Local Action, Global Goals: P3 Charity Marks International Youth Day 2025

What is International Youth Day?

Founded by the United Nations (UN), International Youth Day is marked every year on 12 August. It shines a light on the challenges young people face, celebrates their achievements and champions their power to shape the world around them.

At P3 Charity, we don’t just support young people, we help them grow into active citizens who drive change in their own communities. Whether that’s through volunteering, youth leadership, speaking up about what matters to them or helping shape the services they use, we believe young people’s voices and actions should lead the way – not just on International Youth Day, but every day.

Esther Barrett, P3 Charity’s Director of Young People and Family Services, said: “International Youth Day matters because it connects us to a bigger, global conversation about youth voices, rights and opportunities. It reminds us to listen first, not to tell young people who they should be, but to ask them what they want and help them get there.”

Each year, International Youth Day has a different theme, and in 2025 the focus is “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond.” Sounds big, but it’s really about small, powerful steps that young people can take to improve life where they live. Sound a bit cryptic? Let’s break it down.

What are the SDGs?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are part of the UN’s plan to make life fairer, healthier and greener for everyone, everywhere. They call for urgent action from every country and every community.

This year’s theme recognises that young people aren’t just leaders of the future, they’re leaders of the now. They’re volunteering, sharing ideas, raising awareness, supporting friends and neighbours and demanding fairer systems. At P3, we see this every day.

How do we help young people become changemakers?

Young people already have the ideas, energy and passion to change things. P3’s role is to help remove barriers, create safe spaces, build skills and give them a real say in decisions that affect them and their communities.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Shaping services
  Young people help design and shape the services they use at P3 Charity. They tell us what’s working, what isn’t and what they need – and we listen. Their voices help us adapt and grow, so support is meaningful and relevant.
• Building life skills for action
  Through mentoring, budgeting help, education and training support, we help young people build the confidence and practical skills they need to make choices, speak up and take charge of their future.
• Creating safe spaces to connect and lead
  Our youth clubs, play services and community hubs give young people safe places to meet, share ideas and work together on projects that matter to them and their communities.
• Championing youth-led initiatives
  From setting up peer support groups to leading local campaigns, young people get the chance to turn their ideas into action with our support behind them.
• Opening doors to community action
  We connect young people with volunteering opportunities, local decision-making groups and wider community networks so they can have real influence where they live.

What SDGs do our young people work towards?

At P3, our young people actions link directly to global goals like:

• No Poverty – Young people get involved in tackling poverty by sharing budgeting skills, supporting each other and shaping services that break the cycle of homelessness.
• Good Health and Wellbeing – They promote mental health awareness, run peer support groups and build safe spaces to talk.
• Quality Education – They help each other stay in education, support homework clubs and mentor younger children.
• Gender Equality – They speak up about equal opportunities, create safe spaces and challenge stereotypes in their communities.

As the United Nations explains, the goals are “an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership.”

This year’s International Youth Day theme recognises that “young people are not just beneficiaries of development; they are active leaders, innovators, and agents of change within their communities.”

For young people taking action in their local communities, this means adapting and implementing global goals to meet local needs. This approach helps ensure that development is inclusive, participatory, sustainable and relevant. At P3, we share the UN’s belief that “when young people are empowered to engage in this process, they become catalysts for innovation and resilience in their communities.”

At P3, we put this into practice through a people-led approach that places the people and communities we support at the centre of our decision-making, where all P3’s services are shaped by real experiences and real community needs.

Through practical, front-line support – safe homes, better health, education pathways and equal access to services for every young person – P3 works every day to address the UN’s SDGs.

What does this look like on the ground?

Whether they’re helping design safer supported housing, co-producing youth mental health resources, running local youth clubs or leading campaigns on issues that matter to them – young people at P3 are at the heart of local change.

Esther adds: “Every P3 service has its own quality framework, tailored to the needs of that local community. We measure quality through Ofsted standards and how well we’re sticking to trauma-informed practice. It’s all about working alongside young people and families, listening to what they need and making sure they have a say in shaping our services. That’s what proper youth support should be about.”

No Poverty

At P3, our core mission is tackling and preventing social exclusion, which includes poverty and homelessness. We help young people by:

• Providing safe, supported accommodation for 16–25-year-olds who are homeless or at risk.
• Providing budgeting advice or helping young people claim benefits they’re entitled to.
• Supporting young people to access employment, training, apprenticeships or further education so they can build financial independence.

Good Health and Wellbeing

P3 supports mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of young people by:

• Youth support workers check in regularly, offering guidance and a listening ear.
• Mental health support – many projects have direct links to local mental health services that can connect young people with therapy or clinical support.
• Fun, safe spaces like youth clubs and play services that keep young people active, connected and less isolated.
• Using a trauma-informed approach that recognises many of the young people we support have experienced some form of trauma.

Quality Education

P3 supports education through:

• Homework clubs and after-school activities for children and teens, including our London-based Play3 and Rugby Portobello Trust programmes.
• For older young people, P3 support workers and youth workers help with education or training applications, developing CVs, practicing interview skills and connecting young people to apprenticeships and work experience opportunities.
• Helping young people who’ve missed out on school re-engage with learning in a supportive environment.

Gender Equality

P3 works to make sure young people of all genders get equal support and feel safe:

• Some services offer women-only spaces, so young women and girls feel comfortable accessing help, especially if they’re survivors of abuse.
• Staff are trained in gender-aware practice, helping all young people feel respected, safe and heard.
• P3 champions equal opportunities – whether that’s girls in football coaching, young women in apprenticeships, or safe housing for young women who might be at risk.

Our youth services help break cycles of poverty, build confidence and wellbeing, open education pathways and protect young people’s right to equal treatment – no matter their background, gender or circumstances. Whether that’s through our supported housing for young people across the UK, our Youth Homelessness Prevention service in Nottingham, our mental wellbeing support in Hillingdon, play services in west London or our youth services run by the Rugby Portobello Trust, we reach thousands of children and young people every year.

Turning local action into lasting change

On paper, these actions support global goals like ending poverty and building equality. In real life, they mean safer homes, supportive communities, better mental health, fair opportunities and young people driving the change they want to see.

This International Youth Day, we’re proud to stand behind young people because when they lead, communities thrive. At P3, we proactively prevent youth homelessness by offering practical support that builds independence and confidence. Together, we can help young people shape a brighter, fairer future. If you’d like to support P3’s youth work or find out how you can get involved, get in touch today. Let’s turn local youth action into lasting, meaningful change – for the SDGs and for young people’s lives right now.