From the Streets to the SDGs: Empowering Every Youth to Shape the Future

Every day, we meet youths in street situations and throughout our interactions, one thing stands out: despite the differences in their backgrounds, their visions are strikingly like those of any other young person. Dreams and hopes for education, safety, a fair chance to thrive, and a sense of belonging. These aren’t just aspirations-but the very essence of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This International Youth Day 2025, themed “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond,” we reflect on what this means for this often-overlooked group of youth. For many, these are not just some distant and abstract policy ambitions but a representation of their urgent, unmet needs. These goals speak directly to the lived realities of these young individuals.

Yet, they often struggle to access and participate in the achievement of these goals. Barred by stigma, lack of documentation, illiteracy and limited access to formal spaces for dialogue. Dreams slowly fading away in the dark alleys of the streets, muted by violence and abuse- raw, untapped, and unrealised. But at Hashtag Gulu, we’re working to rewrite this story.

Empowering them through art, skill training, healthcare, reintegration and platforms for youth voices, we open doors for these young people to not only access and be beneficiaries of the SDGs but also become active contributors to them. Strongly believing that when empowered, and given the opportunity and right platforms, they can drive change and become leaders of it within their communities.

This Youth Day, we reaffirm our commitment to advocating for the inclusion of every young person, especially those living and working on the streets. To ensure that every young person has the chance to meaningfully participate in shaping their future.

We stand with the youth, not as saviours but as allies of change fighting for their dignity, equality and opportunities. Until the promise to “leave no one behind” is real, we won’t stop.

#YouthDay2025 #YouthInAction #LeaveNoOneBehind

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