International Youth Day on 12 August 2025 centers on the theme “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond”, spotlighting youth as indispensable partners in transforming the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into community-driven realities. Young people’s creativity, insight, and deep community connections are crucial for bridging the gap between policy and practice. Given that over 65% of SDG targets link to local governance, youth engagement is not a luxury—it is a necessity. 

This observance highlights the crucial role of local and regional governments in fostering inclusive policies, allocating resources, and enabling youth participation in decision-making. By collaborating with youth organizations and integrating youth priorities into local strategies, authorities can transform innovative ideas into impactful solutions while nurturing future leaders and changemakers. Marking the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth, International Youth Day 2025 reaffirms the ongoing global commitment to empower young people as key agents of sustainable development and participatory governance.

Supporting this mission, MDPI’s journal Youth (ISSN: 2673-995X) publishes influential research on youth civic engagement, activism, social justice, and training, serving as a vital platform that amplifies youth voices and advances youth-led innovations worldwide.

Join us in celebrating International Youth Day 2025 and reinforcing the transformative power of youth in building resilient communities and accelerating progress toward the SDGs.

“Youth Work in Schools: Pathways to Sustainability, Well-Being and Democratic Communities”
by Stelios Pantazidis and Yannis Pechtelidis
Youth 2025, 5(2), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5020052

“Civic and Prosocial Decision-Making in Early Adolescents”
by Antonio Jamie Castro, Afiah Fozi, Chen-Yu Hung, Maureen Etoh and Christi Bergin
Youth 2025, 5(2), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5020033

““For Sustained Change, We Need Everyone on Board”: Australian Outsourced Provider Perspectives on Relationships and Sexuality Education for Young People”
by Sarah Vrankovich, Gemma Hamilton and Anastasia Powell
Youth 2025, 5(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5010014

“Navigating Wellbeing Through Youth Work and Participatory Research: Insights from Post-COVID-19 Scotland”
by Haley Sneed
Youth 2025, 5(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5010001

“Using an Intersectional Lens to Explore Civic Behavior, Discrimination, and Well-Being among Emerging Adult Black Women”
by Jasmine B. Johnson, H. Shellae Versey, Natasha L. Burke and Lindsay Till Hoyt
Youth 2024, 4(3), 1095-1111; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth4030068

“Youth Community Organizing Groups Fostering Sociopolitical Wellbeing: Three Healing-Oriented Values to Support Activism”
by Jesica Siham Fernández, Rashida H. Govan, Ben Kirshner, Tafadzwa Tivaringe and Roderick Watts
Youth 2024, 4(3), 1004-1025; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth4030063

“A Qualitative Investigation of Civic Engagement and Well-Being among Non-College-Bound Young Adults”
by Natalie Fenn, Alia AlSanea, Ellie McClean, Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, Manshu Yang and Mark L. Robbins
Youth 2024, 4(2), 905-930; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth4020058

“Examining the Intersection of Sociopolitical Development and Transformative Social and Emotional Learning Outcomes: An Integrated Approach in Youth Participatory Action Research”
by Amia Nash, Heather Kennedy, Michelle Abraczinskas, Ahna Ballonoff Suleiman and Emily J. Ozer
Youth 2024, 4(2), 679-699; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth4020046

“Advancing Equity through Effective Youth Engagement in Public Health to Operationalize Racism as a Public Health Crisis: The Flint Public Health Youth Academy Model”
by Kent D. Key, Kayla Shannon, Everett Graham, Cruz Duhart, Tomás Tello, Cole Mays, Christian Mays, Tyshae Brady, Jasmine Hall, Kahlil Calvin et al.
Youth 2024, 4(1), 395-404; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth4010028

“Could the Comfort Zone Model Enhance Job Role Clarity in Youth Work? Insights from an Ethnographic Case Study of the United Kingdom-Based National Citizen Service”
by Nigel Mark Godfrey
Youth 2023, 3(3), 954-970; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth3030061