After two days of deliberations at the 2026 Commonwealth Youth Forum, a vibrant, committed group of more than 300 young leaders from five Commonwealth regions delivered strong recommendations prioritising investment and long-term partnerships for shared prosperity.
The 14th CYF Youth Policy Document outlines young people’s shared priorities for Commonwealth Heads of Government, provides a practical guide for continued advocacy and delivery, and serves as a benchmark for measuring progress.
Key recommendations include:
- Giving young people meaningful roles in decisions, protecting civic space and publishing how institutions respond to their proposals.
- Connecting learning to paid, safe and decent work; widening fair routes to enterprise, finance and sustainable livelihoods.
- Including youth in climate decisions and strengthening locally led adaptation
- Improving access to mental-health and other essential services, with attention to barriers faced by underrepresented groups.
- Expanding meaningful digital access and skills, supporting responsible innovation and protecting rights, privacy and safety.
The policy document reflects a participatory and youth-led process: ideas were first gathered through a pre-consultation and then tested in plenaries and workshops to ensure the document reflected the Commonwealth's five regions while preserving the urgency of young people’s lived realities.
Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, Tania Baumann, said the young people spoke powerfully about the change they wanted to see. Speaking directly to the young leaders, she said:
“Together, you have developed a powerful set of recommendations that speak directly to the Commonwealth’s future. And be in no doubt: we have heard you. Your outcome document will inform CHOGM discussions and ensure that Heads of Government know what young people across the Commonwealth want. The Commonwealth Secretariat will also carry your recommendations into our own work.
“I thank the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda for their warm hospitality and for hosting the Commonwealth Youth Forum alongside CHOGM.”
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A celebration of culture, creativity and partnership
The closing ceremony was as vibrant as the voices of the youth who expressed their views across the three-day Forum held alongside the biannual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Musical performances celebrated Antigua’s colour, rhythm and vivid cultural traditions, with creativity transforming the room into a tapestry of diversity.
Setting the tone, a young musician from Antigua and Barbuda, Annia Mathews, performed a moving song on the guitar, celebrating hope, resilience, and the voice of youth in the Commonwealth.
Highlights of the day included awards to the top performers in the Innovation Skills Challenge across six categories: technology, finance, advocacy, entrepreneurship, the creative economy, and education and power. Each winner received an environmentally friendly trophy, designed by Stanley Anigbogu, the 2025 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year, to symbolise youth innovation.
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One message cut through with urgency: young people cannot be invited to decisions only after priorities have been set.
With communities facing unequal access to education, digital disruption and social exclusion, Taskforce members called for youth agency to be embedded in policy design, implementation and accountability.
For the national youth delegates, youth agency means more than being heard. It means “having the power, resources, knowledge and platforms to shape decisions, test solutions and lead change.”
Other participants urged institutions to replace symbolic youth consultation with ongoing participation and shared leadership.
Youth-led organisations and innovators called for accessible, flexible and sustained funding—not only short-term project grants, but investment that builds institutions, strengthens governance and helps promising ideas grow.
Prof. Colin Riordan, Secretary-General and Chief Executive of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, said:
“Too many young people are still held back from education by cost, distance or circumstance. The ambition shown at this Forum is a reminder of what is possible when that potential is unlocked. Universities have a vital role to play – widening access, building skills and creating pathways for young people to turn their ideas into lasting change."
Building on 50 years of youth development
The Forum was organised in partnership with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Youth Council and the International Taskforce of young leaders.
It builds on more than 50 years of Commonwealth work with and for young people through the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Its newly endorsed Strategic Framework 2026–2030 provides a stronger foundation to increase the impact of youth work and embed youth development, leadership and participation across the Commonwealth Secretariat’s strategic pillars.
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