Dear Community,

UNESCO is pleased to announce the global call for applications for the second edition of the Youth for Peace: UNESCO Intercultural Leadership Programme. Applications are open until 19 July 2026 at 23:59 CEST, Paris time. 

This year’s theme, Human Connection and Dialogue in the Age of AI, explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping communication and social relations, while raising urgent questions around trust, bias, representation, and inclusion.

Over the course of the programme, 50 selected participants will:

• Strengthen their capacity as intercultural leaders through a series of high-level online masterclasses and peer-to-peer exchanges (Oct-Dec 2026);

• Design and lead a dialogue-based community initiative aligned with the programme’s annual theme, supported by seed funding of USD 10,000 (Jan-Jul 2027); while receiving ongoing mentorship and leadership development opportunities from an international network of experts and practitioners;

• Contribute to international conversations on peace, inclusion, and intercultural dialogue through participation in the UNESCO Global Youth Dialogue for Peace in China (Q3-4 2027)

• Join a global community of emerging intercultural leaders and become part of UNESCO’s Global Youth Alumni Network;

👉 Learn more and apply here.
🗓️ Applications are open from 22 June to 19 July 2026 (23:59 CEST).

Through this initiative, the ILO is launching a series of case studies to explore how green industrial transformation is reshaping key sectors and creating employment opportunities for young people. The research aims to identify the institutional, policy and systemic factors that drive positive youth employment outcomes and to generate actionable recommendations for policymakers and industry stakeholders at both national and global levels.

To help inform the selection of sectors and countries for the study, we would be grateful for your input through this short survey.

👉 Participate in the survey here

Your insights are particularly valuable in ensuring that the research focuses on sectors with strong potential to generate decent jobs for young women and men while advancing the green transition.

For your reference, an extract from the Terms of Reference can be accessed here. The ILO will launch a Request for Proposals once the sector and country selection process has been completed.

Please note that the survey will remain open until 1 July 2026.

Thank you in advance for your contribution.

With best wishes,
The EC–ILO Youth Employment Expert Network Team

⚡Participate in the survey⚡

Hello everyone! 🌍 As the annual International Labour Conference (ILC) 2026 nearly comes to a close, we sat down with one of the youth representatives actively taking part in the discussions.

We’re excited to feature Nea Laine, representative of the Finnish National Youth Council 🇫🇮, as she shares her experiences, engagement, and reflections from the conference.

Read our conversation below 👇 — and feel free to join in by sharing your own insights and reflections too.

💬 ✦ 💬 ✦ 💬

YouthForesight: Could you briefly introduce yourself and the organization you represent?

Nea: Hello! My name is Nea Laine. As Finland's Youth Delegate for Decent Work, I bring the perspectives of Finnish youth to both the international and domestic tables where today's labor market is discussed. My mandate represents over 1 million members across 130 youth organizations through Finland’s National Youth Council and Sector.

💬 ✦ 💬 ✦ 💬

YouthForesight: As a youth representative, how would you describe your level of engagement at this year’s ILC?

Nea: It was great! Our delegation was given the opportunity to deliver a youth statement in one of the committees, and together with the Danish youth delegates, we had highly meaningful conversations about the topics on this year's agenda with Nordic and international representatives. Because this was only the third time Finland has sent a youth delegate to the ILC, and given that youth are not directly represented there, we are currently doing our best to find collaborative ways to represent young people as impactfully as possible.

💬 ✦ 💬 ✦ 💬

YouthForesight: Which key discussions at the ILC do you think young people should be more involved in?

Nea: While the specific topics change almost every year, young people are deeply impacted by the labor market as a whole, regardless of the immediate matter at hand. On this year's agenda, the discussion surrounding social dialogue and tripartism is highly relevant, especially as the world of work is changing at a rapid speed.

💬 ✦ 💬 ✦ 💬

YouthForesight: What outcomes are you hoping for from this year’s ILC

Nea: Expanding briefly on my previous point, social dialogue must be modernized to include youth voices. These principles should be advanced through trusted national processes that give young people a real say in shaping their professional lives, and it would be great to see this explicitly stated in the official text.

Regarding this year's core conference negotiation, the platform economy, I support the consolidation of a principle-based, universally adaptable global framework for platform workers. Clear, predictable baselines for worker classification and human-in-the-loop algorithmic oversight are also highly relevant for young workers in the platform economy.

💬 ✦ 💬 ✦ 💬

Were you at the ILC 2026 too? Share us your thoughts and experience!

➡️ Join the PROSPECTS4Youth Intergenerational Network Virtual Roundtable
Designed to advance young people’s engagement, education, skills development and employment in forced displacement contexts, the roundtable will explore collaborative solutions and mobilise collective action that can support young people in forced displacement contexts realise their true potential. 

🗓️Date: June 10
🕒Time: 14:00 CEST
📍Online via Zoom
→ Register Here

➡️ Apply to The Pankaj Award to End Conflict
Regent Global is investing $250,000 to support young leaders working to prevent and resolve conflict worldwide. One winner will receive $100,000, while other finalists will receive $10,000–$50,000 to advance their initiatives.

Finalists will also receive a fully funded scholarship to attend the One Young World Summit 2026 in Cape Town (3–6 November) and gain lifetime membership in the global One Young World Ambassador Community, connecting them with 20,000+ changemakers across 190+ countries.

🗓️Apply until June 15
→ Apply Here

➡️ Join UNICEF YuWaah's Young People's Action Team (YPAT)
Are you passionate about advocating for the needs of young people from your communities and voicing their concerns with decision-makers on national and global platforms?

If you're aged 15–29 and eager to contribute to shaping strategies and programs focused on employment, career guidance, skilling, entrepreneurship and community action for young people, then this is the perfect opportunity for you!

Please note: Young people based in India for the duration of 2026-2027 are eligible to apply.

🗓️Apply until June 21
→ Apply Here

💬 Which topic are you most excited to explore next week? Join the discussion on YouthForesight and be part of shaping the future.

1️⃣ UNICEF’s Digital Education and AI Strategy 2025-2030
➝ ➝ ➝ Explore this strategy, which focuses on accelerating learning and skills through evidence-based approaches while bridging digital, gender, disability, and language gaps in and out of school.
🔗 bit.ly/4fdDaSP

2️⃣ ILO WAEMU Youth Country Briefs
➝ ➝ ➝  The ILO, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, produces these new statistical briefs on the eight WAEMU countries, offering updated insights into youth labour market trends and informing policy and programme dialogue.
🔗 bit.ly/4aeFeqd

3️⃣ Introducing YBI’s EYE Academy
➝ ➝ ➝  This inclusive platform offers tailored resources, training, and peer communities to help entrepreneurs grow and create economic impact locally and globally.
🔗 bit.ly/49rcH0s

🗓️ Upcoming Youth Events and Opportunities:

The World Bank Group Youth Summit returns for its 13th edition, inviting young people (18-35) to engage with the most urgent issues their generation faces, while bringing together thousands of participants from across the globe.

Under the theme #FutureWorks: Designing Jobs for the Digital Age, this year’s Summit will center on education and skills, entrepreneurship, and agriculture.

You can take part in-person or online! [Learn How]


🗣️ Trending in our Community Forum:

“Four months ago l shared in this forum our goal in establishing a community research center. I am very proud to share an update!

We have managed to mobilize resources and purchased a satellite internet service installed at Mhakwe Knowledge Center, providing internet to more than 400 young people, farmers and community stakeholders.” - Bineloge Blessing Nhembo

🙌 A wonderful community WIN shared by our forum member Bineloge from Zimbabwe! 🙌 What wins, big or small, have you achieved so far this year? 👉 Join the convo in this link!

💬 The rich discussion highlighted key issues including informality, skills mismatch, rural employment challenges, and gender and disability disparities, all connected to the future of work in West Africa.

Here are some key insights you might have missed:

✨ Personal Reflection

👉 What are YOU working on right now that would benefit from this webinar's discussion?
👉 And what practical NEXT STEPS would be valuable to you from this webinar?

We’re excited to turn our engagement into something impactful—and to explore how we can collaborate, connect and move forward together.

Tell us in the comments below! 👇

Background:
Across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), young people face persistent challenges in accessing productive and sustainable employment opportunities.

Despite periods of relatively strong economic growth, labour markets remain characterised by high levels of informality, a strong concentration of employment in low-productivity agriculture and significant disparities across gender, disability status and location. Rapid demographic growth further intensifies pressure on labour markets, making youth employment a central development priority for the region.

Strengthening the evidence base on these dynamics is essential to better understand the constraints faced by young people and to inform effective policy responses. 

To contribute to this effort, the International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, has undertaken a new phase of analytical work covering the eight WAEMU countries, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

Building on a long-standing collaboration, this work includes the production of comparable country briefs drawing on newly available harmonized household survey data.

The resulting analysis provides updated and comparable insights into youth labour market trends and serves as a basis for dialogue on policy and programme responses. 

Objectives:

The webinar aims to: 

• Present key findings from the latest ILO statistical analysis of youth labour market trends across the eight WAEMU countries;  

• Provide a platform for dialogue among policymakers, practitioners and youth representatives on the implications of these trends;  

• Strengthen the link between evidence and policy discussions on youth employment.  

Audience:
We welcome governments, regional organizations, youth groups, development partners, researchers and private sector to join. 

Agenda & Speakers:

Welcome and opening remarks 

• ​Ms Fanfan Rwanyindo Kayirangwa, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa 

• ​Dr Eunice Muthengi, Director Evidence & Learning Insights, Mastercard Foundation

Presentation: Youth labour market trends in WAEMU

• Mr Niall O’Higgins, Senior Employment Research Specialist, ILO

​​Discussion: Implications for youth employment policies and programmes

• ​Moderator: Ms Sara Elder, Head, Employment Analyses & Economic Policies Unit, ILO

• ​Panellists:

         - ​Ms Maurice Lorka, Program Lead, Policies WAEMU, Mastercard Foundation

         - Mr Ali Madai Boukar, Employment & Socio-Economic Recovery Specialist, ILO

         - Representative, WAEMU Commission

         - Youth representative

Q&A with audience
Closing

ConnectRefugee is a mobile app built under CAMPUS Digital Hub. It was created to help refugees in Nakivale Refugee Settlement access verified and timely information in a simple way.

Inside Nakivale, information about scholarships, health, aid, services, and opportunities often spreads through word of mouth, notice boards, WhatsApp, or by car passing. This creates serious risks. Many people receive wrong information at the wrong time, others get exposed to scammers who ask for money in exchange for fake opportunities, and some end up traveling long distances only to find that the information was never real. This leads to loss of time, money, and trust.

We built this app to reduce these risks by giving organizations and trusted partners a direct way to share verified updates with the community, so people can access information that is more reliable and easier to act on from the source.

The app works in a simple way. Organizations can share opportunities and updates. Users in Nakivale can receive and read this information in five languages (English, French, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, and Arabic), making it easier for more people to understand and act on it.

If you have people or organizations working in Nakivale, or if you have opportunities that refugees can benefit from, you can contact us so we can share them with the right audience.

If you are in Uganda, you can also go ahead and download ConnectRefugee on the Google Play Store and start using it today.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.connectrefugee.userug&hl=en

We welcome partners, organizations, and individuals who want their information to reach real people who need it.
Made in Nakivale refugee settlement.

As the week winds down, we’re keeping the momentum going. To help you stay ahead and make the most of next week, we’ve rounded up 3 upcoming events for meaningful engagement in youth programming and advocacy.

1️⃣ Webinar: Youth Labour Market Trends in West Africa presented by ILO and Mastercard Foundation

📅 Date: Wednesday, 2o May 2026
🕐 Time: 15:00–16:30 CEST
✅ Register Here

Why This Matters? Young people in West African Economic and Monetary Union WAEMU countries continue to face major barriers to productive and sustainable employment, driven by informality, low-productivity jobs, and inequality across gender, disability, and location. This webinar will present new ILO and Mastercard Foundation findings on youth labour trends across eight countries to inform policy dialogue and strengthen evidence-based responses.

➤ Learn More

↓↓↓

2️⃣ Hybrid Event: World Bank Group's East Asia and Pacific Youth Forum – #FutureMakers: Youth Driving Jobs

📅 Date: 2o-21 May 2026
🕐 Time: 08:00–15:00 GMT+7
✅ Register Here

Why This Matters? The East Asia and Pacific Youth Forum 2026 brings together youth, government, business leaders, and World Bank Group experts to explore the future of jobs in the region. Participants will gain insights on emerging job trends, develop skills through interactive sessions, and expand their professional networks.

➤ Learn More

↓↓↓

3️⃣ ILO "SKILLS Bridge" Masterclass: Harnessing Private Sector Power to Build the Workforce of Tomorrow: Driving Productivity, Decent Work and Social Justice through Skills

📅 Date: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
🕐 Time: 12:00–13:30 CEST | 10:00–11:30 GMT
✅ Registration (FREE): Webinar Registration - Zoom

Why This Matters? This masterclass will highlight effective models of private sector leadership, innovative partnerships that are helping to future-proof workforces, close skills gaps, and create pathways to decent work. It aims to inspire action and support more inclusive, resilient, and skills-ready labour markets.

➤ Learn More

🔔 Never miss an event! Always stay up to date at YouthForesight's engage section for upcoming youth activities and engagements. 🥳

How knowledgeable are you about the youth employment situation across Africa? This #ForumFriday, let’s put your knowledge to the test with a quick quiz based on key insights and data on African youth employment. Ready? 🚀

True or False:

1️⃣ Young women make up the majority of employed youth in Africa.
2️⃣ NEET means “New Education Employment Training.”
3️⃣ Around 57% of young Africans are currently employed.
4️⃣ By 2033, agriculture is projected to remain the largest employer of young Africans.
5️⃣ Many African youth begin working before completing their education.

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Before checking the answers, here’s some context 👇

The data and insights featured in this quiz are drawn from the Africa Youth Employment Clock and the new report, Africa Youth Employment Outlook 2026.

Developed by World Data Lab in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, the Africa Youth Employment Clock is a first-of-its-kind platform designed to monitor youth job growth and forecast employment trends across Africa through 2030.

The platform aims to democratize data and support evidence-based decision-making across the public and private sectors.

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Answers:

1️⃣ False — Young women make up the majority of unemployed youth in Africa.
2️⃣ False — NEET stands for Not in Education, Employment, or Training.
3️⃣ True — Around 57% of young Africans are currently employed.
4️⃣ False — The services sector is projected to grow faster than agriculture in youth employment.
5️⃣ True — Many young Africans enter the labour market while still of school age (15–17), often taking on low-paying, informal agricultural work before completing their education.

How many did you get right? 👀

How can data and tools like these strengthen your work, advocacy, or programming on youth employment? Are there other youth issues or trends you think deserve greater attention?

Let’s discuss in the comments below ⬇️