Italy will host, from 18 to 22 May 2026, in the areas of the Po Delta and the Colli Euganei, the third edition of the Global Youth Forum, organised within the framework of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Scientific Programme “Man and the Biosphere – MAB”. The event is organised through the joint efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, the Veneto Region, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Italian National Commission for UNESCO and the Biosphere Reserves of the Po Delta and the Colli Euganei.
Hosting the Forum in Italy reflects the priority our country attaches to promoting a balanced relationship between humankind and the environment, as well as to the central role of international cooperation among States, with the active involvement of younger generations, in order to combine the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity with the adoption of sustainable economic development strategies.
With 21 UNESCO-certified Biosphere Reserves, Italy is among the most active countries in the MAB Programme, which represents one of the largest global cooperation networks for the protection of the planet.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, also with the support of its diplomatic and consular network, actively contributes to the organisation of the event by facilitating the participation of young people from low-income countries, particularly from Africa—central to Italy’s development cooperation and within the framework of the Mattei Plan—and supports the proposals developed by the young participants during the Forum.
