For Natalia Tsuyama, a climate justice advocate from Brazil’s Cerrado region, the SDGs must be lived realities – not distant goals.

“Climate justice isn’t just about emissions. It’s about power, territory, and who gets to live with dignity,” says Tsuyama, who is part of the UN Women Feminist Action for Climate Justice Action Coalition and the Pact for the Future’s youth working group.

She’s been at the front lines of localizing climate policy in Belo Horizonte, using the SDGs to push for better public services, climate education in schools, and youth representation in municipal governance.

“Youth activism keeps the SDGs alive and honest,” she says. “It’s often young people who point out the gap between what’s promised and what’s happening.”

In Belo Horizonte, young leaders have influenced legal and structural changes to protect marginalized communities most affected by environmental degradation. The Secretariat of Environment is now a permanent member of the Municipal Youth Council and can work together more – a sign of how persistent youth organizing can reshape power structures.

How can young people transform climate anxiety to climate action

“Start where you are, with what you have,” says Tsuyama.  She is worried about the deepening inequalities and attacks on climate defenders, but the solution – and hope – lies in action. “Activism can mean planting trees, telling your story, organizing a small event … or just showing up for others. When we process our climate grief together, we turn pain into purpose – and build power.”

In South Africa, Keitumetse Fatimata Moutloatse, at 17, founded the Black Womxn Caucus (BWC) to end gender-based violence and femicide, catalyzed by the rape and murder of another 17-year-old girl.

BWC’s activism led to #TheTotalShutdown, a national movement that mobilized thousands and contributed to a landmark government plan of action on gender-based violence and femicide.

“We got tired of the silent, yet loud injustices,” says Moutloatse. “At the heart of localization is access to information and decision-making and the reassurance that our experiences matter.”

She urges young people to speak out and work together: “It starts by recognizing that it’s abnormal how normalized gender-based violence has become in our homes, schools, workspaces, and communities.”

Young people must also engage in policy development, she adds. Policies are social contracts, she says, and they must reflect the needs and dreams of young people –especially those most impacted.

Follow Black Womxn Caucus on Instagram/Facebook for tips and actions on youth-led gender justice advocacy.

For Eva Chisom Chukwunelo, a storyteller and disability rights advocate in Nigeria, inclusion means challenging invisibility.

“We’re often seen as people to be helped, not as leaders,” she says. She became a disability rights advocate years after her amputation when she realized that she didn’t see herself represented in media, politics, or public life. “My body isn’t broken. It is beautiful,” she adds.

Through Kry8Impact Africa, Chukwunelo uses storytelling and photography to celebrate disabled bodies as powerful, artistic, and fully human.

“When stories aren’t told, people are forgotten. “Storytelling changes how we see ourselves, and how the world sees us.”

She advises young allies to “start small, question stereotypes, and work with disabled people – not just for them”. Whatever your tool – tech, fashion, or film – it can become a doorway for justice.

Disability rights groups and movements that Chukwunelo suggests following: Kry8Impact Africa, Sightsavers, Project Enable Africa, JONAPWD, Movement Beyond Walls.

In the Kyrgyz Republic, Asel Kubanychbekova is working to close the gender gap in economic decision-making. She founded She Starts, a foundation that has trained over 10,000 women – mostly in rural areas – on entrepreneurship.

“Young women are often excluded from decisions on finance, investment, and employment,” she says. “This isn’t just unjust – it’s a missed opportunity.”

Globally, at 28.1 per cent, the rate of young women not in education, employment or training is more than double than of young men.  Yet few policies target their realities.

To change this, Kubanychbekova led the creation of a coalition of 31 groups, representing 45,000 women across the country, advocating for a national women’s business agenda. Recently, the coalition secured an amendment to the national law granting legal recognition for women entrepreneurs, ensuring more opportunities, including access to finance for women entrepreneurs.

A Special Advisory Council on Women’s Entrepreneurship was also established under the Ministry of Economy, marking a powerful step toward inclusive policymaking.

“Being heard isn’t enough anymore,” says Kubanychbekova. “It’s time to shape our own future.”

Today’s generation – 1.8 billion strong – is the largest, most connected, and most determined in history. But for the SDGs to succeed, young people must be seen not as beneficiaries, but as equal partners and changemakers.

Whether fighting for climate justice, ending gender-based violence, advancing disability inclusion, or driving economic empowerment, young people are not waiting. They are building solutions now.

What you can do:

• Support youth-led movements in your community.
• Share this story to amplify the voices of young leaders.
• Fund youth-led action through flexible grants, mentorship, and partnerships.
• Push for youth representation in local, national, and global decisions.

Let’s ensure every young person – especially adolescent girls and young women – has the power, trust, tools, and space to lead.

This International Youth Day, take action. Support youth. Shape a better world.