A Renewed Sense of Urgency
Young people represent almost a fifth of the world’s population and are a generation facing climate change, new technology, rising inequality, and attacks on democracy. Because of this, they have consistently stood up for themselves and future generations by demanding a voice in policy-making. Yet when it comes time for actual decisions, young people are too often only invited for photos, consulted once, and then pushed to the side.
That is changing. More and more young people are online, connected to each other, and organizing quickly. As a result, they have more power than ever to shape reforms and influence decisions that used to happen without them.
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) has been one of the most concrete platforms where young people’s influence can be exercised. OGP requires all its member governments to co-create reform commitments together with civil society, not alone. This mandate opens hundreds of chances each year for young people to help shape real policy reforms. In 2025 alone, local and national members drafted over 400 commitments. However, many governments still find it difficult to include youth voices in a meaningful way, and youth organizations often struggle to be heard.
The OGP Youth Toolkit 1.0 (2022) laid important groundwork to address that, but the need for clear guidance has only grown since then. This new version, OGP Youth Toolkit 2.0, builds on that momentum. It uses the experience of the OGP Youth Collective to give clear steps for meaningful youth participation, and to show what it takes to make that happen in practice.
CONTENTS
How this Toolkit was Developed
What this Toolkit Does
Who this Toolkit is For
How to Use this Toolkit
Young people are not just the future of governance. We are the present. We are already doing the work—monitoring budgets, mobilizing communities. This Toolkit would make that work visible and connected.
Members of the OGP Youth Collective from 10 countries rewrote this Toolkit completely. They contributed with real examples, tested tools, and honest lessons about what works and what does not.
The OGP Youth Toolkit 2.0 is built on their experience of moving from being consulted, to co-creating and sharing power in governance.
About the OGP Youth Collective
The OGP Youth Collective is a global community of young people working on open government reforms in OGP member countries. The Collective meets regularly to share experiences and advocate for stronger youth engagement in OGP processes.
Members of the Collective informed and shaped the content of this Toolkit through co-design workshops, individual input forms, case studies, tool contributions, and peer review.
Meaningful youth participation means changing how a process works so young people get a real say in it. It should help both young people and the process itself. Within the OGP journey, that means three things for young people: get real influence over decisions, keep a role at every moment, and receive clear feedback showing how their input was used.
For these reasons, this Toolkit aims to help young people, civil society organizations (CSOs), and governments move from symbolic inclusion to real partnership, with practical tools to make that shift.
The OGP Youth Toolkit 2.0 is specifically designed to:
- Help young people and CSOs understand and meaningfully engage at every moment of the OGP journey.
- Give governments and OGP Points of Contact practical, tested strategies to move from symbolic youth inclusion to genuine co-governance.
- Offer ready-to-use tools and templates that save time when designing participatory mechanisms.
- Provide recommendations based on real examples from the OGP community: what worked, why, and how others can repeat it.
This Toolkit speaks to young people, CSOs, and governments simultaneously. Every section is useful to anyone who wants to meaningfully include young people in the OGP journey.
Young People and CSOs
- Find entry points and understand potential youth roles at every moment of the OGP journey.
- Access ready-to-use tools and templates to support youth meaningful participation.
- Connect with the global OGP youth community to keep learning, sharing, and improving the practice of open government.
Governments and OGP Points of Contact
- Understand why meaningful youth engagement strengthens and enriches the OGP journey.
- Find concrete tools and strategies to move beyond symbolic consultation.
- Learn from real examples that have effectively embedded youth participation institutionally.
This Toolkit is organized around three key moments of the OGP journey, plus one moment that cuts across all of them: co-creation, implementation, accountability, and space. Each section includes a brief introduction to that moment, practical recommendations, case studies, and tools and templates. All tools and templates in this Toolkit have been tested in the field, and can be used and adapted.
The OGP Journey is flexible so readers can start at whichever moment is most relevant to them right now. It is not necessary to read it cover to cover.
A Living Resource
This Toolkit is designed to grow and improve over time. As new examples emerge, tools are tested, and the OGP landscape evolves, this document will be updated. Readers with a case study, tool, or lesson worth sharing can contact the OGP Youth Collective to explore its inclusion in future versions: [email protected].