Green Rising Brings Together 62 Practitioners from 32 Countries to Accelerate Youth Climate Action
Practitioners from around the world gathered to tackle common challenges and help shape the movement's next phase as it works towards mobilizing 100 million young people by 2030
Generation Unlimited’s (GenU) Green Rising movement convened 62 practitioners from 32 countries in Istanbul, Türkiye, for its first-ever Global Programme Workshop. The gathering united the people leading Green Rising programmes on the ground, creating an opportunity to tackle common challenges, compare experiences, and help shape the movement's future direction.
Green Rising has already engaged 45.9 million young people across more than 40 countries through climate action, green skills development, entrepreneurship and pathways into the growing green economy
The timing is significant. As Green Rising, chaired globally by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, becomes increasingly embedded within UNICEF’s 2026-2029 Strategic Plan, the movement is working to support 100 million young people to take meaningful green action and contribute to the green transition by 2030.
The workshop began with a look at what Green Rising has already achieved across the globe, including:
- More than 5,000 young people securing green jobs in Egypt.
- More than 12 million young people participating in climate action initiatives in India in 2025 alone.
- Nearly 730,000 young people in Brazil improving their communities through monthly climate action clubs.
- More than 359,000 young people in Nigeria mobilizing for climate action through activities such as tree planting, plastic recycling and waste-to-income initiatives.
- Nearly 2.3M million young people engaging in climate action online and offline in Rwanda.
Building on these successes, participants mapped Green Rising's global impact and identified the key gaps and opportunities that must be addressed to achieve the movement's ambitious targets in the years ahead.
Much of the programme centered on intensive working sessions, where small groups tackled practical challenges facing countries and shared solutions grounded in experience. Discussions covered a wide range of topics, including delivering Green Rising in fragile and humanitarian settings, strengthening long-term youth engagement, building partnerships with green-sector employers, expanding opportunities for green entrepreneurship and exploring new financing models for green livelihoods.
More than 50 practitioner-led sessions enabled participants to dive deeper into emerging issues and exchange ideas across regions.
The conversations in Istanbul revealed a common challenge across countries: while demand for green skills and jobs is growing, programmes often face similar barriers in reaching young people at scale, particularly in fragile contexts and labour markets where green opportunities are still emerging. By bringing together practitioners working on these issues every day, the workshop created a rare opportunity to compare approaches, test assumptions and identify solutions that can be adapted across different settings.
Several priorities emerged from the discussions. Participants called for stronger South-South collaboration on funding and resource mobilization, closer links between climate action initiatives and livelihoods programmes, and greater support for young entrepreneurs seeking to build businesses that address environmental challenges. They also explored how Green Rising can better connect climate engagement with tangible economic opportunities, helping young people move from participation in climate action to skills development, employment and entrepreneurship.
As Green Rising works towards its goal of reaching 100 million young people by 2030, the workshop reinforced an important lesson: many of the solutions already exist within countries and programmes. The real task is not starting from scratch, but sharing what works, adapting it to local contexts and expanding opportunities so that more young people can participate in and benefit from the green transition.
The workshop was made possible through the continued support of Green Rising's partners, whose investment is helping countries expand opportunities for young people through climate action, green skills development and pathways into the green economy
"The retreat provided practical inspiration for translating the Green Rising vision into country-level action. I left with stronger partnerships, new ideas, and concrete approaches to embed green skills, youth participation, and climate action into learning-to-earning programmes and government systems in Iraq."
"The retreat provided a valuable opportunity to learn from the experiences of country offices, explore innovative methodologies, and build meaningful networks that will strengthen future programming and collaboration."
"These days have been so inspiring & facilitated with so much grace and joy! I'm going back with new friends in a renewed mission to drive this work."
"This gathering was a space for learning, connecting and inspiration."
"It was inspiring, enriching and motivating. So much to process and implement further."
