CIVIC Youth Initiative
We invest in youth-led innovation and leadership to amplify young voices as drivers of social change and inclusive development.
What is the CIVIC Youth Platform?
Civil society is an essential partner in driving inclusive and sustainable solutions. With today's development decisions shaping the world we will inherit, young people and youth organizations must also have a meaningful participation and decision-making.
Within the CIVIC Youth thematic Platform, we look to embed youth perspectives across the design, implementation, and evaluation of World Bank strategies, operations, and policies. The Platform will create formal pathways for youth-led (YLOs) and youth-serving organizations (YSOs) to participate and actively engage in the development agenda. These organizations will receive targeted support to strengthen meaningful youth engagement and leadership in WBG projects and strategies, while also capacitating youth leaders and scaling existing social innovations.
The CIVIC Youth Platform seeks to provide opportunities for young people to thrive as entrepreneurs, leaders, and changemakers. This reflects the growing recognition of youth as critical drivers of social change and economic growth.
Our Guiding Principles
Building youth-led networks
Strengthen network building among YLOs/YSOs as well as connections with development institutions, link grassroots solutions with global financing, partnerships, and knowledge exchange.
Create institutional pathways for meaningful youth participation and engagement with the WBG.
Strengthening youth-led solutions
Support youth-led and youth-serving organizations to design, test, and scale social innovations.
Create pathways for successful youth innovations to be embedded in national systems and World Bank operations.
Providing catalytic support
Offer technical assistance and small grants to youth-led CSOs to strengthen capacity and leadership.
Enable youth organizations to adapt and scale proven solutions with sustainable impact.
Empower Youth Voices Through CIVIC
Embedding youth perspectives in global development through formal participation pathways.
Support youth-led and youth-serving organizations
Knowledge Exchange
Financial & Non-financial Resources
Multistakeholder dialogues
Youth organizations as knowledge contributors and participants
Foster peer learning and cross-regional collaboration
Knowledge Hub
South-South Cooperation
Ongoing Engagement in CIVIC Initiatives
Creating a shared civic identity
Recent Engagements
CIVIC at the first Brazil Youth Summit 2025
At the 2025 Youth Summit in São Paulo, CIVIC was represented by Carolina Coch, who joined 250+ changemakers to spotlight youth inclusion in development. On the opening panel, she emphasized how youth-led approaches strengthen impact, sharing insights from Accountability Lab’s Integrity Icon campaign.
June 17, 2025
CIVIC at the Youth Summit 2025
At the 2025 YS, CIVIC engaged with 250 young leaders in Washington, D.C. We introduced our Youth Platform with a co-creation session alongside IYF, gathering insights to shape a global youth-led network and ensure youth voices influence, people-centered development across the World Bank.
May 20, 2025
In Person
WBG Youth Summit Interviews
Earlier this year at the WBG Youth Summit, we connected with youth leaders from around the globe to hear their ideas on driving change. Their message was clear: youth aren’t just the future, they are leaders today. Watch the video to learn more!
May 20, 2025