What is unique about CYP?

Our mission is grounded within a rights-based approach, guided by the realities facing young people in the Commonwealth, and anchored in the belief that young people are:

• A force for peace, democracy, equality and good governance;
• A catalyst for global consensus building; and
• An essential resource for sustainable development and poverty eradication.

We believe that development and human rights are inter-related, and that the two cannot be separated. In other words, young people are entitled to development as a basic human right. In practice this means that all our work is designed to promote and defend youth basic right to development through decent work, education, equal opportunity, empowerment and participation.

"Empowering young people means creating and supporting the enabling conditions under which young people can act on their own behalf, and on their own terms, rather than at the direction of others."

CYP is also the only inter-governmental youth development agency that has young people participating at every level of its management and operations. We hope this will become a model throughout the field of youth development.