Youth Initiatives
Generation Global brings together a portfolio of initiatives designed around the different ways young people engage with the world.
You might want to meet people from another country, explore an issue that matters to you, bring your community together, develop an idea into a project or contribute your perspective to decisions about education.
There is no single place to begin. Start with the opportunity that fits you.
Explore the initiatives
Dialogue Exchange
Connect across cultures and perspectives.
Dialogue Exchange brings together young people aged 13 to 17 to explore global issues and learn from peers in different countries, cultures and contexts.
Through interactive learning, moderated online dialogue and live facilitated video conferences, participants practise skills including global communication, active listening, critical thinking, asking questions and reflection.
Around 60,000 young people take part each year, online and in person.
Best for: young people who want to meet others, explore different perspectives and build intercultural dialogue skills.
Bring people together around what matters.
Festival of Hope is a community-driven initiative where young people explore issues they care about and create spaces for conversation, creativity and action.
A Festival can look different in every community. It might include workshops, dialogue, art, speakers, performances, exhibitions, challenges or projects that continue after the event itself.
Since 2022, Festival of Hope has engaged more than 12,000 young people across 90 countries.
Best for: young people, educators and communities who want to convene others around an issue and create something together.
Take an idea further.
The Global Youth Action Fund supports young people aged 12 to 19 who are developing projects that respond to challenges in their communities and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Alongside grant funding, young people receive support and mentorship as they develop and deliver their projects.
Since 2022, the Fund has invested in and mentored more than 1,000 young people across more than 400 projects. The 2025 cohort alone reached more than 102,000 direct beneficiaries.
Best for: young people who already have an idea or project and want support to turn it into meaningful action.
Bring youth perspectives into the conversations and decision-making process at the IB.
The IB Youth Advisory Council creates a structured way for young people to contribute their experiences, perspectives and ideas to the International Baccalaureate.
Council members work with the IB on conversations about programmes, partnerships and the future of education, helping ensure youth voice is built into decision-making rather than added afterwards.
The Council is also one of the ways Generation Global supports sustained connection between young people and the wider IB community. The current model brings together 12 current students and recent alumni, selected from a highly competitive global applicant pool.
Best for: IB students and recent alumni who want to contribute their perspectives to the future of education.
IBlieve
IBlieve is an online IB student-led organization that helps IB students succeed in IB programs, including the Diploma Program (DP), Career Program (CP), and Middle Years Program (MYP). IBlieve provides free high-quality IB resources that have reached a global viewership of 1.2 million+ across 170 countries, and a supportive peer-led community. All of these are designed by a volunteer-led team of recent graduates and current students who understand the IB experience first-hand.
IBlieve offers 250+ free resources (articles, YouTube videos, Instagram posts, weekly newsletters, podcast episodes) made by IB students that you can start exploring today!
Applications to join the team also open twice a year, in June and December, if you are an IB student interested in collaborating with and contributing to the IB student community.
Best for: IB students and recent alumni who want to contribute their experiences, creativity, and leadership skills, to help other IB students.
Different initiatives, connected outcomes
Each Generation Global initiative is different.
One focuses on dialogue. Another on convening communities. Another helps young people develop and fund their own projects. Another connects youth, to share their perspectives and build the future of an IB education with us.
Together, they create different pathways towards the same broader goals.
Agency
Young people have opportunities to make choices, contribute ideas and take action in ways that matter within their own contexts.
Capabilities
Experiences help young people strengthen capabilities, such as communication, dialogue, empathy, critical thinking, reflection, collaboration and navigating complexity.
Community
Young people connect with peers within and beyond their immediate communities, building relationships across cultures, backgrounds and beliefs.
These three themes sit at the centre of the wider Generation Global portfolio.
Find the opportunity that fits you
I want to meet people from different cultures and perspectives:
Explore Dialogue Exchange
I want to bring people together around an issue I care about:
Explore Festival of Hope
I have an idea or project I want to develop:
Explore the Global Youth Action Fund
I want to contribute my perspective to the IB:
Explore the Youth Advisory Council
One initiative can lead to another
Taking part in Generation Global does not mean following a fixed sequence.
A conversation might introduce you to an issue you want to explore further. A Festival might lead to an idea for a community project. An experience taking action might later shape what you want to contribute through an advisory role.
Or you may take part in one initiative and stop there.
Generation Global is designed as a set of connected possibilities rather than a ladder everyone is expected to climb.