EIGID at the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting Marking 30 Years of the World Programme of Action for Youth

Selene Rosselli
Oct 3
3 min read

On 25 September 2025, the President of the UN General Assembly convened a High-Level Meeting to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) at UN Headquarters during UNGA80. The meeting’s theme was: “World Programme of Action for Youth at 30: Accelerating Global Progress Through Intergenerational Collaboration.” Organisation des Nations Unies+2Organisation des Nations Unies+2

EIGID joined this moment to bring forward the voices and experiences of girls and young women we work with across Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean, and to help shape the next decade of youth-centered, gender-responsive democratic action.

What WPAY is, and why it matters

Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1995, WPAY is the first comprehensive global framework guiding national and international youth policies and programmes. Its 30-year milestone is both a stock-take and a springboard: assessing progress, sharing good practices, and charting a path forward with( and for) young people.

In the lead-up to the meeting, the UN opened special civil-society accreditation to broaden participation, underscoring that youth-led and youth-serving organizations are essential partners in turning commitments into results.

The messages we carried

Democracy and gender equality rise and fall together. Durable democratic culture requires the meaningful participation of girls and young women in decision-making locally and nationally.
Evidence before action: Programmes must be built on data, surveys, focus groups, and feedback loops that let young people define priorities and measure impact.
Intergenerational collaboration that actually changes practice. The UN’s theme this year calls for partnerships: schools, local authorities, companies, and NGOs moving beyond consultation towards co-design and shared governance.

What we shared at the UN

Walanga, Uganda: Civic empowerment meets gender equality. We presented our training for children, young mothers, and grandmothers ahead of Uganda’s 2026 elections, including rights education, leadership labs, and mock voting.
Workplace culture programmes in Europe: Our approach helps companies integrate a gender perspective into everyday culture through three-tier surveys, focus groups, and targeted workshops for managers and staff.
Institutional partnerships: From civil-society alliances in Europe and the Caribbean to collaborations with government gender departments, we are building capacity for inclusive governance.

Five takeaways from the High-Level Meeting

Mainstream the youth agenda across education, work, health, digital, climate, and governance, don’t silo it.
Guarantee structured participation channels so young people can influence laws and policies, not just pilot projects.
Make intergenerational collaboration operational through mentoring, co-design, and shared accountability.
Center civil society, special accreditation and open calls show the UN’s intent to widen the table.
Align with UNGA High-Level Week priorities to secure political attention and tangible follow-through.

What’s next for EIGID

Replicable toolkits from the Walanga trainings: a child-focused kit and a kit for young mothers and grandmothers to scale to other communities.
2025–2026 company programmes: expanded gender-and-culture audits with three surveys, focus groups, and two workshops (managers and staff), tied to impact indicators.
Institutional capacity-building: support for ministries and local authorities to train gender focal points and embed civic empowerment in public education.

“Young people are not only the future; they are the present of our democracies. Without their voice, governance is incomplete.”

Partner with us

Co-host a programme in schools, universities, public institutions, or companies.
Sponsor a training cycle, proceeds directly fund our on-the-ground work (like Uganda) and scale it to new communities.
Invite EIGID to speak on inclusive democracy, youth participation, and gender mainstreaming.

Contact: info@eigid.org | www.eigid.org