Dialogue Ahead of International Migrants Day 2025 Highlights Youth Participation, Rights-Based Approaches, and the Role of Young People in Shaping Inclusive Migration Systems
Young Climate Action Network (YOUCAN) participated in the high-level dialogue “Youth for Change: Youth as Drivers of Migration & Development,” organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Bangladesh in collaboration with government and development partners, in observance of International Migrants Day (IMD) 2025.
Representing YOUCAN, Rashed Jia Rana, Research and Knowledge Management Coordinator, joined Panel Discussion 1 as a panellist, contributing perspectives on the importance of meaningful youth participation in migration and development processes.
His contribution highlighted how youth-led organisations can help address migration-related challenges through innovation, rights-based approaches, community engagement, and evidence-informed advocacy. The dialogue created an important opportunity to reflect on the role young people can play in shaping migration policies and development initiatives that respond to their needs, aspirations, and lived experiences.
Recognising Young People as Partners in Migration and Development
Migration is closely connected to education, employment, economic opportunity, social inclusion, and sustainable development. For many young people, migration can open pathways to new opportunities, skills, and experiences. However, migration can also involve challenges related to access to information, protection, rights, and safe and regular migration pathways.
Addressing these realities requires approaches that recognise young people not simply as recipients of policies, but as active participants in the decisions and processes that affect their lives.
The “Youth for Change” dialogue reinforced the importance of meaningful youth engagement in migration and development. By creating spaces for young people to share perspectives and contribute to discussions, such platforms can help ensure that policies and programmes are informed by the experiences and priorities of the people they are intended to serve.
For YOUCAN, youth participation is an essential part of building inclusive development systems. Young people bring valuable community knowledge, fresh perspectives, and the capacity to contribute to practical, locally informed solutions.
Youth-Led Organisations as Catalysts for Change
Youth-led organisations can contribute significantly to migration and development by connecting policy discussions with community realities. Through awareness initiatives, research, advocacy, and community engagement, these organisations can help identify emerging challenges and encourage more responsive approaches.
During the panel discussion, Rashed Jia Rana emphasised the importance of meaningful youth participation and highlighted the role of youth-led organisations in addressing migration challenges through innovation, rights-based approaches, and evidence-informed advocacy.
Evidence-informed engagement is particularly important because effective responses to migration must reflect the circumstances and needs of different communities. Research, knowledge-sharing, and community perspectives can help strengthen understanding of migration-related challenges and inform the development of more appropriate initiatives.
By combining youth leadership with collaboration across sectors, youth-led organisations can contribute to discussions on safe migration, inclusive development, and the protection of migrants’ rights.
Advancing Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration
The dialogue reinforced the global commitment to promoting safe, orderly, and regular migration and highlighted the importance of placing young people at the centre of migration and development conversations.
A youth-centred approach recognises that young migrants should have opportunities to participate in shaping the policies and programmes that affect them. It also emphasises the importance of protecting rights, improving access to reliable information, and supporting inclusive pathways for participation and development.
The discussion aligned with the broader principles of the United Nations Youth 2030 Strategy, which emphasises meaningful youth engagement and collaboration in advancing sustainable development.
Ensuring that young people can contribute to migration governance requires cooperation among government institutions, international organisations, development partners, civil society, and youth networks. Such collaboration can help connect policy priorities with the needs and aspirations of young people.
Connecting Migration with Sustainable Development
Migration and development are interconnected. When supported by appropriate policies and safeguards, migration can contribute to skills development, knowledge exchange, livelihoods, and connections between communities across borders.
Realising these opportunities requires attention to inclusion, equal access to opportunities, and the rights and well-being of migrants. Young people must have meaningful opportunities to contribute to these processes and help identify solutions to the challenges they encounter.
The “Youth for Change” dialogue offered a platform to reflect on these connections and the importance of recognising young people as contributors to sustainable development.
For YOUCAN, advancing youth participation in migration discussions complements its broader commitment to inclusive development, evidence-informed advocacy, and community-centred solutions.
Strengthening Cross-Sector Collaboration
Migration and development involve multiple stakeholders and areas of policy, making cross-sector collaboration essential. Government agencies, international organisations, development partners, civil society, and youth-led organisations each have different forms of expertise and experience to contribute.
Dialogue among these stakeholders can help strengthen shared understanding, encourage the exchange of ideas, and identify opportunities for coordinated action.
YOUCAN recognises the value of partnerships that enable young people to contribute meaningfully to policy discussions and community initiatives. By engaging with relevant institutions and networks, youth-led organisations can help ensure that youth perspectives remain part of conversations about migration, protection, and sustainable development.
The organisation values opportunities to contribute to these discussions and to support approaches that are inclusive, rights-based, and responsive to the realities of young people.
International Migrants Day 2025: Celebrating Stories, Cultures, and Development
The dialogue took place in observance of International Migrants Day 2025, under the theme “My Great Story: Cultures and Development.”
The theme highlights the importance of recognising migrants’ experiences, contributions, and connections to the societies in which they live and work. Migration is not only a matter of policy and movement; it is also shaped by individual stories, cultural exchange, shared experiences, and the pursuit of opportunity.
Recognising these human dimensions can help foster greater understanding of migration and encourage more inclusive approaches to development.
For young people, this perspective reinforces the importance of ensuring that migration conversations recognise individual dignity, respect rights, and create opportunities for meaningful participation.
Looking Ahead: Youth as Drivers of Inclusive Migration Systems
YOUCAN’s participation in the “Youth for Change” dialogue reflects its continued commitment to youth-centred advocacy, evidence-informed engagement, and collaboration towards sustainable development.
The exchange reinforced an important principle: young migrants should be recognised not only as beneficiaries of policies, but also as active partners who can contribute knowledge, ideas, and solutions.
YOUCAN remains committed to supporting youth-led approaches that promote inclusion, strengthen collaboration, and contribute to migration systems that are responsive to young people’s aspirations and rights.
When young people are meaningfully involved in shaping migration and development policies, their experiences and ideas can help build more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable pathways for the future.
YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
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