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On 9th of October 2026, Ana Maria Todoran, one of the Youth Delegates of Romania to the United Nations for the 2026-2027 mandate and Head of Sustainability at GEYC, took part in the Youth Mobilization Segment convened by the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) in the context of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
During the session dedicated to Means of Implementation and Partnerships - Sharing Best Practices, she shared the experience of “Thirsty for Solutions”, a youth-led initiative coordinated by GEYC that demonstrates how young people can turn local concerns into advocacy, institutional dialogue and tangible change.
From a local challenge to youth-led advocacy
Access to free public drinking water is becoming increasingly important as communities face rising temperatures and more frequent heat-related challenges. Yet access to drinking water in public spaces remains uneven, with consequences for public health, environmental sustainability and social equity.
Through “Thirsty for Solutions”, young people from communities across Romania mobilised around this practical challenge, advocating for better access to free drinking water and more sustainable public infrastructure.
The initiative created opportunities for young people to move beyond raising awareness and develop the skills needed to engage with decision-makers. Through a seven-month fellowship, an advocacy bootcamp and engagement with European institutions, participants strengthened their capacity to identify community needs, formulate proposals and advocate for change.
Their efforts involved hundreds of young people and engagement with local authorities, bringing access to public drinking water into broader institutional discussions. The initiative also contributed to increased attention to free drinking-water infrastructure, including the introduction of free drinking-water stations at Bucharest’s airports.
Young people are not only identifying problems. They are building the skills, partnerships and momentum needed to help shape solutions.
Bringing youth-led solutions into the UN discussion
In her intervention, Ana-Maria connected her experience as Romania’s Youth Delegate with her work at GEYC, where she leads the organisation’s sustainability and youth participation portfolio. GEYC holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The Youth Mobilization Segment provided a platform for young people, civil society representatives, Member States and UN entities to exchange good practices and explore how financing, capacity-building, volunteering and partnerships can help youth organisations deliver tangible results.
By sharing “Thirsty for Solutions”, Ana-Maria highlighted a central lesson from the initiative:
„Meaningful youth participation requires more than giving young people the opportunity to identify problems. It means enabling them to participate in developing and implementing solutions.”
The experience also highlighted the barriers that youth organisations continue to face, including limited access to decision-makers, short-term funding and insufficient mechanisms to follow up on recommendations.
These challenges underline the importance of sustained support and stronger partnerships that enable young people to contribute throughout the entire policy process, from consultation and implementation to monitoring and accountability.
Beyond consultation: enabling young people to shape change
The intervention contributed a practical perspective to the broader discussion on how youth organisations can deliver results across social development priorities addressed by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee.
For GEYC, the experience of “Thirsty for Solutions” illustrates the value of investing in young people’s skills, supporting youth-led initiatives and creating pathways for their proposals to reach decision-makers.
It also reinforces the need to make funding, technical support and partnership opportunities more accessible to youth organisations, including those working directly with local communities.
As young people face increasingly complex social and environmental challenges, their participation should not end when a consultation closes. Their knowledge, experience and proposals must be part of the processes through which decisions are made and solutions are implemented.
From local communities to international platforms, youth-led initiatives can demonstrate what works. The next step is ensuring that young people have the resources, partnerships and institutional support to make those solutions last.
What is the Youth Mobilization Segment?
The Youth Mobilization Segment was convened by the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) in connection with the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee. The Third Committee addresses a broad range of issues related to social development, human rights and the protection of vulnerable groups, including issues that directly affect children and young people.
Held on 9 October 2026 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the segment focused on how youth organisations can translate their work into tangible results. Bringing together young people, civil society representatives and other stakeholders, the discussions explored good practices in financing, capacity-building, volunteering and partnerships, including intergenerational collaboration.