News
Meet IB's Generation Global: many starting points, one community
On 13 October 2026, the International Baccalaureate (IB) launched generation.global, the new home of IB's Generation Global. The youth initiatives the IB has developed over the past four years now sit together under one name, one strategy and one shared purpose.
Young people today are often told the future is theirs. But their present is turbulent. Crises follow crises, and many feel anxious, angry or frustrated about what lies ahead, while still looking for where they truly belong.
"At the IB, we believe we have both the responsibility and the opportunity to respond to that reality in a meaningful way," said Jennifer Bahrami, Generation Global Portfolio Director. "Not with rhetoric, but with structure. Not with inspiration alone, but with genuine pathways for young people to question, connect and act. Generation Global is how we do that."
IB's Generation Global expands opportunities worldwide to elevate youth voice, connect and strengthen communities, and invest in the capabilities and pathways for meaningful action toward a better and more peaceful world. It brings together Dialogue Exchange, Festival of Hope, the Global Youth Action Fund and a Community Hub that includes the Youth Advisory Council. Young people can start wherever they are, and most opportunities are open whether or not they attend an IB school.
Dialogue Exchange, the IB's global citizenship education initiative for young people aged 13 to 17, reaches around 60,000 young people a year through moderated online dialogue and live video conferences, with free resources and courses for educators.
Festival of Hope, launched in September 2022, is a youth-centred movement in which young people bring their communities together around the issues they care about most. It has engaged more than 12,000 young people across 90 countries.
The Global Youth Action Fund supports young people aged 12 to 19, within and beyond the IB community, who are running projects that create positive change in their communities. Since 2022, it has backed more than 1,000 young people across more than 400 projects.
The Community Hub connects students and alumni in three ways: the IB Youth Advisory Council, for which more than 1,400 young people applied for 12 seats in the most recent cycle; IBlieve, the youth-led student community; and a growing alumni network.
When young people engage with one another within their communities and across cultures, they develop what tomorrow needs: the confidence to question, the openness to understand and the courage to act.
Generation Global is led by Jennifer Bahrami, Generation Global Portfolio Director; Tim Logan, Head of Youth Learning Futures; and Eva Grajeda, Head of Generation Global Dialogue Exchange.
Young people, educators, schools, partners and parents can find their starting point at generation.global.