Youth in Action: Inaugural Global Meeting of WMO Youth Focal Points

Nearly 1 billion children, almost half of the world’s children, live in countries at extremely high risk from climate hazards and environmental shocks. We hear these numbers often, but it is important that we keep recalling them, because behind these numbers there is a simple reality: they will shape young peoples’ lives. 

The latest State of the Global Climate report reminds us that climate change is not a distant concern. The past three years have been the three warmest years on record, and these changes are already affecting people, communities and ecosystems. For young people, this is not only a scientific reality. It is the context in which they will study, work, lead and make decisions for decades to come. It will shape their health, education, livelihoods, mobility and security. 

For WMO, youth engagement remains a core institutional priority, because if we are the United Nations system’s authoritative voice on weather, climate and water, then we must work with the generation most exposed over time to climate risk, and most essential to sustaining climate, weather and water action.

That is why this moment matters to me. The launch of the WMO Youth Action Plan is not just the launch of a strategy, but also the beginning of a more deliberate way of working with young people across WMO. I wanted youth engagement to be part of WMO’s operating system, because our work relies on people, institutional capacity, and preparing the workforce that will carry it forward
This launch of the first WMO Youth Network is an opportunity for you, the youth to be heard, to contribute, organise and lead. The Youth Network gives a practical and structured pathway for you all to act. And it makes clear that youth engagement in WMO is not symbolic. It is about strengthening our services.

Today, we welcome you, the National Youth Focal Points into a new chapter of youth engagement across our organization.
As National Youth Focal Points, you are central to the implementation of the Youth Action Plan. You are the bridge between young professionals in your National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) and the wider WMO community.

It begins with governance: making sure that young people are not only informed about decisions, but have a clear route to contribute their perspectives, ideas and technical experience to institutional discussions and decision-making.

Through capacity development, you will help ensure that young professionals are equipped not only with training and mentorship, but with the confidence, exposure and technical grounding needed to contribute meaningfully.

It expands through communication, outreach and partnerships: sharing the work of your NMHSs and the WMO with young people, opening doors to new audiences, and showing that hydrometeorology is not only a technical discipline, but the foundation for public services that help communities prepare, decide and stay safe.

Under Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, you will help document youth-related activities, support reporting and show what youth engagement is contributing in practice.

This is the value of the Youth Action Plan in practice it creates a pathway for young people to be consulted, supported, connected and recognised as contributors to the future of WMO.

My call to you is this: make the Youth Action Plan real in your NMHSs. Use your role to listen, consult, connect and act. Be bold in your outreach, creative in your ideas and honest in your reporting. Document what works, flag what does not, and help us learn how to improve. This Network will only matter if it becomes a living mechanism for action, not a title or a mailing list. So, use it. Shape it. Strengthen it. And help us show what young people can contribute to the future of weather, climate and water services.