Building on the voices of youth for desirable futures

The Higher Education for Good (HE4G) Foundation and The Club of Rome are launching an extensive collaborative effort to build upon the data gathered through the recently released Youth Talks consulation results. The objective of this partnership is to unearth the profound aspirations of young people, to amplify this unfiltered, unique set of voices of youth from across the globe and to build concrete action proposals to transform our society, based on the ideas shared by young people and their vision of the world.

Youth Talks is the largest global youth consultation to date. This unique and innovative study provides a raw and authentic perspective on the aspirations and expectations of young people worldwide for the future of the world and their own future. Over 45,000 young participants from 212 countries, shared their opinions and contributed nearly a million ideas. 

The HE4G Foundation and The Club of Rome share common values oriented toward the transformation of our societies for a regenerative tomorrow.  

“This partnership was born from the shared belief that young people should no longer be sidelined in the major decisions of our world. They must be empowered to make their voices heard and grow to become key actors for a future of equitable wellbeing for all on a healthy planet.” Carlos Álvarez Pereira, vice-president of The Club of Rome.  

This new phase in the partnership between the HE4G Foundation and The Club of Rome will start with the formation of a joint working group whose mission will be to explore the potential of the rich information collected and work on drafting concrete proposals to guide in the transformation of higher education. The members of this group will be complemented by other partners of the initiative, and the work will be based on the results of the youth consultation. 

This collaboration is an opportunity for The Fifth Element programme of The Club of Rome and The 50 Percent youth engagement platform to complement existing efforts to further  understand the mindset of today’s youth. These insights will empower The Club of Rome to drive transformative changes and foster a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ needs and aspirations. For Youth Talks, this collaboration enables the extension of invitations to an even broader range of stakeholders, promoting dialogue and collaboration among diverse voices. Moreover, this collaboration on Youth Talks data is the first step towards a deeper understanding of youth and an opportunity to concretely promote the voices of young people at the highest international level. 

“The ambition of Youth Talks has always been to promote the voices of young people around the world and to do everything in our power to ensure that these voices are heard and considered in the major international decisions that impact our future and the future of youth. The substantial work we are commencing with The Club of Rome today represents a unique opportunity to realise this ambition. With their expertise and unique position on the international stage, we are confident that we will be able to create concrete and actionable proposals for transforming our societies, including, at the foundation level, higher education, based on the ideas, concerns, and aspirations of young people.”  Marine Hadengue, Executive director of the Higher Education for Good Foundation. 

About the Higher Education for Good Foundation

The Higher Education for Good Foundation (HE4G) is a not-for-profit organization, created to help support educational institutions transform their curricula to meet the needs of the mid-21st century, not least by equipping young people to lead and participate in solving the pressing global challenges of this age. HE4G’s role will be to help its partners better understand what young people want, thanks to the results of Youth Talks, its first initiative, and to think through how to integrate this demand with their in-house expertise in education to design curricula that bring the best of established and innovative knowledge and approaches to education..

By working closely with its partners, HE4G expects to learn valuable lessons about how to modernize curricula. This knowledge will be gathered in a curriculum redesign hub housed at the foundation that will be a core part of a broader initiative to drive change in higher education well beyond the initial network of partners.

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