The power of youth to co-create education: Renewing hope on the International Day of Education

January 24 marks the International Day of Education, a global moment to recognize education as a fundamental human right and a powerful driver of peace, dignity and sustainable development.

What better way to begin 2026 than by recognizing the transformative power of young people?

This year’s theme, The Power of Youth in Co-Creating Education, highlights how youth are not only recipients of education systems but also active leaders shaping learning, livelihoods and futures for themselves and their communities.

Co-creating education

Around the world, young people demonstrate that education extends beyond classrooms. It is found in life skills training, entrepreneurship, mentorship and leadership development, particularly in contexts affected by conflict, displacement and poverty.

When youth are given the opportunity to co-create education that responds to their realities, the impact is transformative and long-lasting.

Chantelle learns how to design her future

Chantelle (pseudonym) is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She comes from a family of seven living in Mugombwa Refugee Camp in Rwanda.

Like many girls forced to flee conflict, Chantelle's education was disrupted. Although she completed secondary school, she was unable to continue vocational training or university due to financial and structural barriers. During her adolescent years, Chantelle became a mother, adding responsibility to an already challenging reality.

Her path changed when she joined World Vision’s Youth Ready program in August 2024. During the six-month training, Chantelle received practical, relevant, and empowering education. She particularly enjoyed learning about entrepreneurship and business development. For the first time, she was not only learning but actively designing a future rooted in self-reliance.

Identifying market gaps to build her business

After completing the training, Chantelle carefully observed her local township. She visited business centres, studied customer needs and identified market gaps, skills she had learned in the program. With newfound confidence, Chantelle rented a small space and opened a hair salon. She began by offering basic hair services, applying the financial literacy and planning skills she had learned.

With seed capital from the project, she later expanded into mobile money services to respond to community demand. Chantelle also joined a savings group, another key intervention under Youth Ready, which strengthened her financial resilience and long-term planning.

As her business grew, Chantelle noticed that customers were travelling long distances to buy hair extensions and braids. Identifying a gap in the local market, she expanded her business again to sell braiding products locally, saving her customers time and cost while increasing her income.

Today, Chantelle’s income supports her daughter and helps care for her siblings. Beyond financial stability, she has gained leadership skills, confidence and agency.

The reality facing refugee youth

While Chantelle’s story offers hope, it exists within a broader global crisis.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, by the end of April 2025 more than 122 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations.

The number of forcibly displaced people has nearly doubled over the past decade, while humanitarian resources have remained largely constrained. Youth make up a significant share of this population, with two-thirds of refugees living in poverty.

Refugee youth face overlapping challenges, including limited access to education, restricted employment opportunities and prolonged dependency.

Access to decent work helps refugees rebuild their lives

Across Africa, underemployment affects over half of young people in the labour force. After fleeing war or persecution, access to work is one of the most effective ways refugees can rebuild their lives with dignity and stability.

According to UNHCR, although 75 per cent of refugees have legal access to work either fully or partially. In practice 62 per cent live in countries where access to formal employment is restricted. These systemic barriers contribute to poverty, inequality, insecurity and onward migration.

Women and girls face heightened risks. Entrenched gender norms and social biases severely restrict their access to skills training, paid employment and entrepreneurship. These barriers often force them into low paying or unpaid work, increasing vulnerability to exploitation and limiting leadership opportunities.

Youth Ready and BLOOM Africa: Reimagining education and opportunity

Despite these challenges, there is renewed hope.

World Vision Canada is committed to strengthening youth agency, access to education, entrepreneurship and employment through youth workforce development programming. These initiatives recognize that education must be relevant, practical and co-created with young people to be effective.

Two flagship programs anchor this commitment: the Vision for Vulnerable Youth Initiative, also known as Youth Ready, and the Building Leadership Opportunities for Marginalized Women and Girls in East Africa project, known as BLOOM Africa. BLOOM is funded by Global Affairs Canada. Together, these programs support thousands of young people across twelve countries in Latin America and East Africa.

Youth Ready and BLOOM Africa embody the theme of the International Day of Education, The Power of Youth in Co-Creating Education. Both initiatives place young people at the centre of learning, not only as participants but as leaders, facilitators and innovators. By recognizing youth as partners in shaping education systems, these projects demonstrate how inclusive, youth-driven education can unlock economic opportunity, strengthen resilience and build pathways to dignity and long-term change.

World Vision Canada’s Youth Ready Program, part of the Vision for Vulnerable Youth (VVYI) Initiative, is supported by The Barrett Family Foundation and individual Canadian donors. Operating in 10 countries in Latin America and Africa, Youth Ready equips young people with the tools to pursue education, employment or entrepreneurship.

BLOOM Africa is a five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada that supports marginalized adolescent girls and young women (ages 15–24) in Rwanda, Somalia, and Tanzania. It uses a multifaceted, gender-transformative approach to address individual, community, and systemic barriers while preparing youth for dignified work in emerging green and digital economies.

Learn more

• International Day of Education
• When bombs steal classrooms but not our dreams
• Maria Camila turns her passion into profit