Advancing Youth Safety and Justice: Transformative Policies, Community Solutions, and Accountable Practices

Progress has been made in many parts of the world, including in the United States, to improve safety for, and to reduce violence against and by, adolescents and young adults. Nevertheless, the interlinked challenges of post-pandemic mental health difficulties, education and social development losses, racial and ethnic injustice, climate change, migration, the rise of autocratic governance, rapidly-advancing technologies, and the potential for greater levels of un- or under-employment are having profound effects on the outlook for youth populations. Taking into account the best available research, innovations, and case studies that highlight global best practices, might youth safety and justice systems need to be rethought and reconceived?

Since January 2020, this initiative has established a strong foundation for sustained cross-national collaboration that can have a direct impact on youth justice and safety systems. In the lead-up to and at this session, existing working groups will continue their engagement through identifying gaps not yet addressed – and strategies to fill them; plan for dissemination of findings to ensure insights reach key decision-makers, policy influencers, practitioners, and researchers; and systematize the innovations, strategies, policy recommendations, and emerging insights to ensure documentation for effective future research and implementation.

Date

Dec 01 - Dec 06, 2025

Session no.

S907-01

Location

Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria

Contact

Charles Ehrlich

Director, Peace and Justice

Kateryna Anselmi

Program Manager, Peace and Justice

Content overview

Additional Info Fellows Partners

Additional Info

Key Issues

The 2025 session will build on the thematic pillars explored in 2024, while advancing new insights generated by the focus groups. Key issues will include:

Toolkits for addressing youth violence in a broad range of political and jurisdictional contexts
The transformation of legal systems and the implementation of alternative options for youth in conflict with the law
Leveraging artificial intelligence and virtual reality to improve youth justice systems, build empathy, and increase community safety
The impact of emerging technologies and social media on youth development and their transition to adulthood
Youth involvement in gangs and organized crime, and routes to healthy reintegration into society

Goals

The December 2025 session aims to:

Elevate and disseminate the most promising ideas, frameworks, and innovations developed by the five focus groups;
Strengthen cross-national learning by examining how similar challenges are playing out — and being addressed — across diverse jurisdictions;
Identify critical gaps not yet addressed, and develop new strategies to meet them;
Build a shared agenda for change, focused on influencing decision-makers, shifting public narratives, and promoting systemic transformation at scale.

Format

The December 2025 session will follow a dynamic, participatory format designed to foster learning, co-creation, and strategic alignment. Key elements will include:

Presentations from focus groups showcasing their strategies, tools, and recommendations
Case study labs featuring promising practices and reforms from multiple jurisdictions
Peer learning and cross-group knowledge exchange
Collective planning for dissemination, advocacy, and policy influence
Informal networking and generational dialogue across fields and geographies

Participant Profile

The 2025 session will primarily bring together returning Fellows from the December 2024 session, who have been actively engaged over the past year in developing and advancing reform strategies through five dedicated focus groups. Their continued involvement ensures continuity, deepened collaboration, and a shared foundation for collective action.

Additional participants will be drawn from the broader network, specifically from Fellows who have participated in previous sessions in this initiative and have remained actively involved in related initiatives. These individuals bring complementary experience and insight that will help strengthen the group’s capacity to refine, test, and scale the solutions emerging from the focus group work.

Where necessary and depending on the gaps identified during the co-design of the agenda, new participants may be invited to contribute critical perspectives, fill sectoral or regional gaps, or bring in specific expertise or lived experience essential to advancing the conversation.