Youth champions to tell world leaders why they must Act For Early Years
A working group of Theirworld Global Youth Ambassadors will capture the views of young people and deliver their vision at the first International Finance Summit for Early Childhood.
Theirworld’s Global Youth Ambassadors will help to shape the future of early childhood education – by making the case for governments to invest in the youngest children.
Fourteen young education champions will work as part of the Act For Early Years campaign, which successfully called for the first-ever early years financing summit to be held in 2027.
To ensure young people play a meaningful part in the campaign, Theirworld has established the Act For Early Years Youth Champions, a working group made up of Global Youth Ambassadors from Theirworld’s international youth advocacy network. They come from 14 different countries on six continents and are all experts on children’s early years.
Their task is to capture the views of young people worldwide and present those collective demands and aspirations to the International Finance Summit for Early Childhood next year by delivering a Youth Vision Statement to decision-makers.
To do that, the working group members will consult their own national and regional youth networks using a methodology called youth foresight. The Youth Champions gathered recently in Tanzania to receive training on the approach, which empowers young people to take a more forward-thinking and creative view instead of focusing on current problems.
The method allows them to envision alternative, hopeful futures for early childhood development 20 to 30 years from now and to identify the trends, technologies and potential disruptions that could shape those futures.
We can make a difference, change policies and provide a better foundation for early years.
Kenzy Ismail, a Global Youth Ambassador from Egypt
Young people are encouraged to define the concrete steps, policy changes and societal shifts required to achieve an ideal future for the early years. They can then make clear, actionable demands for policymakers, civil society and their own generation.
Global Youth Ambassador Munnir Adams, from Nigeria, explained why the Youth Champions and training are important. He said: “There has never been a time when we have had this many young people in a single generation, so it’s essential that we are part of those building the future that we will live in.”
Kenzy Ismail from Egypt, spoke about what she hoped to take away from the training. She said: “I aspire to be the voice of those who need it most and to give my community the foundation for a better early childhood. With the help of my country’s ministers, president, parents and leaders, we can make a difference, change policies and provide a better foundation for early years.”
Also at the training was GYA Laura Morales Lopez, from Colombia, who said: “Together, we can ensure that every child has the best start in life in their early years – not by chance, but by design. By working across sectors, listening to communities and grounding our actions in evidence, while most importantly amplifying the voices of young people, we can build a future where every child can thrive from the very beginning of life.”
Over the next few months, the Youth Champions will run consultations in their own communities, using the youth foresight learnings from their training. Young people who want to get involved can email youthvision@theirworld.org.
Theirworld has also launched a global survey to gather the views of people aged 18 to 30 on the future they want to see for early childhood education. Data collected from the survey will be used to create the Youth Vision Statement, which will be launched ahead of the summit and then presented to world leaders.