Today, on the International Day of Education, the Global Education Monitoring Report officially launched the 2026 Youth Report, Lead with youth, developed in partnership with the United Nations Youth Office. The Global Student Forum is proud to have supported the development of the report and to have facilitated contact to the GSF membership to take part in the global survey of youth and student organisations.
Yesterday, Jacob Blasius, Executive Director of the Global Student Forum, joined the high-level launch event at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris and spoke on stage, alongside senior United Nations leadership and global education stakeholders. The event brought together youth, student organisations, governments, and international institutions to underline the importance of meaningful youth and student participation in education decision-making.
The launch featured the participation of several high-level representatives, including the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, and senior leadership from the UN system, highlighting the growing recognition of students as partners in shaping education systems.
The 2026 Youth Report is the first global attempt to measure youth and student participation in education decision-making. Drawing on survey responses from governments and national youth and student organisations worldwide, the report shows that while consultation is increasingly common, formal and meaningful mechanisms for student engagement remain limited in many contexts.
Global Student Forum would like to thank all GSF member organisations who took the time to respond to the survey and share their experiences. Your contributions were essential to ensuring that students’ realities, challenges, and demands are reflected in the report’s findings.
Speaking at the launch, Jacob Blasius underlined the value of the report for student advocacy:
“This report gives students and their organisations something we have long needed, evidence. It helps move the conversation from whether students should be involved, to how decision-makers can be held accountable for meaningful student participation. Lead with youth is a tool for advocacy.”
The launch took place alongside the Learning Planet Festival, providing an important moment to connect global education evidence with broader conversations on the future of learning. In this context, Global Student Forum is pleased to see our collaboration with the Learning Planet Institute continue to grow, strengthening links between student-led advocacy, education research, and global learning communities.
The Global Student Forum also extends its sincere thanks to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report team and the United Nations Youth Office for their leadership, commitment, and collaboration throughout the development of the report. Their work demonstrates what is possible when students are engaged as partners from design to dissemination.
A special thanks also to Antoine Duwa, GSF Paris Liaison Officer, who joined the launch at UNESCO Headquarters and continues to support GSF’s engagement with partners and institutions in Paris.
As the international community moves closer to 2030, the message of the report is clear and urgent, education policies cannot be designed for students without being shaped with them. The launch of Lead with youth marks an important step toward making meaningful student participation a standard part of education governance worldwide.
