FOSI 2026 European Forum : Youth Voices | Malala on Why Young People Deserve a Seat at the Table

During FOSI’s 2026 European Forum, Malala joined fellow youth representatives from Child Focus to share her perspective on why meaningful youth participation is essential to creating a safer and more inclusive digital world. Her remarks are shared below.

“Adults often say that young people are the future. But if we are the future, then why are we so rarely included in decisions that concern us? I want to talk about why it is important for young people to be involved in discussions and choices that affect their lives. Young people experience social media every day. We grow up with it and we know how it can affect our mental health, our confidence and the way we see the world. This is why listening to us is really important. We understand our reality better than anyone else. Every generation is different and life changes with it. Adults grew up with a reality which is completely different from ours. That is why it is important to include young people in discussions about our own generation.

Many young people feel frustrated when adults think that we are “too young to understand”. In reality, we understand what it feels like to grow up in the actual digital world because we live it every day. I have heard the opinions of many young people, and many of them have really interesting things to say, but a lot of them don’t feel listened to. Many think they can’t express their opinion because nobody asks them, but if their voices were truly taken seriously, I know that many more young people would speak up and be engaged.

And this is not just a theory; I experienced it myself with the DGDE. With this, I realized how useful our ideas can be when they are really listened to. For example, we worked on the mental health of young people and discovered that we were in a difficult situation. Many young people are living with anxiety and emotional stress, and the mental health of young people has become a serious issue. We also understood how important solidarity and listening are for helping young people to feel better.

And this issue does not only exist online. Recently in Belgium, many young people felt like their voices were missing from discussions about educational reforms such as the new ‘tronc commun’ system. But we are the ones who experience school every single day. We understand the pressure, the stress and the reality of the education system better than anyone. We are not asking to control everything, but simply asking to be listened to because if decisions concern young people, then we deserve a place in the conversation. A safer internet and a healthier society can only exist if young people are listened to, respected and included.”