Unlocking Impressive Youth Potential Amidst Significant Challenges For an Equitable Future

By Nolita Mvunelo, Programme Manager, The Club of Rome

“There comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness; that time is now.” – Wangari Maathai

Bridging the ‘Human Gap’

We stand at a critical juncture where the growing complexity of our world far exceeds our capacity to cope with it, particularly the gap between our ability to impact our surroundings and our ability to understand the consequences of our actions. This challenge is referred to as the ‘Human Gap’ and was detailed in the 1979 report to The Club of Rome, No Limits to Learning.

The Human Gap is nowhere more pressing than in South Africa, where a leading slogan is “alive with possibilities”, yet we don’t seem to overcome the poverty, inequality and other recurring development challenges that limit our ability to build a better future. Despite facing these challenges, we have not found a way to systematically include young people in the nation-building processes that will most profoundly shape their futures. South African Youth (15 – 34 years), who represent 34.7% of the population¹Status of Youth Report, 2022. National Youth Development Agency., are facing 45.5% unemployment rates²Unemployment in South Africa: A Youth Perspective, 2024. Stats SA..

Critical systemic issues that undermine youth development

The Club of Rome’s (CoR) Youth Leadership and Intergenerational Dialogues programme was born from recognising this fundamental disconnect, which exists in various forms globally. This was done by identifying three critical systemic issues that undermine effective youth development and thus broader economic development:

• Exclusion by design, where most institutions systematically exclude young people from meaningful participation.
• The knowledge-action gap, where we know what needs to be done about climate change and inequality but haven’t learned how to translate that knowledge into transformative action.
• Broken generational trust, where older generations have not created viable modalities for youth to be involved in the institutions that shape everyday life, resulting in younger generations losing faith in established systems.

Systems transformation through empowerment

When young people learn to innovate and engage with the complex environments in which they exist through mastering the fundamentals of systems thinking, they unlock the collective creativity that makes systems change inevitable. This is why the CoR focuses on fostering systems transformation by empowering young leaders and mobilising intergenerational action for global wellbeing on a healthy planet. This focus is crucial because complex challenges require fresh perspectives and long-term thinking.

Traditional approaches to development haven’t solved persistent issues, and intergenerational collaboration could unlock new solutions. In South Africa, particularly, where socio-economic problems persist and the ever-growing challenge of climate-change-induced natural disasters continues, we need young people who are not just beneficiaries of development programmes but active architects of systemic change.

A holistic approach

An intentionally holistic approach that functions across four key engagement points shapes the CoR’s strategy, which draws from insights by the Africa Forward social innovation community. This entails:

• Building a sense of “we-ness” through regular meetings, events, and private forums that create a common vision and identity among young leaders, from which they can draw inspiration for personal development and be part of a global community of young changemakers.
• Equipping young leaders through systems change education and storytelling courses, both online and in-person, whilst offering opportunities for youth to implement bold initiatives in their contexts.
• Creating dialogue platforms that support youth participation in high-level events, and host intergenerational dialogues that integrate mentorship and exchange.
• Advancing policy leadership through research, advocacy at international levels, and support the development of youth-led thought leadership through youth publications and blogs.

Developing youth agency for global youth leadership

The approach to developing youth agency is exemplified in the CoR’s leading programme, the Young Person’s Guide to Systems Change. Through structured lessons on systems thinking, mapping, and analysis, mentorship, community building and project design, for continued learning and opportunities for practice, this programme helps young people understand and address complex societal issues through systems thinking. What makes this approach unique is its recognition that youth need more than just skills. They need frameworks for understanding complexity and tools for navigating systems change.

Engaging youth as current change agents

We’ve learned that effective youth development requires moving beyond traditional capacity-building approaches. Instead of treating young people as future leaders, we engage them as current change agents. In South Africa, 35% of young people are official leaders or active members of civic engagement groups through religious organisations, and 13% of young people hold similar positions outside of religious organisations³Status of Youth Report, 2022. National Youth Development Agency.. Young people are change agents in their own right and provide critical services to communities across the country.

The power of the CoR’s approach is evident from their network of over 2,000 partners and associates globally, delivering programmes to participants from more than 40 countries. More importantly, there is evidence of programme participants going on to lead transformative initiatives in their communities and influence policy at national and international levels.

Youth participation in global leadership

South African youth cannot address the challenges they face in isolation. Climate change, inequality, technological disruption, and social transformation are global phenomena that require global cooperation. Participating in global youth leadership initiatives allows South African youth to learn from peers worldwide, access resources and networks that would otherwise be unavailable, and ensure that African perspectives are included in global conversations about the future.

Young people leading on a global stage is not a new phenomenon. In 1969, students at the University of Natal in South Africa formed the Black Consciousness Movement. During that same period, young people in Mexico and Argentina fought for democracy in their countries. This pattern reveals that transforming societies has been a consistent preoccupation of young people across different contexts and continents. In the 2010s, Greta Thunberg and colleagues have been credited for reinvigorating the climate agenda through their school strikes⁴Britannica: Greta Thunberg. and Fridays for the Future Movement⁵Fridays for Future. . There is a growing global community of young leaders who are publicly engaged in sustainable development.

However, activism originating in wealthier countries (where global youth leadership is best funded) often fails to address the complex intersections of environmental concerns with pressing socioeconomic challenges and historical inequities that characterise South Africa. For South African youth specifically, global participation allows them to contribute unique perspectives on global issues. This must be coupled with an empowering local ecosystem of leadership development initiatives that provide them with the skills and access to an international platform to negotiate conditions for their prosperity.

Lessons learned

Distilling the CoR’s experiential learning about effective youth development shows that:

• Young people need to be partners, not just beneficiaries. This means involving them in programme design, implementation, and evaluation from the outset.
• Systems thinking is not optional – it is essential. Young people facing complex challenges need frameworks for understanding interconnections and leverage points for change. This will help them identify unique opportunities for long-lasting development, overcoming immediate and persistent challenges.
• Intergenerational collaboration is vital. Young people’s energy and innovation must be coupled with older generations’ experience and resources this can deliver improved outcomes in innovation and sustainability, as detailed in our recent report with the United Nations Youth Office⁶How Intergenerational Leadership Unlocks Innovation and Sustainability in Business. 2025..
• Sustainability requires more than project funding – it requires ecosystem building. It takes more than one initiative to create an enabling environment for equitable wellbeing. This means supporting not just individual young leaders but the networks, platforms, and institutions that enable their continued growth and impact.

These lessons are also relevant for funders. It is critical to think systemically about the challenges young people face, so that root causes can be addressed. Also, supporting local youth-led initiatives can be a game-changer, because young people know their communities best and are most likely to develop appropriate and sustainable solutions. To make a real difference in this sector funders must be prepared to invest in long-term relationships rather than short-term projects. Meaningful youth development takes time, requires sustained support – the investment is often catalytic, but the results are not always apparent at the end of the project’s lifecycle. These initiatives also require monitoring and evaluation that focus on, for example, increased agency, complex problem-solving capacity and leadership rather than participation numbers.

Towards a brighter, equitable future

The challenges facing South African youth are significant, but their potential is equally impressive. By developing young leaders who think systemically, participate meaningfully in decision-making, and collaborate across generations, we can bridge the human gap that undermines our collective capacity to address complex challenges. Investment in young leaders is essential to create a brighter future for South Africa – an equitable future on a healthy planet, with youth at the centre.