[Translate to English:] WHO Youth Council 2024

Better Health Requires More Participation by Young People

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

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Foto Malte Etienne
Malte Etienne
Foto Jessica Gerke
Jessica Gerke
Project Manager
Foto Anja Langness
Dr. Anja Langness
Senior Project Manager
Foto Sebastian Schmidt-Kaehler
Dr. Sebastian Schmidt-Kaehler
Co-Director

Content

Better involvement of and support for young people is essential to creating a healthier, more equitable, and future-proof society. That is the key message of a declaration published by the World Health Organization’s 25-member WHO Youth Council supported by the Bertelsmann Stiftung at the World Health Summit in Berlin. The authors of the declaration emphasized that especially younger generations are severely affected by the global crises. The WHO had only recently pointed out that numerous diseases are on the rise among young people worldwide, especially mental and sexual illnesses. In the search for solutions, it is important not only to listen to young people, but also to entrust them with an active role and responsibility. Based on their commitment and willingness to contribute, as well as their sense of social impact, they should be given more responsibility.

Specifically, the WHO Youth Council is calling for more equal opportunity and inclusion in the education system and in the use of new technologies, e.g. Furthermore, healthcare should be geared more towards prevention, and people from disadvantaged groups should be guaranteed equal access to healthcare services. The authors of the declaration also call for better support for youth organizations and for empowering young people to help shape (healthcare) policy, both through new formats for participation and by being genuinely open to their positions and experiences. Besides the Bertelsmann Stiftung, German and international youth organizations support the declaration, including the SV-Bildungswerk, the Digital Transformations for Health Lab and the Junior Doctors Network of the World Medical Association.

'A strong democracy needs the voice of young people'

"Young people make up around a third of the world’s population, but are insufficiently involved in political decision-making processes,” noted Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board Chairman Ralph Heck. “This is a problem because they will be affected by the consequences of today’s political decisions for a long time. If their positions are not heard, opinion-forming will be imbalanced. A strong democracy needs the voice of young people."

"WHO is committed to amplifying the voices of young people to realize our shared vision of health for all," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "The Youth Declaration on Creating Healthy Societies, issued by the WHO Youth Council, does just that, channeling the ideas, advice and action of youth into a powerful call for change, and showing what can be achieved when youth are actively engaged in shaping their health and futures."

Brigitte Mohn, Executive Director of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, emphasized: "Health has many facets and is highly relevant to the further development and transformation of societies on all continents. We need the perspectives of young people here. They must necessarily be involved in all decisions, for example in the transition to a digital and sustainable economy, the structuring of social life in the digital age, and the development of new ways to ensure global access to education and natural resources. They are the ones who must help shape the future of their countries and take responsibility for it at a later date."

Incorporate calls for action into the political process

Daniela Schwarzer, Executive Director of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, added: "In healthcare as in other sectors, the major challenges can only be solved at an international level and through close cooperation. The measures described by the WHO Youth Council provide a good starting point. However, their implementation depends crucially on whether it is possible to incorporate these calls for action into the political process. This is where political decision-makers are called upon to seriously consider the proposals of our young health experts."

The World Health Organization’s WHO Youth Council is comprised of 23 international youth organizations that work in different ways to promote public health at global and regional level. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus established the WHO Youth Council in early 2023 to involve young people more closely in the World Health Organization’s work. At the invitation of the WHO and the Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation, the WHO Youth Council met for its annual meeting from October 10 to 12 at the foundation’s Berlin headquarters.

As part of its advisory role vis-à-vis the WHO Director-General, the Youth Council will also discuss the content of the declaration with him. The WHO Youth Council’s demands address a broad spectrum of stakeholders, as the declaration stipulates that the necessary progress can only be achieved through close cooperation between politics, science and academia, business, and civil society at both the national and international level.

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