Raleigh International launches global youth consultation report

Millennials and Generation-Z are the most idealistic, most innovative, and most tolerant cohort of young people ever. But young people face a world of uncertainty, change and crisis. They are told they are too young, too inexperienced, and too naïve to make a difference. They are told to accept injustice and inequality as part of life. They are told that some crises are too hard to solve. Their voices, their experiences, and their ideas are disregarded.

Our global consultation reveals that this generation of young people refuse to accept this.

Raleigh International’s global consultation with young people was conducted from February to June 2020, spanning the rapid evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic. It details and summarises the beliefs, perspectives, desires, and fears of over 100 young people from 11 countries: Bermuda, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Singapore, Tanzania and the United Kingdom.

The consultation was conducted almost exclusively by young people. It took the form of focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, workshops and online social media and survey engagement. Many of the participants are former Raleigh volunteers. Others are members of our local youth-led national societies, and some have no association with Raleigh at all.

This consultation has been summarised in the ‘Tomorrow is too late’ report. The report demonstrates that young people today know exactly the world they want to live in and the change that must happen to create it. In it, they demand:

• A world where everyone can access what they need to be free, healthy, safe, educated and financially
• A world which does not discriminate against people on the basis of their race, ethnicity, nationality, gender identity, gender expression, religion, ability, sexual orientation or socio-economic status, and where diversity is celebrated.
• A world where all leaders listen and are accountable.
• A world where collective responsibility for the natural world forms the basis of productive, fair and sustainable societies and economies.

Read our full global youth consultation report ‘Tomorrow is too late’:

For more information about Raleigh International’s global consultation with young people, please contact:

Tina Burrows, Global Youth for Change Manager
t.burrows@raleighinternational.org
+44(0)20 3933 8774