Celebrating Youth
Every year on 12th August, thanks to the UN – the world marks International Youth Day, we celebrate young people—their brilliance, resilience, and boundless potential. But this year, I’m not drawn to celebration alone.
I’m drawn to a quieter, more essential question:
How are we showing up for the youth around us? Not to lead them. Not to shape them in our image. Not to fix them. But to see them. To truly witness them as they are, where they are.
There is no fixing. There is only holding. There is only walking beside.
In my coaching practice, I’ve had the privilege of sitting with young individuals navigating the messiness of becoming—uncertain, curious, defiant, tender.
And time and again, I’m reminded: youth is not a problem to solve. It is a world unfolding. There is no fixing. There is only holding. There is only walking beside.
And that’s the posture I choose to take—not as an expert, but as a witness. A fellow human. Someone who listens without rushing to advice, someone who asks questions instead of handing over answers.
Because here’s what I know:
The youth of today are carrying weight we often overlook. They’re growing up in a world that moves faster than breath. Their choices are infinite, but so is the pressure. Their access to information is unparalleled, but so is their exposure to harm. And amid this noise, what they often crave most is not another lecture, but connection. Not correction, but companionship.
They want space to be seen, to stumble, to rage, to hope, to begin again. They want to know that they’re not alone.
That’s where we come in—not with solutions, but with presence. Not to mold, but to mirror. To gently reflect back their own strength when they can’t see it. To affirm that they’re allowed to take up space while figuring life out.
To let them grow their own roots—strong, tangled, and true—and stretch their branches toward the sky in directions we might not have imagined.
So as we honour International Youth Day, I invite you into reflection.
- Who is the young person you are choosing to walk beside?
- What kind of adult are you being for them—one who demands performance, or one who offers presence?
Because youth is not defined by age alone. It is a season of transition, of tension, of tender possibility. And every single one of us has a role to play in holding that space with care.
The future doesn’t arrive fully formed. It arrives one young person at a time, carrying questions and fire and softness and doubt. Let’s be the kind of adults they don’t have to heal from. Let’s be the kind of adults who remind them: you’re allowed to grow at your own pace.
Because when we choose to walk beside youth, without agenda or ego, we don’t just change them—we change ourselves too.
Let this be the month of reflection.
- Who are you walking with? Who are you really showing up for?
- The youth are watching—and they are becoming. Let’s be worthy witnesses.
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