World Youth Organization

Preparing young people for life by ensuring they get the support, guidance and opportunities they need to succeed.

The Problem

There are 1.8 billion youth aged 10 to 24 on the planet today, the largest youth generation in human history. About 500 million are unemployed; 200 million are illiterate. 1 in 5 children and adolescents have neuropsychiatric disorders or disabilities, yet the regions of the world with the highest youth populations have the least mental health resources, and 70% of children and adolescents with mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age. Millions of children are out of school, yet research shows that developing, low-income countries, every additional year of education can increase a person’s future income by an average of 10%.

The Solution

The World Youth Organization’s mission is to “prepare young people for life by ensuring they get the support, guidance and opportunities they need to succeed." The organization focuses on advancing current education in schools, with a special emphasis on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded young people. Working in numerous countries and territories, WYO provides educational workshops and pushes for curriculum changes to include more focus on mental health, sex education, lifestyle skills and careers. The organization’s vision is of “a world where every young person receives a well-rounded education gaining the resilience to overcome the challenges they face, the skills to succeed and the opportunity to contribute to their society.”