My Freedom, My Future: Stateless Youth Rising

In November 2025, the Global Movement Against Statelessness hosted "My Freedom, My Future: Stateless Youth Rising," a youth led community call that placed the voices, creativity, and leadership of stateless youth at the center of the conversation. 

Held during the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the event explored the intersections between statelessness, youth leadership, gender inequality, discrimination, and freedom. Bringing together young people with lived experience of statelessness, activists, allies, and policymakers, the call created a dynamic platform for dialogue, storytelling, and advocacy. 

The event was designed to ensure that young people did not simply participate in the discussion but actively shaped it. Through a series of one-on-one conversations, stateless youth engaged directly with activists, allies, and decision-makers, sharing personal experiences and challenging exclusionary systems. These exchanges highlighted both the barriers faced by young people affected by statelessness and theinnovative ways they are driving change within their communities. 

Creativity played a central role throughout the call. Participants took part in a youth open mic, sharing poetry, spoken word, storytelling, and personal reflections that brought lived experiences to life. These powerful contributions demonstrated how art and storytelling can be used as tools for resistance, healing, and advocacy. 

The community call also featured a creative showcase of youth-produced media, including videos and artistic expressions exploring themes of identity, belonging, freedom, and the future. By creating space for young people to tell their own stories in their own voices, the event challenged stereotypes and highlighted the resilience, talent, and leadership of stateless youth around the world. 

A key message emerging from the discussion was that young people are not only the future of the movement, they are already leading it. Participants called for greater inclusion of stateless youth in decision-making spaces and emphasized the importance of building stronger connections between lived experience, advocacy, and policy reform. 

As a movement led by people directly affected by statelessness, GMAS remains committed to creating opportunities for youth leadership, creativity, and collective action. My Freedom, My Future: Stateless Youth Rising served as a powerful reminder that when young people are given the space to lead, they bring vision, courage, and energy that strengthen the global movement to end statelessness and advance equal nationality rights for all.