A UNESCO drive to get more young people into decision-making bodies, including those on how to prevent wars, won the backing of France's foreign minister on Tuesday, as the country faces a wave of student protests, many of which have turned violent, Reuters reported from Paris. The appeal, formally adopted by the UN's cultural and education agency after being drafted by 145 young representatives from 135 countries, calls for youth representation in decision-making bodies, conflict prevention and mediation mechanisms. The initiative comes at a time when student-led protests in recent weeks have highlighted frustration among some young people over their perceived lack of influence on political decisions.

'Young people's voices matter,' Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on X following UNESCO's backing of the appeal — his own post on the platform is the primary record of France's endorsement. 'Peace among nations, like civic peace, rests on the ability of enlightened women and men to settle their differences respectfully, recognising that they share a common future,' Barrot added, Reuters reported. The UNESCO proposal also urged governments to establish an international framework to govern artificial intelligence, which the signatories describe as a new threat to peace, and to create public mechanisms to monitor implementation of their recommendations.

The youth question also ran through UNESCO's own governing meetings in Paris this week. The agency's Executive Board concluded its 225th session on Tuesday, addressing the UNESCO 80 roadmap, reform of its field office network and the proposed 2028–2029 programme and budget, and examining a possible international recommendation on youth and digital environments in the age of artificial intelligence, ahead of an extraordinary General Conference session scheduled for January 29, 2027, Qatar News Agency reported via Fana News. The Board's president, Dr Nasser bin Hamad Al Hinzab, said member states had adopted several important decisions despite differing views. Back in France, high school students are due to join a new round of national protests on Saturday, vowing to bring the government to account over what they call a dysfunctional system, worsened by spending cuts spurred by France's budget crunch, with student bodies demanding to be heard, Reuters reported.

Sources: Reuters, 'France backs UNESCO drive to involve more young people in political decisions', 20 October 2026; Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot's post on X, 20 October 2026, as quoted by Reuters; Qatar News Agency via Fana News, 'UNESCO Executive Board Adopts Decisions to Advance Organization's Work', 20 October 2026.