Elevating Youth Perspectives on Global Challenges

The younger generation is inheriting a broken world not of its own making—from resurgent wars to rising inequality and a worsening climate crisis. GGD seeks to enrich the conversation about ways forward with the voices of university students around the world, bringing them into dialogue with established thinkers and with one another.

During the April 2024 launch of the Georgetown Global Dialogues in Washington, DC, several sessions addressed youth perspectives on global challenges:

Moral Universalism as a Global Frame

Widely maligned as self-absorbed, young people often bring passionate and global perspectives into the public sphere. Outrage at the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is only one example of a moral universalism that persists amid the social isolation and division encouraged by social media. Any effort to imagine ways out of our polycrisis should incorporate youth voices, with strong representation from the Global South.

Ece Temelkuran

"Dignity is a concept inherently assumes that we are one as humankind and it is one that young people can identify with. Through their protests, young people are saying to the world that human dignity, thus democracy, is not a luxury, and we are here to defend it."

Georgetown Global Dialogues Foster Student Engagement, Enthusiasm, and Optimism

During the April 2024 Georgetown Global Dialogues (GGD), students on the Hilltop and Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) had the opportunity to interact with leading intellectuals from the Global South across a range of topics, from ecological belonging to women’s rights and international diplomacy.

The Centrality of the Climate Crisis

The disastrous impact of human-generated climate change goes beyond the ecological to encompass socioeconomic and security issues. Young people, whose lives will be most affected by climate change, appear to be more open to structural reforms to protect nature and promote justice and peace. Elevating youth voices around the world will deepen our understanding of the multiple dimensions of the climate crisis and how to address it.

Kohei Saito

"Young people know much more clearly that this way of 'business as usual' cannot go on. The younger generation has more of a sense of urgency, they're not afraid of big changes."

Nesrine Malik

"The student generation feel that they are inheriting a world that is struggling with the climate change aftermath of previous generations. The differ from earlier generations, who may acclimatize themselves a little bit to the climate change crisis."

"Degrowth as the Imperative in the Age of the Polycrisis"

In this GGD Forum essay, Kohei Saito argues that accelerating growth will not solve the polycrisis. A degrowth perspective is essential to decolonize our imaginations and to save the planet.

A Critical Role for Universities

As sites of research, teaching, and learning, universities have a critical role to play in advancing more inclusive dialogues about the challenges facing global humanity. While students face uncertain career paths overshadowed by the artificial intelligence revolution and the climate crisis, many remain idealistic—committed to values of universal human dignity and respect for the environment. Dialogue among students across universities, both North and South, can elevate youth perspectives on ways forward in a divided world.

Ranjit Hoskote

"Students are alert to the connections between what might otherwise just be outrage and indignation, and to ways forward."

Ece Temelkuran

"Student protestors want to show themselves and others that things can be changed. They are refreshing our faith in humanity and their own faith."

Cross-linkages with other GGD goals:

Learning from the Global South: Elevating student voices from the Global South will deepen our understanding of the polycrisis and its impact on young people worldwide.
Advancing a Global Vision of Human Equality: Young people can enrich debates about human inequality in its multiple dimensions—and how to address it.
Building a Culture of Encounter: Students from widely differing backgrounds have much to teach one another, if they engage in a spirit of respect and mutual recognition.