Making Room for the Next Generations - Reflection on the Role of Youth from the IDG Summit 2025

Stockholm, 15 October 2025

At this year’s Inner Development Goals (IDG) Summit - Bridging Polarities in Stockholm, Ignacio Packer, Executive Director of Caux Initiatives of Change (IofC), joined 800 changemakers from around the globe to explore one of the most pressing questions of our time: How can inner transformation lead to lasting outer change in a world increasingly defined by division? 

Ignacio's participation at the Summit reflected the deep alignment between the IDGs and IofC’s core belief — that genuine, sustainable change begins within each of us.

One message at the time in Stockholm stood out clearly: the future depends on the voices and leadership of young people and it is vital that youth are not only included in the conversation but are empowered to lead it.

Ignacio reflects:

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When I was invited to speak at a side event of the IDG Summit 2025 on the question, “What role do young people and the IDGs play in a sustainable future?”, my first reaction was: why me? Looking at my age, I’m hardly the obvious choice to define the role of young people — and certainly not to speak for them.

So I turned to my peers — and to the rooms we still influence — to make the case for creating more space where young people can lead.

That question — who gets to speak, and who gets to make space — has followed me for years. It found particular resonance during this year's IDG Summit under the theme Bridging Polarities, a theme that invites us to hold tension: between experience and emergence, stability and change, the voices that have built the table and those still waiting for a seat.

The Qualities of Being “Young at Heart”

Over the years, I’ve met people who are “young” and “young at heart” at any age. What distinguishes them is their mindset. They keep asking the extra why that reframes a problem. They pivot when context shifts. They see possibility where others see risk. They turn constraints into imagination and ensure the quiet voices are heard.

As Melanie, one of our youth collaborators, wrote to me, young people are “curious, optimistic, inclusive, and full of energy,” and the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) help turn those qualities into wise action — individually and collectively.

Visual artist and Arts Therapy Practitioner Maruee Pahuja from our Creative Leadership initiative for young leaders reminds us that youth bring fluidity over rigidity, challenging cemented narratives and moving us from scarcity mindsets toward the question, “How else can we live together?”

These are precisely the mindsets we need in every room. They map beautifully onto the five dimensions of the IDGs:

• Being: grounded awareness and purpose
• Thinking: reframing problems rather than just solving them
• Relating: empathy and inclusion that amplify quiet voices
• Collaborating: co-creation across differences
• Acting: the courage to prototype, learn, and persevere

Leadership Means Getting Out of the Way

Leadership, in this light, sometimes means getting out of the way. My commitment is simple: I won’t speak for young people, but I will speak as someone determined to make room for them.

That means yielding microphones, seats, budgets, and calendar time. I don’t do that as a gesture — but as my vision of governance.

Space-making is not a favour; it’s a responsibility.

Where Youth Are Already Leading

This form of leadership shows up in many ways at the Caux Initiatives of Change Foundation. In our Reimagining Democracies training programme within the Creative Leadership youth-led initiative, young people are redesigning participation itself.

As Olivia, one of our young contributors, wrote: “The future isn’t set in stone; its magnitude depends on what we do now. The IDGs can be a stepping stone for youth to regain agency — and for older generations, a platform to listen, support, and enable rather than instruct.”

Maruee added, that youth "use creative energies to find newer, smarter, more fun ways.” Their work embodies the IDG path from Relating to Collaborating, turning empathy into shared creation and community.

That, to me, is the new operating system for democracy.

What My Generation Must Transfer

If we’re serious about intergenerational renewal, my generation must transfer three things:

• Trust: real seats, real opportunities, real budgets.
• Access: open our networks, share platforms, and make introductions.
• Protection: manage risk together, allow smart mistakes, and stand beside them when things wobble.

As Olivia reminds us, the IDGs trace a journey from Being to Acting; the role of those of my generation is to remove friction so that journey is possible.

At Caux Initiatives of Change, we strive to make these ideas tangible — to turn intention into practice. The Caux Democracy Forum includes both Reimagining Democracies and a Young Changemakers stream for teens and young adults. Creative Leadership , our initiative for young leaders, builds skills in listening, dialogue, and ethical action. And the Caux Arts and Peace Encounters connect young creators and peacebuilders.

These are not just youth-led or youth-influenced initiatives; they are humanity initiatives that invite all generations to work shoulder to shoulder.

Making Space for Authentic Youth Leadership

As I close, I return to where I began: legitimacy. When I first asked myself why me? the answer was to make space — to remind those of us with titles, tenure, or budget lines that our highest form of leadership may be to step aside and let others lead.

The voices of youth, like that of 22-year-old Violeta Lacroze from Argentina — who moved the Summit audience to its feet in applause — show us what happens when participation is real. It only works when it’s authentic, and hers was. I was also deeply inspired by the presence of a vibrant youth delegation of ten from Argentina whose energy lit up the room.

Renewal doesn’t start “out there” — it starts within each of us, with curiosity, empathy, and the courage to make room for others.

The next generation doesn’t need saving; they need trust, access, and the freedom to lead their own transformation.

Thank you, Violeta, Maruee, Olivia, Mélanie, the Creative Leadership team, the participants of Reimagining Democracy(ies), our Young Changemakers... — and to all young leaders showing us the way forward.

Let’s make more room.

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Join the IDG journey: Next steps 

The IDG Summit was also a wonderful opportunity to connect the dots from this summer’s Caux IDG Forum at the historic Caux Palace in Switzerland — and to look ahead to next year’s gathering.

📅 Save the date: Caux IDG Forum | 13–17 July 2026 and get more information: Caux IDG Forum Expression of Interest

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Ignacio Packer is Executive Director of the Caux Initiatives of Change Foundation, a Swiss private charitable foundation with the mission to provide a safe and privileged space to inspire, equip and connect individuals, groups and organizations from around the globe to engage effectively and innovatively in the promotion of trust, ethical leadership, sustainable living and human security. Ignacio has over 30 years of experience in humanitarian work and development issues. He is an expert on human rights and social issues and has been strongly engaged in global advocacy on protection frameworks for migrants and refugees with a particular focus on children and youth.