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A pillar of the POWER 4 AY Approach is to strengthen adolescents’ and youth organizations, strengthening their capacity to advocate for youth interests and influence public policies. The Programme works with and for young people, supporting them to be the drivers of the change they want to see in their lives. Across contexts, adolescents and youth are stepping into leadership roles as protagonists of progress in their societies and to shape the policies, services, and systems that impact their lives—being heard in decision-making spaces, communities, and classrooms alike.
Young advocates receive training in life skills, advocacy, communications, and peer-to-peer methodologies, supported by creative tools such as music, drama, sports, podcasting, and social media. These approaches, reinforced by evidence and inspiring case stories, amplify their voices and give weight to their advocacy. Alongside this, youth organizations receive support to strengthen their structures, design advocacy plans, and engage effectively with decision-makers.
Through stakeholder engagement, youth organizations connect with other networks, community actors, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, service providers, and rights guarantors. They actively participate in dialogues, summits, and youth-led mobilizations, influencing public budgeting, planning, and service delivery. While they push for systemic reforms and increased investment, practical actions such as volunteering, community mobilization, and quick wins within their communities sustain their motivation and demonstrate that participation matters.
To ensure long-term impact, the POWER 4 AY Programme also works to strengthen authorities, decision-makers, and public management systems to better respond to youth needs. This includes formalizing youth participation in decision-making spaces, integrating youth-led organizations into governance processes, providing technical training and methodological tools to service providers, and engaging political leaders directly in project activities. By ensuring that young people’s contributions are independent, structured, visible, and meaningful, the Programme helps institutionalize youth participation to effectively foster an enabling environment.
Collaboration with public institutions is central for scale and sustainability. Joint implementation fosters mutual learning, adoption of best practices, and scaling project strategies over time. To institutionalize best practices, the POWER 4 AY Programme provides technical guidance to develop, implement and promote policies that benefit youth, ensuring these efforts are participatory and sustainable, and that youth oriented actions are carried out with quality for strong impact.
Ultimately, meaningful youth participation is not just an activity—it is a foundation for systemic change. It's not just about giving them a seat at the table; it's about ensuring they actively participate in decisions that impact their lives, channelling the responsibility for themselves and their environment with the necessary tools, including life skills and determination for social, cultural, environmental and civic engagement.
