2025 AFS Youth Assembly Program

See what sessions are on the program, as well as when and where they are happening!

Get to know the leaders and experts who will speak at the AFS Youth Assembly by reading their bios!

Prepare and maximize your experience: get a deep dive into the content of the event, and specific sessions!

Peace, Policy and Action: Navigating Global Instability

This Track is supported by our Knowledge Partner:

This panel will explore the steps that are required to be taken in order to attain peace and stability in areas recovering from conflict. We will investigate ways in which international organizations and non-state actors mediate and maintain negative peace, as well as build positive peace. It will also highlight the role that youth play in these processes and suggest how their contribution can be enhanced. This panel aims to empower youth, enhance global peace strategies, and foster resilience in post-conflict societies. The future of global stability depends not only on ending wars but on ensuring that peace is truly sustainable for generations to come.

This panel will examine the root causes of violent conflict and the conditions necessary to foster peace and stability. We will explore how international organizations and non-state actors address behaviors, attitudes, and contradictions that fuel conflict while strengthening governance and the rule of law. Special attention will be given to the role of youth in peacebuilding, with actionable strategies to enhance their contributions.

Youth Mental Health in a Turbulent World: Challenges and Solutions

This interactive session will explore what it means to thrive in the digital age, focusing on how young people experience and define digital well-being. We will begin with a short, dynamic panel featuring emerging voices who will offer reflections and provocations on the current challenges and opportunities around digital well-being. Their perspectives will set the stage for a participatory mapping exercise. The session aims to co-create a sharper, more inclusive understanding of what constitutes digital well-being—and what is needed to protect and enhance it moving forward.

This panel will explore the impact of global crises on youth mental health, with a particular focus on armed conflicts, pandemics, and climate change. Experts from mental health and humanitarian organizations, policy institutions, and youth advocacy networks will examine real-world examples and discuss strategies to mitigate the mental health toll of global crises.

Advancing Women’s Inclusion and Leadership

This panel will delve into the persistent barriers hindering gender equality across various sectors, focusing on cultural, economic, and social dimensions. We will explore the challenges faced by women in political participation, their inclusion in public and private life, and the need for increased investment in women’s empowerment. The panel will celebrate existing best practices and show the way forward for embracing gender equality and inclusion.

This panel discussion will explore the evolving landscape of women’s leadership, celebrating achievements, examining challenges, and highlighting the crucial role of young women leaders in shaping the future. We will highlight women leaders from diverse backgrounds with a specific outlook on the impact of education, technology and changing global landscapes on empowering women leaders. The panel aims to inspire young women to embrace leadership roles and contribute to shaping a more equitable and inclusive future.

Green Skills for Employment: Building a Sustainable Resource-Efficient Society

This Track is supported by our Knowledge Partner:

This panel discussion will explore how green skills can serve as a bridge between environmental sustainability and decent work. By fostering collaborations, we can create resilient ecosystems that support sustainable employment and a just transition to a resource-efficient economy. As we strive toward achieving the SDGs and fulfilling commitments under the Paris Agreement, empowering the workforce with green skills is both a moral and economic imperative.

This session will explore the sectors most affected by the green transition, the growing demand for green skills and talent, and the inspiring role of youth as change agents. It will share as a concrete case of how education and training institutions like Hudson Valley Community College, are engaged in supporting the green transition demands, and further explore the voices of young AFS alumnae on this topic to share about their hopes, motivations and experience in preparing for green careers.