The future of work is defined by uncertainty. Narrow technical know‑how becomes obsolete quickly unless it is anchored in transferable skills for life. These include critical thinking, emotional resilience, collaboration, digital literacy, ethical reasoning and self‑directed learning. Together, they function as a young person’s adaptive toolkit to navigate multiple careers, entrepreneurship, disrupted industries and constant reskilling.

Skills for life are the real “employability guarantee”: not a guarantee of one specific job, but of the capacity to remain relevant, resilient and proactive in a rapidly changing world of work.

For the BeChangeMaker movement, this means designing programmes where youth practice agency rather than only hearing about it; using entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social and environmental impact, not only income; and experiencing education and training as shared, co‑created projects that redefine what “skills for life” should mean in different contexts.

The annual BeChangeMaker Youth Festival, organized by UNESCO‑UNEVOC with the support of WorldSkills International and HP, is the space where vision comes to life. Bringing together over 300 TVET youth and BeChangeMaker alumni, the 2026 edition under the theme “The Changemaker’s Toolkit: Skills for life in the future economy” is a high‑energy forum for youth and experts to jointly respond to the skills challenge.

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Video recording

BeChangeMaker Youth Festival agenda

This years's BeChangeMaker event took place on Wednesday, 29 April 2026, from 11:00-13:35 CEST.

Young social innovators from the BCM network present concrete initiatives addressing climate vulnerability, digital exclusion, mental health and youth unemployment, while experts and TVET practitioners reflect on pathways to embed such experiences into mainstream systems.

11:00-11:30 Introduction

Welcome from programme partners

• Mr Friedrich Huebler, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC
• Mr Markus Schwertel, Director Government Affairs & Public Policy, HP
• Mr Alexander Amiri, Director of Sponsorship and Partnership, WorldSkills International
• Ms Diana Didi Belc, Lead BCM | Communications & Partnerships, YMCA Europe

11:30-12:10 Skills for life as the new success currency

Panel conversation with leading social entrepreneurs

How critical thinking, resilience, digital literacy and self-directed learning bridge volatile with labour markets and enabling lifelong employability

• Ms Jacqueline Kisato, Senior Lecturer, Mentor in Business Innovation, Incubation Kenyatta University, Kenya
• Mr Steven Harris Ramdev, Worldskills Champion, Graphic Design Technology Chief Expert, ACTVET, United Arab Emirates
• Mr Claudio Cocorocchia, Global Sales & Solutions Expansion Lead at HP

12:10-12:40 Learning through practice

Bridging employability and citizenship through skills for life

Applying skills for life to concrete issues like digital exclusion, climate vulnerability, inequality via social ventures and TVET-community hybrids

• Glovatrix - BeChangeMaker Winner 2025 (assistive technology)
• Paperpods - BeChangeMaker Winner 2025 - 3rd place (agricultural)

12:40-12:50 Life skills mapping exercise

Interactive session

12:50-13:30 Scaling skills for life

Policy, partnerships and pathways

Opportunities and projects aimed at empowering youth-led social enterprises

• Mr Markus Schwertel, Director Government Affairs & Public Policy, HP
• Ms Jessica Woitalla, Manager, Public and Private Funding, YMCA Europe
• Ms Claudia Pompa, Programme Specialist, Section of Youth, Literacy and Skills Development, UNESCO

13:30-13:35 Closing and call to action

• Ms Priscilla Gatonye, Programme Officer, Inclusion and Youth Employability, UNESCO-UNEVOC

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