading the call for peace — not as a distant ideal, but as a daily demand. Fifty percent of the world population are under 30 years of age. They are peacebuilders, mediators, educators, peacekeepers, activists, volunteers, and innovators. They are the generation that has the greatest stake in our common future. Yet too often, they are excluded from the spaces where decisions are made, and solutions are shaped. Only 2.8% of parliamentarians are aged 30 or under. Over 260 million young people do not have employment, education or training, two-thirds of them women. Studies reveal a profound “trust gap”: young people are invited to the table, but their voices are consistently ignored. This campaign is a direct response, aiming to shift that paradigm.

A tangible impact of the Pact for the Future, Hear Us. Act Now for a Peaceful World is a year-long global youth campaign organized by the United Nations with youth and partners that advocates for three catalytic actions that young people have called for repeatedly: inclusion, investment and partnership with youth to build peace. For today’s generation peace is not just the absence of war, it means different things to different people: from having an education, to being able to feed the family, to a life with human rights, justice, and dignity.

Led by the UN Department of Global Communications, the campaign will be rolled out in partnership with the UN Youth, Peace and Security Secretariat, comprising the UN Youth Office, the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, and the United Nations Population Fund, in collaboration with the UN System.

“This campaign shines a spotlight on the voices of young leaders who are tirelessly working for peace — often behind the scenes, in communities, villages, universities, and conflict zones,” said Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General, Global Communications. “Together with global youth and the UN System, we’ve co-created this mobilization effort to inspire meaningful action. Our goal is to elevate youth-driven solutions that address the multifaceted challenges of peace — from ensuring access to education for young women and girls, to securing livelihoods for families, to tackling the far-reaching impacts of rising conflicts, the climate crisis and displacement. We are committed to putting these solutions front and centre.”

Coming ahead of the 10th anniversary of the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, the year-long public advocacy and mobilization campaign will contribute to the 2026 Secretary-General’s Report on youth’s positive contribution to peace.

Harnessing youth solutions, Peace Circles

Galvanizing youth voices, at the heart of the campaign are Peace Circles — inclusive dialogues, coalition building and solutions facilitated by young people and allies across the globe. These intergenerational circles will create spaces for action-oriented solutions, co-creation, peer exchanges and storytelling, around peace. From prevention to disarmament to peacebuilding, climate security and gender equality, they will address the urgent need to invest in people-centered solutions and shape a more peaceful, just and sustainable future — guided by and with youth.

On the eve of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, the campaign will be launched on the International Day of Peace, 21 September 2025, with an inaugural inter-generational peace circle, convening global youth activists and world leaders.

Launch of the Hear Us. Act Now for a Peaceful World campaign

Who: Youth speakers — Maryam Bukar Hassan, UN Global Advocate for Peace (Nigeria); Yuta Takahashi, Representative Director of Association Katawara (Japan); Nagla Abbas, Youth Advocate and Feminist Leader (Tanzania); Jin Dawod, Founder of Peace Therapist (Syria); and Max Genin, Human Rights Lawyer (Ukraine-Canada-Israel).

Keynote listeners — Mary Robinson, The Elders; and Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant-Secretary-General, Youth Affairs, and others.

Guest of honour: Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General, Global Communications

Moderator: Ishaan Shah, Co-founder of Stolen Dreams

What: Launch of Hear Us. Act Now for a Peace World Inaugural Peace Circle

Where: SDG Media Zone at UN Visitors Plaza, UNHQ

When: 21 September 2025, International Day of Peace, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Visit the campaign hub and sign up for the monthly campaign kits which spotlight and amplify youth actions and solutions including in crises and fragile contexts. Each month, it will feature themed advocacy content, activations, changemakers and allies in action. Subscribe Now.

#ActNowForPeace

Related events

• UNGA High-Level Week Peace Circle at SDG Media Zone with youth leaders, influencers, UN Goodwill Ambassadors, Elders, 12.30 -1.00 p.m., 25 September, Livestream on UN WebTV.
• Circle Up Activations with global youth, 1.30 -2.30 p.m., near SDG Media Zone, 24 and 25 September

Media Contacts

Devi Palanivelu | palanivelu@un.org
Oisika Chakrabarti | oisika.chakrabarti@un.org

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