Last updated: 26/02/2026
I. Introduction
At One Young World, we are committed to amplifying young leaders from diverse backgrounds and cultures to become agents of positive change in their communities.
As part of our strategic priorities, One Young World will continue partnering, engaging and supporting Indigenous young leaders worldwide. This document outlines the actions One Young World will undertake to continue its long-term engagement with Indigenous young leaders. This 2025/26 Indigenous Strategy builds on the One Young World 2024 Indigenous Strategy, Indigenous Ambassador feedback from the One Young World Montréal/Tiohtià:ke Summit 2024 and consultations with the One Young World Indigenous Advisory Circle.
The strategy is designed to guide One Young World in its continued efforts to support Indigenous young leaders, in collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Circle.
II. Our Commitment in Action
Since 2016, One Young World has established a global and growing community of Indigenous Ambassadors from communities around the world and is committed to representing their interests. Through our work with the One Young World Indigenous Advisory Circle, various scholarship opportunities, funding mechanisms, and year-round engagement with the One Young World Indigenous Ambassador Community, we aim to uplift Indigenous young leaders as agents of change and foster a network of support to amplify positive change in Indigenous communities globally.
Indigenous Advisory Circle
In 2023, One Young World institutionalised our commitment through establishing our Indigenous Council and published Strategy. The Indigenous Council was established to provide strategic guidance and insights on our future work with Indigenous communities. The 11 member inaugural group played a key role in the One Young World Montréal/Tiohtià:ke Summit 2024, which took place within the traditional unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka peoples, part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. One Young World’s inaugural Indigenous Youth Day was held to honour Indigenous Peoples in Canada, as well as Indigenous communities around the world by providing a dedicated and safe space for Indigenous young leaders to connect and share their experience.
In response to valuable feedback and guidance from Council members and the Indigenous Ambassador Community at One Young World, the newly established Indigenous Advisory Circle welcomed additional members, Elders, and community leaders. There are currently 26 Indigenous representatives in the Circle, representing Indigenous peoples from the Pacific Islands, Latin America, Africa, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia.
The Indigenous Advisory Circle, expanded through nominations from the inaugural Council and an internal selection process, brings a greater depth of perspective and expertise to our decision-making at One Young World. It welcomes Indigenous leaders across the world with diverse lived experiences and deep understanding of the issues facing Indigenous communities.
Their valued contributions ensure that our work is informed by the lived realities of Indigenous peoples and designed to represent the interests of Indigenous young leaders globally. The Circle’s function is critical in ensuring that One Young World’s work is culturally sensitive, respectful, and impactful but also that any activities are sustainable, effective, and rooted in Indigenous perspectives.
Partnerships, Scholarships and Initiatives
One Young World has partnered with organisations such as Assembly of First Nations, Fondation Nouveaux Sentiers, USAID, Kokoro, and the Ilia Calderón Foundation to support Indigenous young leaders from around the world through scholarship opportunities, allowing us to maximise access to leadership opportunities and to develop wider Indigenous networks. Beyond this, One Young World prioritises shortlisting and identifying Indigenous candidates across all scholarships. We have also run funding mechanisms that prioritise the work of Indigenous young leaders. A key example here is the One Young World COVID-19 Young Leaders Fund which funded five initiatives that directly supported Indigenous communities disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Indigenous Knowledge Sharing at the One Young World Summit
One Young World has had the honour of welcoming Indigenous leaders across different fields to the One Young World Summits such as the late Senator Murray Sinclair, Senator Michèle Audette, Kimberlee Teehee, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke and Kahsennénhawe Sky-Deer, former Grand Chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke. Summit agendas also have a dedicated tailored agenda of events and sessions with specific focus on Indigenous priorities. The programming includes dedicated Networking Sessions, action Circles, Roundtables, and panel discussions. While some sessions are designed exclusively for Indigenous Delegates, there are specific sessions open to all attendees to build authentic allyship and relationships across the Ambassador Community. The topics explored at the Summits are determined collaboratively with the Indigenous Community at One Young World and supported by extensive research and wider consultations to allow for maximised impact and relevance.
These topics have included embedding Indigenous perspectives into institutions, violence against Indigenous women and girls, intergenerational trauma in Indigenous communities, environmental stewardship, and climate change.
III. 2025/26 Indigenous Strategy Development
This strategy is based on learnings gathered from the One Young World Montréal/Tiohtià:ke Summit 2024. The priorities of the strategy were also further developed in consultation with One Young World’s Indigenous Advisory Circle.
Following the Summit, One Young World carried out a strategic three-tiered consultation to shape its next steps in supporting and engaging Indigenous young leaders moving forward:
- Level 1: Post-Summit survey insights from Indigenous Delegates who attended the Montréal/Tiohtià:ke Summit
- Level 2: Insights from an additional survey sent exclusively to Indigenous Delegates who attended the Montréal/Tiohtià:ke Summit
- Level 3: Inaugural Indigenous Council and wider Indigenous Advisory Circle consultations
Key Learnings
Motivations for Summit Participation
The Indigenous Ambassadors surveyed most frequently reported applying to the Montréal/Tiohtià:ke Summit to connect with other young Indigenous leaders. Other motivations for application included joining a global Community of changemakers and promoting their leadership and social impact work.
“As an Indigenous youth living in a remote area, [...] this Summit event [was] an opportunity for me to learn many things, and to be able to communicate and discuss with great leaders from all over the world. We have built very strong friendships up to this point.” - 2024 Delegate
Summit Feedback (Level 1 and 2)
Indigenous respondents to the two events-based surveys rated the Indigenous Youth Day 4.53 stars and the Montréal/Tiohtià:ke Summit 4.7 stars. Responses reflected that participants most enjoyed connecting with other purpose-driven leaders, hearing influential speakers, and exchanging ideas at the Summit. Many also highlighted moments such as the Indigenous flag representation at the Opening Ceremony and the presence of Indigenous exhibitors in the exhibition space to be impactful. Suggestions for improvement included more presentations from Indigenous people, particularly those from the Pacific, and additional collaboration with Indigenous-led and youth-led organisations.
“The fact that we the young people from the First Nation were thought about, dedicating a full day for us to connect, was extremely important.” - 2024 Delegate
Inaugural Indigenous Council and Indigenous Advisory Circle Feedback (Level 3)
The inaugural Indigenous Council members who responded to an end-of-year feedback consultation survey in 2024 recommended integrating Indigenous young leaders into decision-making and leadership roles across all One Young World programming. They also emphasised the importance of increased networking opportunities, including in-person Indigenous Council meetings, and increased training opportunities to support both personal development and individual social impact projects.
“I would like to see One Young World continue to prioritise Indigenous youth voices by engaging with the Indigenous Council every year for each conference. It’s crucial that this involvement goes beyond tokenism, ensuring Indigenous youth are not only heard but also included in meaningful decision-making and leadership roles.” - 2024 Indigenous Council Member
An additional consultation was carried out with the wider Indigenous Advisory Circle with the aim of gathering their views on the priorities section of this Indigenous strategy. Responses reflected the importance of engaging with Indigenous young leaders, local communities and partners throughout all Indigenous programming by One Young World, ensuring they play a key role in guiding decision-making. They also emphasised the importance of prioritising sustainable and long-term relationships with Indigenous communities and placing stronger emphasis on valuing Indigenous knowledge, cultural practices and customary systems.
“The Indigenous Strategy represents, in my opinion, a significant advance in terms of recognition, visibility and dialogue, but the next step must be to transfer the intention to shared governance structures. As an Indigenous leader, I believe that true impact will be achieved when Indigenous voices are not only heard, but can decide, when culture is not only celebrated, but guides values and processes, and when alliances are not only consulted, but connected to broader advocacy processes within One Young World. If One Young World achieves that leap, this strategy can become a true benchmark for global Indigenous leadership and not just a good institutional practice.” - Indigenous Advisory Circle member
Future recommendations
Across surveys, respondents encouraged One Young World to:
- Expand cultural sharing opportunities
- Improve representation of Indigenous communities, particularly from the Pacific
- Mainstream Indigenous voices across all programming
- Provide material support for Indigenous-led initiatives, including language revitalisation, cultural preservation, and youth empowerment
iV. One Young World's 2025/26 Indigenous Strategy: Priorities
Based on the key learnings, One Young World has outlined the following objectives and initiatives to guide our work, ensuring that our work is led by Indigenous peoples and for Indigenous young leaders. We will pursue these objectives in collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Circle.
The priorities are intentionally designed to be dynamic and adaptive to honour the diverse cultures, traditional practices, and governing styles that exist across Indigenous communities globally. This adaptive framework enables One Young World to effectively respond to key learnings and explore new opportunities throughout the year, allowing us to meaningfully evolve our approach where needed to truly represent the interests of Indigenous young leaders.
Objective 1: Honouring, Celebrating and Amplifying Indigenous Voices and Culture
Initiative 1.1.
One Young World to provide space for cultural and linguistic exchanges between Indigenous communities, when opportunities arise. This includes facilitated opportunities for traditional welcomes and protocols, sharing of community practices, and expressions of other forms of cultural heritage at online and offline events hosted by One Young World. One Young World will also continue to consult the Indigenous Advisory Circle and partners as to the potential inclusion of Indigenous languages in events. Indigenous knowledge systems, customs, and practices will be understood as foundations for action and long-term change.
Initiative 1.2.
One Young World to leverage its digital platforms to platform the work of Indigenous young leaders from the One Young World Community, ensuring that Indigenous perspectives are authentically portrayed and allowing audiences to engage and celebrate Indigenous cultures while also discovering approaches to drive impactful change in their own communities.
Objective 2: Creating, Identifying and Promoting Opportunities for Indigenous Young Leaders
Initiative 2.1.
One Young World to continue creating dedicated and meaningful spaces for Indigenous Delegates at future One Young World Summits, including opportunities that are exclusive for Indigenous Delegates to connect. Wherever possible, efforts will be made to include Indigenous communities and enterprises located in host cities, as well as crucial subsections of Indigenous communities including youth, women, and Elders.
Initiative 2.2.
One Young World to continue ensuring Indigenous voices are represented across the Summit agenda, where possible. This may come in the form of Indigenous speakers across panel discussions, Action Circles or mentor sessions with Indigenous themes. This will also ensure that non-Indigenous Delegates have the opportunity to learn from Indigenous Delegates at the Summit and will allow for effective allyship in the One Young World Community and beyond.
Initiative 2.3.
One Young World to prioritise online and in-person events and opportunities throughout the year, where possible. Examples here include networking opportunities, workshops, peer-to-peer mentorships and other Ambassador opportunities.
Objective 3: Driving Community Engagement, Strengthening Partnerships and Sustaining Impact
Initiative 3.1.
One Young World will continue to collaborate with Indigenous Advisory Circle members and the wider Ambassador Community for design and delivery of Indigenous programming at One Young World. A key point of collaboration here is identifying topics and themes that are most relevant to Indigenous communities. One Young World will prioritise this early, collaborative approach to topic identification to allow for knowledge sharing and discourses to be rooted in Indigenous perspectives.
Initiative 3.2.
One Young World to continue developing opportunities for Indigenous young leaders to participate in One Young World’s programmes and initiatives, and benefit from the organisation’s resources and network. To do this, One Young World will continue to establish partnerships with organisations globally which recognise the value in supporting Indigenous young leaders. This includes prioritising partnerships and opportunities which invest in Indigenous young leaders and support Indigenous entrepreneurship, to grow the global Indigenous economy and create lasting, sustainable impact. Indigenous voices will be involved in planning, implementation, and assessment processes of opportunities. Collaboration will be undertaken with clear role delineation and shared accountability.
Initiative 3.3.
One Young World to continue engaging with Indigenous partners from previous Summits and programmes, ensuring that our impact in Indigenous communities are culturally respectful and meaningful. One Young World recognises the importance in long-term engagement with Indigenous communities and organisations for deeper collaboration, establishing trust and supporting Indigenous networks in a sustainable and purposeful way.
V. Conclusion
One Young World is committed to engaging and supporting Indigenous young leaders worldwide. The prioritised objectives and initiatives outlined in this document will enable One Young World to engage with Indigenous youth effectively and collaboratively, providing them with the resources, networks, and opportunities needed to achieve their goals.
One Young World recognises the importance of ensuring this work is led by Indigenous leaders and will work in partnership with Indigenous organisations, young leaders, Elders, and community leaders to achieve shared goals and create positive change globally.
One Young World acknowledges that this journey involves ongoing learning and we are committed to adapting and improving our approach as we continue our work with Indigenous communities worldwide.
We extend a sincere thank you to all the Indigenous people, partners and organisations who have helped us learn and grow so far.
One Young World remains committed to continuous improvement, particularly when it comes to Indigenous matters, and is open and receptive to feedback and will respond in a timely manner to suggestions sent to [email protected].