CHILDREN’S 500
2025
LILLEHAMMER, NORWAY
CATALOGUE WEXFO 2025 YOUTH PARTICIPATION
An Invitation to Listen, Connect and Act
This 2025 edition of the Children’s 500 highlights inspiring individuals connected to WEXFO, and builds on our presence at the conferences in 2023 and 2024 — where we met people deeply committed to youth participation and children’s rights.
At ChildPress, we believe in the power of young people — and in those who stand beside them. That’s why we share stories of changemakers: young voices and the adults who support them. People who speak up, who listen, and who help create real change.
These are not just names. They are people to learn from, connect with, and be inspired by. Because too often, essential voices — especially those of children and youth — go unheard.
The Children’s 500 wants to change that. Let this be more than a magazine.
Let it be an invitation — to discover, to connect, and to take part.
We cover each one of you!
WEXFO 2025
Childpress
KRISTENN EINARSSON
AUTHOR & MANAGING DIRECTOR OF WEXFO
It is difficult to have intergenerational meeting places if generation number two, the adults, doesn’t show up.
Many young people want more dialogue with adults. We have to find ways to make that happen.
We have to stop seeing young people just as young voices, they are experts. They are here because of their competence.
“I'm an old man trying to do some good for the young.”
CHILDPRESS AT WEXFO
2025
In a world that too often listens only to the loudest or most powerful voices, young people around the globe are speaking up — with conviction, with courage, with hope. Not to ask if they may speak, but to show they already are. Everywhere. Every day.
What you will read in this magazine is not a collection of polite interviews. It’s testimony. It’s declaration. It’s a call — from Ukraine, Poland, Thailand, Norway, Palestine, Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. These are voices of youth who know what it feels like not to be heard. Who don’t just study radicalization — they live next to it, and live in it. Who understand that freedom of expression is not a given, but a responsibility. They speak of censorship. Of safety. Of hope as strategy. Of action, not just conversation — because while words can inspire, it’s action that reshapes the world. These young people don’t want a symbolic seat at the table — they want to help design the table itself. With others. Across difference. Across borders.
And as outdated systems struggle with mistrust, they say: give us space. Give us each other. Give us the chance to share stories, to build platforms, and to rebuild trust.
This magazine doesn’t aim for smooth, polished slogans. What you’ll find are words that challenge, touch, and wake us up. Every quote, every thought, every voice is a building block. For tomorrow. For now. For those who are ready to listen.
NATIONAL
LOCAL
Youth engagement starts local. Trust them, include them, and they will lead the way — especially where trust in authority is fragile.
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LOCAL
I believe in the power of people who share the same values — defending press freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression. My name is Karina, and as a writer and human rights advocate, I stand for these rights every day.
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LOCAL
In my country, speaking the truth can be treated as a crime. Calling the war a war is forbidden — the government sees it as spreading fakes. For that, people risk up to 15 years in prison. This is what military censorship looks like.
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LOCAL
What we learned here doesn’t stop at the conference. We want to take this energy back home — to speak up, take action, and create spaces where others can do the same.
Everything begins with a conversation. When we talk and listen, we learn. And once we understand, we start to care — and act.
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LOCAL
We must hold power to account — not with anger, but with conversation and pressure. Real youth participation starts when decision-makers commit to listening.
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LOCAL
Critical thinking is our superpower — our best defense against manipulation and fake news. But in a world full of opinions and blurred facts, real truth begins with listening, questioning, and respecting one another.
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Hope is built through action. We can use it as a strategy to mobilize people and create real commitment through solidarity.
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Expression helps us evolve — alone and together. That’s why our most powerful action is standing in solidarity.
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LOCAL
Remember how you made each other feel — because in a world that forgets too easily, remembering is resistance. Let memory be your lesson, your challenge, and your call to action.
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LOCAL
We don’t just want to talk — we want to act. Give us the tools, the skills, and the space to make a real impact.
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Real change starts with practical steps — even the ones you take home today. Authoritarian regimes count on our silence and division. But we’re strongest when we stand together. You don’t have to think big to make an impact — just believe you’re here for a reason.
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LOCAL
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Youth radicalization is a threat — but silence is part of the cause. Young people deserve real spaces to speak, not just symbolic seats at the table. Diversity begins when every voice is heard, especially the ones we’re not used to hearing.
LOCAL
Young people have the right to be taken seriously — not just sometimes, not just when it’s convenient. We may still be growing, uncertain at times, but we show up. That courage deserves to be met with respect.
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LOCAL
We don’t need power to speak for us — we need it to step aside and listen. True allyship means using your privilege to make space. A real forum for expression must reflect the whole world — not just the voices of Western Europe.
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Representation is not enough. True inclusion means listening — especially when the voices come from outside the spotlight.
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True inclusion means more than inviting voices — it means giving the mic, the stage, and the space to lead. If we want to understand global realities, we must listen to those who live them — and give them what they need to be heard.
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Your story matters. When we share it, we build community — across borders, across struggles. That’s how change grows.
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Tomorrow isn’t just a name — it’s a space where ideas from 54 countries meet. By sharing what we have, we unlock the power to fund, build, and rally. Real change starts when we centralize our creativity and act together.
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LOCAL
Freedom of expression is tested in crisis — but that’s also when we learn not to judge too quickly. We need the courage to speak, the humility to listen, and the will to stay open. Every system has limits — but every person has a voice.
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LOCAL
The right to know!