Around 47% of youth aged 18–29 live in countries with extreme or high levels of conflict, and 75% reside in less developed regions. Among them, 250 million are in least developed countries (LDCs), where climate change hits hardest, especially in the Sahel, Horn of Africa, and Central Africa. These areas face overlapping challenges of climate hazards, insecurity, and youth vulnerability.

In response, young people are driving efforts in climate mitigation, adaptation, and peacebuilding, reducing resource conflicts, enhancing carbon storage, and promoting sustainable livelihoods. Global youth networks also advocate for disarmament to reduce military emissions and engage in legal actions and activism for policy change.

UNDP is committed to enhancing young people’s political participation which includes partnering with Parliaments and supporting mechanisms such as Youth Parliaments as important platforms for meaningful and sustained youth engagement in all aspects of policy- and decision-making worldwide.

The Youth Parliament Toolkit contains expert advice on establishing, planning, running and promoting a Youth Parliament with additional case studies and evaluation methods from across the Commonwealth.

Published by UNDP, this Guide aims to serve as a comprehensive resource for practitioners and experts devoted to advancing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, with an emphasis on young people’s participation.

While the Youth, Peace, and Security agenda globally represents a significant and well-established thematic agenda, the Asia-Pacific region lacks progress towards implementing the agenda, even eight years after resolution 2250.

The analysis and findings from this mapping are presented in this report. The insights derived from this mapping aim to guide the strategic vision and advocacy of the UNDP in advancing Youth Political Participation in the Asia-Pacific region.

More than 1.1 billion young people aged 15 to 29 live in the Asia- Pacific region, constituting more than 25 per cent of the population.

This mapping provides a total of 157 programmes and initiatives by UNDP in Asia and the Pacific, which has Youth Political Participation (YPP) elements integrated or mainstreamed in them and implemented in the region primarily from 2017 to 2023.

On Equal Terms: A checklist for decision makers and practitioners on a youth-inclusive NDC process