International Youth Day showcase: Platforms and initiatives for youth political empowerment

Zoom, 12 August 2025, 13:00 to 15:00 CET (Geneva time)

In 2025, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will mark International Youth Day by offering a space for sharing and showcasing opportunities for youth empowerment in politics. A range of networking platforms and knowledge building initiatives aimed at empowering youth in politics will be featured. 

Despite growing awareness and recognition of the importance of youth participation in political decision-making for democracy and sustainable development, youth representation in parliaments remains limited. Young men and women continue to face significant barriers, including to access political networks and empowerment opportunities. Even after being elected, young men and women parliamentarians may struggle to access platforms of influence and opportunities for political growth.  

How can youth political empowerment better build on youth-led structures, platforms and networks? And how can it benefit more from peer-to-peer knowledge building, learning, and support? The IPU and its partners within the Women and Youth Democratic Engagement initiative (WYDE) avail a wealth of such youth political empowerment platforms and initiatives. Within WYDE, networking and peer to peer support platforms bring together young men and women who are democracy activists, current parliamentarians and politicians, as well as those aspiring to political participation. Knowledge building initiatives support building skills, capacities and leadership for political engagement and influence among different groups of young men and women. All such platforms and initiatives within the WYDE framework build support among young people, facilitate exchange of experiences among them, and help exploring solutions to shared challenges. 

The briefing will be an opportunity to:

• Showcase youth platforms and knowledge building initiatives;

• Exchange country level experineces of youth networks and capacity-building initives;

• Identify mechanisms and strategies to sustain and further youth peer to peer support and empowerment networks and initiatives.

Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. 

The briefing is being organized under the WYDE | Women’s Leadership Initiative, a collaborative effort funded by the European Union and implemented by UN Women, together with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), to advance women’s full and effective political participation and decision-making at all levels, especially those most often left furthest behind.

Register by clicking here