How can young people engage meaningfully in changemaking processes? 

Many assume that change happens primarily in high-level, closed-door spaces, inaccessible to most people and especially to the average youth, said Bahá’í International Community (BIC) Representative Cecilia Schirmeister, who headed a delegation to the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2026, which concluded earlier this month.  

“Modern conceptions of development have evolved around this premise, resulting in top-down processes of changemaking which, structurally, relegate young people to the sidelines, positioning them as beneficiaries and recipients of change, rather than as drivers, shapers, and architects of it,” Schirmeister said. 

In response, the BIC delegation to the Forum sought to expand conceptions of development—where it happens, what it looks like, who carries it out—and how such expanded conceptions can shed new light on the contributions young people can make to constructive societal change. 

Toward this end, the BIC hosted a side event titled “Youth As Protagonists of Social Transformation: Exploring the Role of Youth in New Pathways Towards Development.” The event explored how local and community-led approaches to development can complement more traditional, “top-down” approaches, creating space for youth to invite others into a collective process of learning about meeting one’s own community’s needs.

“Similar to the analogy of a house being built from the ground up, or a seed growing from the ground up, community initiatives and change can also emerge from the ground up,” said Jaden Robinson, an intern at the BIC who opened the event. 

Youth interns were key to the event—organizing it and facilitating the discussion. Seeking to foster a constructive discussion around lessons learned through grassroots action, it featured young people from three regions of the world sharing personal experiences, each concerning youth identifying a need in their neighborhood and spearheading development initiatives in response. 

Maria Clara Felipe Brum, an 18 year-old student from Brasilia, Brazil, described her experience with the creation of community-based vacation camps during school breaks, and how those efforts led to a pattern of youth being supported to not only pursue higher education but also to explore the higher purpose and goals such education can support. 

“What makes this process meaningful is that it does not separate these dimensions of life,” Brum said. “The same young person who is studying for an exam is also contributing to their neighborhood. The same person who is supporting a child in a summer camp is also reflecting on their own future. Their growth is not isolated. It is connected to the well-being of those around them.”

From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Ahmad Katoro, 26, spoke of his involvement in  a network of related initiatives across two neighborhoods in Kinshasa that were tending to basic needs and fostering a culture of service to the community for personal growth and fulfillment.

“What we are witnessing today goes beyond a series of initiatives. It reflects a shift in perception: that a generation of youth are beginning to recognize their capacity to act, here and now, in service to their community, in collaboration with families and social actors,” Mr. Katoro said. 

“And perhaps the true turning point lies there,” he continued, “in the moment when an individual, regardless of age, decides no longer to wait for social change, but to embody it at the heart of their community life.”

From Carrboro, in the United States, Maxwell Costant, 17, described his engagement with an educational process in which young adolescents are assisted to engage in activities that enhance their moral and intellectual capacities and help them take steps to address challenges facing their community.

“I'm now working with a few different groups of middle schoolers myself, with around 15 different kids, in other neighborhoods in my area,” Costant said. “This really shows how this process is truly a cycle, with adolescent participants eventually becoming mentors and leading groups themselves, maybe eventually even supporting other new mentors.”

The speakers’ stories were followed by an open conversation among attendees, ranging from Member State representatives to civil society actors.

“Young people are creative and innovative. We have a keen sense of justice and are rooted in the reality of our community. We can bring others together to identify shared aspirations and a common narrative about a shared vision for the future,” Schirmeister said. “How, then, can the structures and conditions be cultivated to enable society to more fully tap into the contributions youth are making to its betterment, starting right within their own communities?"

The BIC also co-hosted an event with the Costa Rica-based University for Peace on peace education and the role of youth as peacebuilders, entitled “Centering Youth Voices as Leaders for Peace”, for which Ms. Schirmeister served as keynote speaker. And a “Youth Tea Time” gathering, also at the BIC, welcomed all attendees of the Forum to reflect on its proceedings and conclusions.