Collage WHO Youth Declaration

Youth Declaration on Creating Healthy Societies

At the World Health Summit 2024 in Berlin, the WHO Youth Council presented its vision for healthier societies. The Council is calling on policymakers to better leverage the potential of young people and incorporate their perspectives in order to achieve social progress. The Youth Declaration contains 10-calls-to-action. The Bertelsmann Stiftung and major youth organizations support this initiative.

The Youth Declaration outlines key values and principles for stronger youth participation and encourages young people globally to raise their voices and actively engage in shaping sustainable, healthy, and resilient societies. We encourage youth-led organizations and stakeholders to support this declaration. By fostering widespread endorsement, the vision for healthier societies can be more effectively realized, aiming to reach global consensus on improving health worldwide. 

This declaration represents the priorities set by young people concerning health and sustainable development, emphasizing the importance of their active participation in shaping the global health agenda. Supporting youth organizations can amplify awareness and drive action towards realizing this shared vision. 

Youth Declaration on Creating Healthy Societies

The declaration which was drawn up by 23 organizations sets out 10 calls-to-action across 3 priority areas that require the collective efforts of governments, academia, the private sector, civil societies and individuals. 

Promoting Health Education and Literacy

1. Access, Equity and Inclusion in Education and Technology

Tackling inequalities that create barriers to education and technology, to enable all young people to learn about their own health, that of their community and of the world at large. Education must be designed to represent and educate about the diverse healthcare needs that we have as individuals and as communities.

 

2. Comprehensive Curricula

Ensuring that health, climate change and digital literacy are included in the basis of national curricula, aimed at empowering young people to take action in their communities.

3. Quality and Adaptive Education

Creating learning environments that are flexible and responsive to the evolving needs of society, that enable experiential, self-directed and progressive learning and that embrace inclusivity and accessibility for all students.

4. Youth Engagement and Leadership

Encouraging and facilitating the active engagement of young people in the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs, recognising the unique perspectives and innovative potential of young people.

Ensuring Accessible and Sustainable Healthcare

5. Inclusive, Accessible and Prevention-focused Healthcare

Promoting health policies and environments that are designed to ensure young people from marginalised and historically vulnerable groups have equal access to healthcare services, which are designed to meet their needs and to improve long-term health outcomes.

6. Investment in Young People

Empowering youth to become leaders and setting the stage for youth-led solutions in areas such as health, climate change, and education requires investment. By investing in the well-being and development of young people, we can reduce inequalities, help them reach their full potential, and save future costs, as preventive measures are more economical. This includes providing the necessary skills, encouraging them to explore new opportunities, and expanding access to digital connectivity to facilitate learning and access to (health) education.

7. Brave Spaces for Healthy Environments

Schools, community centres, and youth organisations must work to ensure that young people are empowered despite social and institutional barriers and safe from any form of violence, harassment, exploitation, abuse, neglect, injuries, and harmful practices. Young people should be empowered to co-create brave spaces, including those online, to exercise their human rights, and to seek the help and support they need to improve their health and well-being.

Transforming and Elevating Youth Leadership

8. Inclusion of Young People

Meaningful youth engagement requires Member States, International Organisations, and Civil Society Organisations to empower young people and youth organisations to co-create policies on a range of priority needs, including health and well-being. In doing this, they must recognise that young people may not have the same capacity and availability of resources due to varying constraints (finance, location, time, technical support, and more) that should be accounted for by stakeholders when engaging with young people.

9. Valuing the Young People’s Experiences

Enabling young people to contribute to policy development means recognising their diversity and views and valuing the contributions that young people, as individuals and as a group, can make to policy, implementation, evaluation, and social accountability.

10. Greater Support for Youth Organisations

Grassroots youth organisations that empower young people need greater support. This includes, for example, financial support, the recognition of non-formal educational pathways and facilitating access to decision-makers at the local, regional or global level. Supporting youth organisations is crucial for investing in the next generation.


Author: WHO Youth Council, a World Health Organization's network

Das Logo des WHO


Author: WHO Youth Council, a World Health Organization's network

Das Logo des WHO


Endorsements

Are you interested in endorsing the Youth Declaration? Please fill out this form.


These organizations have already endorsed the Youth Declaration

  • Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab)
  • European Network of Medical Residents in Public Health (EuroNet MRPH)
  • Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network
  • Junior Doctors Network (JDN) of the World Medical Association (WMA)
  • International Youth Alliance for Family Planning (IYAFP)
  • MyGatekeeper
  • Peer-Leader_international e.V.
  • Krisenchat
  • Bildungswerk für Schülervertretung und Schülerbeteiligung e.V. (SV-Bildungswerk)
  • youpaN
  • START Stiftung
  • International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)
  • International Youth Health Organization (YHO)
  • International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (IPSF)
  • Climate Cardinals
  • Fridays For Future US
  • Chicago Youth Climate Coalition
  • International Student Surgical Network (InciSioN)
  • The International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation (IGLYO)
  • Africa Public Health Students Network Initiative (AfricaPHSN)
  • Youth For Women Foundation, YFW
  • Fridays For Future Chicago
  • Healthy Caribbean Coalition
  • Orygen
  • Isoha Internation Student One Health Alliance
  • Jugend Community
  • World Scouting
  • Young Professionals in Foreign Policy
  • JA PreventNCD Joint Action Prevent Non-Communicable Diseases
  • ACT4FOOD
  • European Medical Students’ Association
  • Youth and Environment Europe (YEE)
  • UNITE Parlamentarians for Global Health
  • Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS)
  • Remote Health Reach
  • WELEAD MENTOR POINT CENTRE
  • WELEAD MENTOR POINT CENTRE
  • World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA)