The Global Next Generation Fellowship is run by Our Future Agenda, a program of the United Nations Foundation. Each cohort is a small group of young leaders aged 18 to 30, selected worldwide and serving a two-year term.
Every fellow takes one of the five SDG pillars — people, planet, prosperity, peace or partnerships — and leads the matching Action Group inside the Engine Room for the Future, the program’s Discord-based platform. The program reports that the Engine Room has reached more than two million young people, 85% of them in the Global South.
Three global cohorts have run so far. The first wrote the Our Future Agenda report; the second mobilised young people around the SDG Summit and the Summit of the Future.
The 2025–2027 cohort of seven fellows from six continents was selected from more than 6,000 applicants and is designing the 2100 Roadmap ahead of the final SDG Summit in 2027. Applications for that cohort closed on 17 February 2025 and no new call has been announced.
Benefits & funding
- A stipend reflective of experience and regional context. The amount is not published.
- A two-year term: thematic fellows commit one day a week, the partnerships lead fellow is full time.
- Tailored training and mentorship in policy advocacy, strategic communications and grassroots organising.
- A platform at high-level global forums, including the Financing for Development Conference and the final SDG Summit in 2027.
- Direct engagement with the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union and regional organisations.
- Professional development through mentorship, workshops and capacity-building programs.
- Support for grassroots mobilisation in the fellow’s own country.
Eligibility
- Aged 18 to 30.
- A track record of leadership and a commitment to change in one of the five thematic areas: people, planet, prosperity, peace, partnerships.
- A deep understanding of the challenges facing young people and future generations.
- Experience in advocacy, leadership or global governance.
- A commitment to intergenerational equity and sustainability.
- Open to all nationalities. Fellows work from their home countries; past cohorts have spanned six continents.
- No degree or minimum work experience requirement is published.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Age requirement
18–30 yrs
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Application process
- 1Choose the role when a call opens: lead fellow on the partnerships pillar (full time), or thematic fellow on people, planet, prosperity or peace (one day a week).
- 2Submit the online application form published with the call before the deadline. The 2025–2027 cycle used a Google Form.
- 3Applications go through one global selection process. The last round drew more than 6,000 applicants for seven places.
- 4Selected fellows are announced publicly and onboarded. In the last cycle the lead fellow started in March 2025 and the thematic fellows in May 2025.
Program timeline
Application deadline for the 2025–2027 cohort
Feb 17, 2025
Global lead fellow starts
2025-03
Four thematic fellows start
2025-05
2025–2027 cohort announced, seven fellows from six continents
Jul 31, 2025
Term ends around the final SDG Summit, with the 2100 Roadmap delivered
2027
Next call
not announced