UNEP/UNESCO YouthXchange Initiative

In 2001, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) created the YouthXchange Initiative to promote sustainable lifestyles among youth (aged 15-24) through education, dialogue, awareness-raising and capacity-building. YouthXchange works with young people, governments, educators, non-governmental organizations, trainers, and youth leaders in more than 50 countries around the world. At the national and local levels, YouthXchange capacity-building activities are secured through a diverse network of partners, and supported by printed YouthXchange publications, such as the flagship YouthXchange Training Kit on Responsible Consumption (translated into more than 20 languages) publication and a bilingual YouthXchange website. In 2011, UNEP and UNESCO started to develop thematic YouthXchange guidebooks, which enable young people to better understand how global issues are connected to their everyday lifestyle choices, as well as regional YouthXchange guidebooks, which are adapted to the realities of the lifestyles of specific regions, with a particular focus on developing and emerging regions