What worries young people when they think about the future? Climate, gender and peacebuilding
Futur en 3D, organised by NOVACT, the Fundació Solidaritat of the University of Barcelona and Movimiento por la Paz, brought young people together to share ideas and proposals on three major global challenges. Although the discussions started from different themes, they all reached the same conclusion: today’s crises are interconnected, and the responses must be too.
What do the climate crisis, gender inequality and armed conflicts have in common? This question emerged as one of the key conclusions of Futur en 3D, a participatory event organised by NOVACT, the Fundació Solidaritat of the University of Barcelona and Movimiento por la Paz to create a space where young people could reflect on some of today’s most pressing global challenges.
The event was organised around three discussion spaces focused on climate, gender, and disarmament, peace and refuge. Although each conversation began from a different perspective, they all pointed towards a shared understanding: today’s major challenges cannot be addressed in isolation, and neither can their solutions.
Different perspectives on shared challenges
In the climate discussion, participants reflected on how the climate emergency affects people differently depending on social class, gender and age. They also warned about the growing influence of climate denialism and far-right narratives among young people. Participants stressed the need to promote local production and consumption models and to strengthen public awareness by linking the climate crisis to people’s everyday experiences.
The discussion on disarmament, peace and refuge focused on current armed conflicts, the erosion of multilateralism and the rules-based international order, the return of “might makes right”, and the growing dominance of securitisation as a policy response. Participants highlighted the importance of community action and strong social networks as essential tools for preventing conflict and building peace.
The gender discussion explored the role of inequalities in both armed conflicts and peacebuilding processes. Participants emphasised the need to challenge models of masculinity that legitimise violence and argued that women’s empowerment and the inclusion of diverse perspectives in decision-making are essential for building fairer and more peaceful societies. They also stressed that gender parity is not an end in itself, but a means of ensuring more diverse perspectives in decision-making.
From diagnosis to collective action
Despite addressing different topics, all three discussions reached the same conclusion: today’s crises are deeply interconnected and disproportionately affect people with fewer resources, women and migrants. Participants therefore agreed on the need to strengthen collective organisation, social engagement and active participation so that young people can move from being observers of change to becoming agents of transformation.
The ideas and proposals generated during the event will not remain confined to the discussions. NOVACT is preparing a public policy report that will bring together participants’ contributions to help shape a future political agenda informed by young people’s perspectives. The report will also provide the basis for future advocacy work with political decision-makers.