Discover Youth Talks!

Youth Talks is a massive global youth consultation initiated by the Higher Education for Good Foundation. Drawing on a community of more than 40 international partners, this unprecedented initiative is designed to give a voice to young people to understand their expectations for tomorrow’s society. Conducted on an ongoing basis, the Youth Talks consultation will constitute the basis of the work of the Foundation, whose mission is to develop new models of education for a sustainable future. The consultation will also feed major political institutions (OECD, UNESCO, European Commission) and youth groups. Youth Talks is a dynamic snapshot of the world’s youth, an opportunity to open the dialogue between generations and to offer a place of expression to those who will be, tomorrow, the heirs of our actions today. More than 200,000 contributions have already been collected from young people in 180 countries.

Marine Hadengue, Executive Director of the Fondation answers our questions.

What are the specificities of the Youth Talks initiative?

Marine Hadengue: Youth Talks is the first-ever global consultation that asks open-ended questions to 15-29 year-olds about their aspirations, concerns, and expectations for tomorrow’s education while analyzing their responses using artificial intelligence tools. 

In doing so, we do not impose our ideas or mindset on young people. We offer them a space for sharing, allowing us to naturally bring out the consensus and dissensus between the different youths of the world, but also the weak signals and latent needs, valuable information not captured by traditional surveys.

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To further encourage the diversity of modes of expression, our online consultation allows young people to participate in writing, record their voices, or upload images on the platform. We have also conducted about 100 filmed interviews around the world, during which we ask the consultation questions to young people from all continents, regions, and backgrounds.

How does Youth Talks amplify the voice of young people?

Marine Hadengue: The data collected through the Youth Talks consultation are of great value to several organizations: academic institutions, international organizations, political institutions, and governments. 

To help these different organizations and stakeholders to serve the youth best and overcome current challenges, the data will be analyzed using artificial intelligence tools to create a reflection basis accessible in different formats:

  • For the general public and interested actors: a dynamic online platform showing, thanks to data visualization, the consultation results by country, socio-economic level, etc. A library of sounds and images will also be available, linking all collected data. This platform will show a real-time picture of youths and their aspirations.

  • For the Higher Education for Good Foundation and its partners: a detailed report that will serve as a basis for rethinking education models and programs or other youth activities, as well as dedicated tracking links showing the results in each of the partners’ communities.

  • For researchers worldwide: access to raw data to feed scientific research and advance innovation in education and other disciplinary fields.

  • For political institutions: a white paper with recommendations for future policy-making.

If you are between 15 and 29 years old, I can only invite you to go to https://survey.youth-talks.org/survey/en and share your ambitions for the future! We plant a tree for every 10 participants. For the others, don’t hesitate to contact us (marine.hadengue@higheredforgood.org) and help us make a difference by talking about the initiative around you!

Thank you for your support!