What becomes of a child born in a conflict zone? A girl with no access to books or safe schools? A boy who spends his teenage years in a refugee camp rather than a classroom? What world are they growing up to inherit — and more importantly, what chances are we giving them to shape it?
Across borders and belief systems, there is a shared understanding: today’s youth are tomorrow’s decision-makers, innovators, and peacebuilders.
But while this truth is widely echoed, it is far from universally realised.
Millions of young people continue to be excluded from the opportunities that allow them to fulfil their potential — not due to a lack of ambition, but because of war, displacement, poverty, and systemic inequality.
Young people make up over 42 per cent of the world’s population. Yet, in regions hardest hit by instability, climate disruption, and conflict, they remain underrepresented in development agendas.
The United Nations reports that over 267 million young people globally are not engaged in employment, education, or training, and refugee populations face significant barriers to accessing higher education.
This situation highlights a critical challenge in realising the potential of youth and ensuring inclusive and equitable access to learning opportunities.
EMERGENCY AID: It is within this reality that The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) operates, providing a model of humanitarian intervention rooted in dignity, and long-term opportunity.
Since its establishment under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of TBHF, the Foundation has touched the lives of over 6 million people through more than 230 humanitarian and development projects across over 37 countries.
STORIES OF HOPE: Behind these numbers are stories that reflect the determination of a generation navigating extraordinary challenges.
A refugee girl in Sudan returning to school after years of displacement.
A young man in Lebanon launching a small business after completing a TBHF-supported skills course.
A teenager in Gaza advocating for girls’ education in her community after surviving trauma.
Their resilience is visible, urgent, and transformational.
These stories are a reminder that support must be measured by outcomes, not intentions. TBHF designs its programmes around that principle, ensuring every intervention is community-driven, evidence-based, and youth-centred.
Every TBHF initiative is grounded in a holistic understanding of what young people need to thrive.
Even in emergency contexts, TBHF ensures that education, mental health, and long-term recovery are prioritised.
It recognises that rebuilding futures must go beyond immediate aid — it must restore a sense of agency, stability, and hope.
As the world observes International Youth Day 2025, the Foundation calls for more than reflection. It calls for structural change.
The communities TBHF serves have shown that youth are not waiting to be supported — they are already leading, already innovating, already rebuilding what was lost.
In the words of Alya Obaid Al Musaiebi, Director of The Big Heart Foundation: “We often speak about supporting youth to become leaders as a future goal. However, for many young people in the communities we serve, leadership isn’t a choice; it’s a necessity born from crisis.”
“They are already solving problems, holding families together, and rebuilding what was lost. Our role is not just to support youth, but to remove the barriers that were never theirs to face. True progress begins when we stop asking what youth need to become — and start asking what systems need to change so they can thrive.”
With every school rebuilt, every training programme delivered, and every young voice uplifted, The Big Heart Foundation affirms a simple truth: When supported and provided with access to opportunities and platforms to tell their stories, youth don’t just recover from hardship — they transform it into momentum.
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