Welcome to the United Nations
4 August 2025 – Nairobi: International Youth Day 2025 highlights the theme “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond,” amplifying young people’s demands for a sustainable, just, and equitable future. From Brazil to South Africa, Nigeria to Kyrgyzstan, young women leaders are showing how local action can drive global transformation.
UN Women spoke with four young changemakers who are localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through bold feminist leadership. Their message is clear: invest in youth-led action, especially by young women and girls, to make the global goals real, relevant, and responsive.
“For us, the climate crisis is personal”
For Natalia Tsuyama, a climate justice advocate from Brazil’s Cerrado region, the SDGs must be lived realities – not distant goals.
“Gender-based violence is not normal.”
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.
“Disability inclusion isn’t charity – it’s justice”
For Eva Chisom Chukwunelo, a storyteller and disability rights advocate in Nigeria, inclusion means challenging invisibility.
“Economic empowerment begins with young women at the table”
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.
International Youth Day: Stand with youth, shape the future for ALL women and girls
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.
For a more in-depth look into the interviews, please visit the full report.