As Kofi Annan once remarked, “Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished.” This insight captures the fundamental essence of why multilateral organisations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) are increasingly recognising and prioritising youth engagement.
With over 800 million young people residing within SCO member states (nearly half the world’s youth), their upliftment is not merely a demographic imperative but a strategic investment in fostering regional connectivity, peace, and prosperity.
Since its establishment, the SCO has upheld the “Shanghai Spirit,” which emphasised equality, mutual goodwill, engagement, and inclusiveness. In recent years, these principles have embraced youth engagement, positioning young people as innovators, cultural ambassadors, and agents of cooperation.
The SCO’s youth-led initiatives serve not just as forums for cultural diplomacy but also as incubators for economic growth, educational progress, and technological collaboration. As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon remarked, “Young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but also partners of today.” The SCO’s commitment to cultivating youth-specific participation reflects this multilateral ideal of collaborative and shared responsibility.
Amongst the most prominent institutional bodies is the SCO Youth Council, which brings together youth organisations across different member countries and ensures that youth priorities remain central to the multilateral discourse. Through its pronouncements and cross-border initiatives, the Council promotes the coherence of SCO policy while advancing dialogue and the development of regional leadership.
This is complemented by the SCOLAR Network, an innovative endeavour that focuses on entrepreneurship and the digital economy by connecting young individuals with universities, professionals, and regional markets, encouraging innovation across borders.
Another significant milestone is the SCO University, which cultivates academic mobility and supports intellectual exchange as well as scientific research. It not only connects young inventors and experts across different member states but also contributes to the dissemination of knowledge, thus advancing the organisation’s human-centred values.
Youth development forums, like the 2023 session in Qingdao, further demonstrate the dynamism of SCO cooperation, offering structured venues for dialogue on collective challenges such as the digital divide, barriers to cross-border academic collaborations, climate vulnerabilities, and unemployment, while at the same time presenting new channels for educational, cultural, and athletic cooperation.
Leaving young people at the margins impoverishes us all, whereas empowering them enriches the future of the entire region
Beyond institutional structures, SCO youth cooperation is evident in practice across all of its members. For instance, the China-Belarus Industrial Park, a Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project that promotes skill development and entrepreneurship, has provided young people in Belarus access to opportunities in vocational training and high-tech industries, thereby levelling up their capacity to assist in national development while integrating them into deeper regional economic networks.
Similarly, in Uzbekistan, the revitalisation of transport routes of Silk Road infrastructure has linked once landlocked regions to global trade corridors, opening new horizons for economic participation and youth mobility. Moreover, the introduction of Chinese electric vehicles has not only modernised urban transportation but also raised environmental awareness among younger generations.
Youth leaders in Pakistan have articulated the importance of inclusive education, digital literacy, and active involvement of young people in policymaking via several SCO platforms. These examples affirm that multilateral cooperation within the SCO framework strengthens young people to play a meaningful role in shaping socio-economic and environmental outcomes in substantive ways.
Technological, educational, and cultural exchanges remain central to the organisation’s vision. Initiatives in arts, linguistics, and heritage open opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue and instil mutual respect among future generations. Academic collaborations, entrepreneurial programmes, and research-oriented linkages drive knowledge creation while ensuring that talent is shared beyond national borders.
Youth engagement is equally important in addressing security challenges such as terrorism, separatism, and extremism; by involving young people in preventive measures, counter-radicalisation campaigns, and peacebuilding efforts, the SCO can channel their efforts into positive contributions that bolster regional stability.
The success of the aforementioned initiatives reiterates that youth are not peripheral but are cardinal to regional stability and development. As Russian youth representative Nikolai Zhdanov observed, “People-to-people contact establishes interstate relations by embedding cooperation in lived experiences rather than in mere political agreements.”
This corresponds to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’s recognition, “Young people are critical agents of change, driving transformation worldwide,” and in a later statement at the High-Level Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes (2022), he further stated, “Young people are not only citizens with equal rights but also powerful change agents whose voices must be fully heard.” The organisation’s commitment to youth, therefore validates the acknowledgement that sustainable peace and prosperity cannot be attained without the purposeful participation of younger generations.
Nonetheless, challenges persist. Vast disparities among SCO member states in the quality of education and digital infrastructure, coupled with access to opportunities, pose a challenge to achieving cohesive regional cooperation and limit the full realisation of youth potential. Communities in rural areas and socially marginalised segments often remain excluded from the gains of cross-border initiatives.
Overcoming these divides requires more than symbolic engagement; it calls for long-term investment in skills development, gender inclusivity, digital literacy, youth mobility, and opportunities for marginalised groups. Also, youth participation must transcend beyond academic and cultural exchanges into policy-level decision-making. The future of SCO youth cooperation lies in ensuring that young people become active stakeholders in policy formulation rather than passive beneficiaries of institutional programmes.
At its core, the organisation’s approach to youth representation is not a token effort but a structural necessity. By formalising youth councils, advancing academic partnerships, and broadening space for entrepreneurial and cultural exchanges, the SCO encourages a generation capable of navigating complex challenges with creativity and togetherness.
Multilateral organisations that place young people at the centre of their vision secure their own relevance while at the same time driving towards a more peaceful, just, and interconnected world. As Annan aptly observed, leaving young people at the margins impoverishes us all, whereas empowering them enriches the future of the entire region.