The array of challenges before humanity will not be resolved by approaches that reproduce patterns that gave rise to those very challenges in the first place—patterns of conflict and hostility, for example, or habits of pitting certain interests against others. The young people of the world, who play such a decisive role in fuelling social movements, have vital work to do in pioneering approaches to social change that are consistent with the ends they seek to bring about. Particularly relevant will be their role in developing patterns of action that deepen ties of solidarity, which the Secretary-General of the United Nations has identified as a central prerequisite to lasting progress. “In an interconnected world, [solidarity] is common sense,” he wrote in his Our Common Agenda report. “It is the principle of working together, recognizing that we are bound to each other and that no community or country can solve its challenges alone.” 

Youth who are committing themselves to a path of constructive social change—in the prime of their lives and with so much of their future still ahead of them—raise a question of vital importance to society: what factors allow a person to sustain efforts for social change not just for a year or two, but over the course of an entire lifetime? Burnout is an issue of growing concern to numerous activists; disillusionment and 

exhaustion are real and highly problematic. What, then, allows change makers to overcome setbacks with resilience, to remain free of cynicism and bitterness in the face of adversity, to protect hope and sustain a spirit of joy even in times of difficulty? 

Practical strategies of self-care and coping can provide much-needed assistance. Yet long-term commitment, to be sustained over time, must also be grounded in deeper considerations of the purpose of human life, the value of the individual person, and the betterment and transformation of society. If seemingly abstract on first consideration, such concepts have in fact proven indispensable in tapping the roots of long-term motivation. “Certain concepts become like light to youth,” said one practitioner who works with youth in Zambia. “The idea that you are here for a particular purpose, that this purpose is to develop yourself and contribute to the development of your community—these principles become a light that shines on every aspect of a person’s life. It helps them navigate life and understand challenges and difficult social conditions.” 

Young people pursue social change in the context of powerful social forces—some corrosive and destructive, others constructive and protective. Much discourse and social interaction today, for example, is mediated by digital platforms that, optimized for reaction and engagement, consistently amplify fear, fury, and moral outrage. Ultimately motivated by the pursuit of profit, such platforms elevate the most extreme views and spotlight the most strident voices, thereby undermining thoughtful deliberation, reasoned reflection, and the identification of points of consensus. More fundamentally, many efforts at social change today are predicated on notions of dominance, the exercise of power over and against perceived others, and the unilateral imposition of political will, thereby sowing seeds of continuing discontent, opposition, and efforts at resistance and counter-mobilization. 

These are elements of the world in which young activists operate. Yet large segments of that world—masses of people across all nations—also agree with noble and deeply humanistic values—that humanity is one people, that full equality between the sexes is a vital component of the progress of

society, that education must be universal, that rational investigation of the truth must prevail over dogmatic ideology and prejudices. Key to young people’s effective contribution to meaningful social change, then, is learning how to align their efforts ever more closely with the constructive forces at work in the world, to consciously draw on their power, and to avoid the siren calls of hostility, division, expediency, and the pursuit of power for its own sake. 

No one is born knowing how to reconstruct society. Social change that is broad-based and participatory must therefore be approached, in large part, as an exercise in capacity building—equipping larger and larger numbers of people to contribute meaningfully and effectively to the betterment of society. This has particular relevance to young people, who might well stand in need of training in basic skills, technical capacities, or bodies of knowledge in particular subject areas. But the capacities needed to foster and sustain social change among a population—as opposed to imposing change on it from above—are profound and in need of strengthening throughout the lifecycle. These include things like the capacity to identify distinct areas of action but not compartmentalize, to work in full and complex thoughts and not rely on slogans, to identify the forces shaping society around oneself and to describe them with clarity. In building capacities such as these, at scale and all around the world simultaneously, youth can be a key partner, working shoulder to shoulder with their older colleagues. 

Central to the role that youth are able to play are the steps that older generations take, or fail to take, in ensuring that social movements benefit from young people’s full contributions. How do those who are older understand the significance of the period of youth in the life of society? What unique roles and responsibilities do young people have in building vibrant and cohesive communities? What kinds of social and institutional spaces help young people shoulder their share in the transformation of society? Answering these questions, at sufficient depth and clarity of understanding, will require a widespread and systematic exploration about how young people become protagonists in processes of social change. Youth themselves have a role to play in such an exploration, but responsibility for it cannot be placed on their shoulders alone. The readiness that youth demonstrate to take charge for the advance of their communities can obscure the fact that they need sustained support from institutions and agencies, to achieve their full potential. Every population that arises to advance the common good becomes more effective with support and assistance. Providing such support to young people is a sacred charge among all adults, and particularly those in positions of leadership or decision-making. 

People of all ages increasingly desire a world in which every population is taking responsibility for navigating the path of its own development. The proposition that certain regions of the world, or small groups of elites within each society, would determine the path of social change on behalf of everyone else, according to their own perspectives and preferences, is increasingly recognized as a relic of the past, better left behind. Needed instead is an efflorescence of countless local communities developing the capacity to define their own goals and aspirations for the future, according to values and priorities they articulate in common. Such a process, if it is to be truly owned by the generality of a population, unfolds in large part on a house-by-house, street-by-street basis, in numerous neighborhoods and villages. Because of the highly localized nature of such an endeavor, young people can—and already do, in many areas—function as key champions and protagonists along these lines. This is true both in terms of the results of action taken directly themselves, but also in the way that they can catalyze broader movement across a population. To those active at the international or national levels, then, falls the duty of promoting those policies and conditions that allow youth to function as the leaven that raises to new heights something much larger than itself. As one young woman who works closely with networks of youth across the Indian subcontinent commented in this regard, “Youth coming together and undertaking small constructive projects for the development of the community have drawn people together, people of different backgrounds. In this way, these small groups of youth become the glue of the community. They become the catalyst that inspires adults to also take action.”