On Tuesday 24 March 2026, the Youth at Heart +5 event marked five years of the Youth at Heart strategy. Young people, Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff and international partners reflected on the past five years, the results achieved so far, and how intergenerational cooperation can strengthen Dutch policy and programmes.
Hadi, member of the Youth Advisory Committee, and Jurriaan Middelhoff moderate an hybrid panel discussion
About Youth at Heart
About 1.8 billion of the global population are young people – the largest proportion ever. That makes it essential to work not only for them, but also with them. In today’s increasingly unstable world, one question keeps coming back: how can we offer real perspectives to the generation that is both the largest in numbers and among the most marginalised?
Over the past five years, through its Youth at Heart strategy, the Netherlands has invested in future prospects for young people across the world - particularly in Africa and the MENA-region. The focus is on access to education, decent work, opportunities for entrepreneurship and meaningful participation in policy and programmes. After all, policy can only have a sustainable impact if young people are involved in the conversation from the very beginning.
Director-General for International Cooperation launching the Youth at Heart Toolbox
‘Valuable insights from young people’
Director-General for International Cooperation Pascalle Grotenhuis opened the programme. Reflecting on the course of her work, she remarked that it had been conversations with young people that generated valuable insights, whether in Uganda, Bangladesh or The Hague. She further elaborated:
Our policy becomes stronger when we really listen to the ideas of entrepreneurs, students and young women and involve them as partners on an equal footing. This approach has proven its effectiveness: many internaitonal partners now look to the Netherlands for answers on combining education and work. Probing questions and honest feedback from young people, for instance through our embassies' Youth Advisory Committees and UN youth representatives, has made our policy not only more effective but also more transparent, and more attuned to the day-to-day realities of the generation that is shaping the world of today and tomorrow.
Dutch and international youth in conversation with Director-General for International Cooperation
From Principles to Practice: Advancing the Global Youth Agenda
With almost 500 online and 100 in-person participants, the event ended with a hybrid panel discussion on the global youth agenda, reflecting on the do’s and don’ts of youth programming in development cooperation.
Video messages from Minister Sjoerdsma and UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs Felipe Paullier opened the session. The Minister reflected on five years of Youth at Heart, and invited other donors and international partners to join NL to invest in a bright future for young people. The ASG for Youth Affairs recognized Dutch efforts to focus global attention on the youth agenda and thanked NL for its leadership over the past five years through Youth at Heart.
In line with the Youth at Heart principles, the panel was moderated by two members of the international Youth Advisory Committee. Speakers included representatives from the ILO and the EU, as well as civil society partners such as the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Challenge Fund for Youth Employment, and the United Network of Young Peacebuilders. Members of the local youth advisory committees in Beirut and Nairobi joined online, bringing in local perspectives.
Participants listening to a video message by Minister Sjoerdsma
Celebrating five years of Youth at Heart
The day started with a festive opening for colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during which the internal Youth at Heart toolkit was launched. The toolkit offers practical guidance on how to work with and for young people across policies and programmes. Staff then took part in Youth Masterclasses organized by members of our international Youth Advisory Committee, on topics including inclusive youth participation and conflict sensitivity.
Following these interactive sessions, the Director-General for International Cooperation spoke with Tommy (UN youth representative), Yabtsega, Damilola, Abdulrahman and Lys (international Youth Advisory Committee) and Edmund, Hilda and Hellena (the Youth Advisory Committee of the embassy in Kampala) about their concerns and ideas – including how to keep the multilateral system credible and effective, and how ensure that young people actually have a say in it.
Reflecting on the day, international Youth Advisory Committee member Yabtsega noted:
What stood out to me during the Youth at Heart +5 event was the space it created for youth voices to move beyond participation into real influence. It showed how powerful it is when young people are not just included, but genuinely listened to in shaping decisions.
Key takeaways for working with and for young people:
The discussion highlighted several key lessons for anyone working on youth-focused policies and programmes:
- Youth participation is a necessity, not a luxury
Young people are still too often left out of decisions that affect their lives. Youth participation should be treated as a need-to-have, not a nice-to-have, and requires intergenerational trust and shared decision-making. - Funding must match youth realities
Young people and youth-led organizations need flexible, predictable, long-term funding. They often do not require large amounts, but are expected to meet the same requirements as large NGOs. A more pragmatic approach is needed. - Protection and ‘do no harm’ in high-risk contexts
Despite international commitment to the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda, young people continue to face stigmatization and harassment. In high-risk environments, youth programming must apply a do no harm-approach and require adequate protection. - Multiple and layered vulnerabilities
Instability, lack of access to education and economic opportunities, and climate challenges create multiple burdens for young people. These are compounded by intersecting vulnerabilities related to age, gender, disability, safety, and whether they live in rural or urban areas, etc. - Partnership with young people leads to better outcomes
Working with young people as genuine partners improves the relevance and impact of programmes. Meaningful engagement includes co-creating objectives, supporting technical assistance, and selecting implementing partners
Youth Advisory Committee member Narcisso
Reflections by our Youth Advisory Committee
As Hadi, one of the Youth Advisory Committee members and moderator of the online panel, underlined:
We invest in ‘youth’, but rarely in the continuity of their leadership. So maybe the question is not when youth ends, but how we sustain the leadership it creates.
Looking back on the day, Youth Advisory Committee member Narcisso reflected:
One thing that inspired me during the event is how youth advocacy at high levels can bring several minds and actors together to reflect on issues that affect young people. This is better illustrated not just by the high number of participants (both online and in-person), but also their diversity.
These insights and reflections will feed into the further development of the global youth agenda and the Netherlands’ efforts to invest in future prospects for young people. Five years of Youth at Heart continues to inspire organizations, governments and other actors to ensure that young people are not only heard, but are able to shape the policies and programmes that affect their lives.Top of Form
The international Youth Advisory Committee and MFA staff members