UN Foundation Launches Unlock the Future Coalition During UNGA 77

The United Nations Foundation announced the launch of the Unlock the Future Coalition with 17 of the world’s biggest youth-led and youth-focused organizations that collectively reach almost 800 million young people worldwide. The Coalition was officially launched during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly at the Unlock the Future of Learning event on September 19, which was held adjacent to the Transforming Education Summit.

While announcing the Coalition’s launch, UN Foundation President and CEO Elizabeth Cousens said: “Our world is young, and it’s getting younger. And I’m so excited to see what this Coalition…can do to serve as a powerful force multiplier for the kind of intergenerational action that we need.”

The Coalition launch comes one year after the UN Foundation brought together these youth-led and youth-focused organizations in September 2021 to sign the Unlock Declaration. Through this Declaration, partners committed to form a high-ambition coalition that would serve as a platform for diverse young people to explore, create, lead, and participate in processes most formative to their futures.

“As we build a better future – together, with, and for young people – I am confident that we will achieve more as a coalition than we could on our own,” said Inés Yábar, Lead Next Generation Fellow. “That’s what makes the Unlock Coalition so effective, it brings together networks of people with the same goals to resource young people, foster opportunities, and amplify youth voices. I’m especially excited for more young people to see themselves represented in decision-making spaces as they lead the Coalition’s work.”

The launch of the Coalition saw Civicus, Global Student Forum, Kofi Annan Foundation, Southern Voice, Teach For All, and the United Nations Association of the United States of America added to the partner coalition on top of those who signed the Declaration last year. The full list of Unlock Coalition partners is available here.

About The UN Foundation
The UN Foundation is an independent charitable organization created to work closely with the United Nations to address humanity’s greatest challenges, build initiatives across sectors to solve problems at scale, and drive global progress. Learn more at www.unfoundation.org