We asked young people what changes they want for the future. Here's what they said

Over the past year, the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers community has organized dialogues and surveys on what young people see as the most pressing issues facing society, government and business.

On the Shapers’ tenth anniversary the community has published Davos Labs: Youth Recovery Plan – a series of 40 policy recommendations on 10 key issues to help policy-makers integrate the voices of the next generation.

In parallel, the Millennial Manifesto offers a modus operandi to young people as they mobilize to shape an inclusive post-COVID period.

15% of the world’s population – some 1.2 billion people – are aged between 15 and 29. The world gets ever younger, with 10 billion more people yet to be born in this century.

This exponential growth will continue to be uneven, with concentration in more populous and less developed countries, resulting in more mouths to feed, more young people to educate and more jobs to provide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected young people, and especially young women and girls. It has disrupted their education, their training, their jobs, their relationships and their mental health.

On last week's International Youth Day, the YMCA, together with other key youth organizations, called for this to be redressed and for young people to be given a platform, “They knew all these challenges prior to the pandemic, and then they became its pariahs: largely ignored in policy response and often blamed for the spread.”

To mount the response required to usher in this new world, the Millennial Manifesto team - a component of the Davos Lab - held dialogues on what a matured form of youth activism could look like. Through a process that engaged diverse Global Shapers from every continent, some of the world's most impactful social entrepreneurs, and experienced grassroots activists, the purpose of the dialogues was to devise principles to guide young people as they advocate for a more inclusive post-COVID period.

Two critical questions guided these dialogues: What are the barriers that have hindered progress? And, what key values, principles and practices will enable us to foster long-lasting systemic impact for the next decade?

6 principles for a Millennial Manifesto emerged from this process:

1. We will create space for intergenerational dialogue

2. We will ask big questions to advance bold solutions

3. We will pursue systems change and collective action

4. We will make space for diverse lived experiences

5. We will embrace uncomfortable conversations

6. We will care for ourselves, others and our ecosystem

The red line that runs through the Youth Recovery Plan and the Millennial Manifesto – the surveys, dialogues, and recommendations – is optimism.

Abdullahi Alim, Specialist, Africa and Middle East, Global Shapers Community, and Natalie Pierce, Community Lead, Experiences and Partnerships, Foundations at the World Economic Forum believe, “Young people are fighting these crises and reimagining a better future…Behind the plan is the conviction that by giving young people a say in decision-making, solution-building and lasting change – post-pandemic recovery plans will be more effective, sustainable and inclusive, and ensure a better future for generations to come.”

And Wadia Ait Hamza, Head of the Global Shapers Community explains, “Now more than ever, the world needs young people to step up to address the many other challenges ahead of us. But hurdles remain. While the last decade saw the power of youth activism to highlight and uproot systemic problems, it also showed that young people face challenges of experience and credibility.”

He warns that it is crucial to engage young people in decision-making – but in parallel – it’s also important for young people to think differently about how they want to engage. The sweet spot will be the balance between the energy, optimism and fierce sense of justice that Millennials and Gen Z bring to the table, combined with the conviction of policy-makers to see these ideas through to realization.