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Our journey

The milestones, campaigns and collective actions that have shaped the Global Youth Voices movement.

Youth advocates behind the non-governmental organization desk at WHO FCTC COP11 holding placards that read “Protect the youth”, “Harm reduction is a lie” and “Protect children”

9 milestones

  1. 2020-2022

    The foundations of Global Youth Voices

    Before we adopted a common Declaration, youth organizations and advocates were already building a shared agenda around tobacco industry accountability, addiction, and intergenerational harm.
  2. Oct 2023

    A shared youth position ahead of COP10

    More than 30 youth organizations came together under Global Youth Voices to issue a common position ahead of the Tenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
  3. Nov 2023

    WHO amplifies Global Youth Voices

    WHO highlighted the role of young people in challenging tobacco industry tactics and linked the campaign with the emerging Global Youth Voices call ahead of COP10.
  4. Feb 2024

    Global Youth Voices at COP10

    At WHO FCTC COP10 in Panama, youth organizations and young activists from around the world gathered under the common Global Youth Voices banner and brought their shared demands directly into the global tobacco-control treaty process.
  5. May 2024

    Our Declaration is adopted

    Participating youth organizations adopted the GYV Declaration at the Global Youth Voice Summit in May 2024, establishing shared demands on addictive products, tobacco industry interference, environmental harm, and industry accountability.
  6. Sept 2024

    A call for policy coherence across the UN

    We wrote to the United Nations Secretary-General, calling for stronger policy coherence and protection from tobacco industry interference across the UN system ahead of the General Assembly and Summit of the Future.
  7. May 2025

    Putting the Declaration into action

    For World No Tobacco Day 2025, we developed Declaration in Action: Unmasking the Tobacco Industry's Appeal, Demanding Accountability for Its Harms.
  8. Aug 2025

    Youth demands participate in global plastics negotiation

    We joined youth and environmental partners in calling on INC-5.2 negotiators to ban cigarette filters, protect environmental policymaking from tobacco industry interference, and strengthen liability for tobacco-related plastic pollution. A UNEP-hosted opening plenary intervention brought the GYV demands into the INC-5.2 negotiations.