2025 saw a wide range of participating countries and regions. Students hailed from China, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Vietnam, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Japan. We also expanded the age range to closer align to the UN's definition of "youth". Our youngest participant was 13 and the eldest was 25. This allowed interesting and multifaceted contributions to discussions and tasks, and made the experience more enriching for everyone.
We now look ahead to the continued journey of our Youth Ambassadors. In February 2026, one of the programme winners will be honored as the top winner and awarded a prize in recognition of his/her outstanding commitment and impact.
Following the pitch day, the three prize winners received extra mentoring for the next 3 months, developing their ideas into actionable steps and fully launching and running their youth organizations. At the end of the 3 months, the progress of each winner was carefully assessed, and a Grand Prize winner was chosen: Bianca Nie.
As the winner of the Grand Prize, Bianca was sent on an all-inclusive trip to New York as a member of the ECOSOC Youth Forum from 14th to 16th April 2026. While there, she spent time touring the UN headquarters, meeting with fellow peers, and engaging in dialogue with UN officials and member states to promote youth voices.
The 2025 projects were (Click the green names for more info):