Partnering with businessThe Global Alliance for YOUth – a coalition of 25 leading companies – is creating opportunities for the next generation. Together, members have generated more than 40 million development opportunities worldwide in the past four years, spanning training, mentoring, employment and entrepreneurship pathways. Global Shapers engaged executives from across the alliance to define priorities for the future of work, piloting a new model of intergenerational leadership. These dialogues highlighted how collaboration between decision-makers and young leaders can expand equitable employment pathways, empower youth in the workplace and help close generational divides. Scaling innovationThe Global Shapers Innovation Prize, enabled by Accenture and the Global Alliance for YOUth, connects young changemakers with partner companies to turn bold ideas into transformative impact. In 2024-2025, 12 winning projects tackled urgent challenges ranging from mental health and civic participation to clean water and food security. One standout, the Riohacha Hub’s Water Ambassadors initiative, provided water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure for more than 1,000 schoolchildren in rural Colombia. The project was later showcased at the Forum’s Water Industry Transformation Workshop in Geneva, illustrating how grassroots innovation can shape global discussions. By combining youth creativity with private-sector support, the Innovation Prize demonstrates how collaboration scales solutions from the community level to the international stage. Contributing to the Forum ecosystemGlobal Shapers deepened their engagement with the Forum’s wider ecosystem by serving in leadership and advisory roles. Overall, 14 Shapers contributed to Global Future Councils, contributing insights on climate, cyber, health, inclusion and nature, ensuring foresight was informed by lived realities. A total of 17 Global Shapers joined the 2025 Class of Young Global Leaders, representing 15% of the cohort and reinforcing the network’s role as an important pipeline of emerging leadership. Among them were senior government officials, pioneering entrepreneurs, climate defenders, and innovators in technology and the creative economy – each advancing transformative change in their communities and beyond. Unlocking systemic changeThis year, 15 Global Shapers were selected to lead the Youth and Social Innovation Initiative, developed with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, SAP and Hyundai Motor Group. Over the next three years, the initiative will focus on removing systemic barriers to youth innovation, shifting capital and influence toward youth-led solutions, and building authentic intergenerational partnerships. By linking Shapers with Schwab Foundation Awardees and a coalition of ecosystem partners, the initiative is scaling solutions to urgent global challenges while demonstrating the strategic value of youth-led innovation in advancing systemic change.Table 3: Building bridges across generations The Forum supports youth-led innovation and structural change by offering a unique platform for leadership development through its community model. By connecting young changemakers across a globally linked, impact-driven network – and coupling that with institutional credibility – it creates unparalleled space for advancing local action with global relevance. Thales Dantas, Member of the Global Shapers Foundation Board; Global Shaper, Florianopolis Hub; Member of the #GenerationRestoration Youth Hub Global Shapers Community: Annual Report 2024-2025 16

Global Shapers Community Annual Report 2024 2025