Organization for Youth Education & Development (OYED)

About the OYED

About the OYED

The Organization for Youth Education & Development (OYED) operates under the legal framework of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy and is organized in cooperation with national governments. The Organization is dedicated to the creation, promotion and execution of youth-oriented education and development programs. Over the past decade, the OYED has managed to bring thousands of young people together from every corner of the world to discuss and promote issues that are vital to the younger generation, and has grown to become one of Europe’s largest independent cultural exchange organizations, whose programs facilitate interaction between individuals of all backgrounds from across the world.

OYED Philosophy

The OYED understands that in a rapidly evolving and globalized world, the rights and opportunities of young people around the world are neglected far too often. As a result, both the success of these young individuals and the success of their respective countries can be unnecessarily limited. The OYED believes that the youth are the future and supporting the world’s young people is both an urgent and global priority. Since its inception, the OYED has dedicated itself to the promotion and empowerment of young leadership initiatives in order to impact the next generation of global leaders worldwide.

Role & Mission

The OYED provides the younger generation with greater access to personal development, while increasing their chances for professional opportunities. The major objectives of the OYED are to promote and empower the world’s young people through the application of cultural diplomacy initiatives at the local, national and international levels. The OYED serves as a platform to promote and sustain inter-cultural dialogue at all levels and by doing so promotes specific educational and professional opportunities for youth. 

OYED Activity

To further promote and empower youth, the OYED undertakes a wide variety of different educational and professional initiatives.

These activities include the following:
  • International Conferences & Events

    The OYED organizes and hosts events around the world at both the very high-level (including Heads of State, Ministers and Members of Parliament) and at the grass-roots level working with local communities and schools. The intention of the events is firstly to raise awareness and promote the issues that lie at the core of the OYED, secondly to expand the network of partners and youth of the OYED, and thirdly to further promote the mission of the OYED, so that it is implemented increasingly at the local, national and global levels.
  • Young Leaders’ Forums

    Through its Young Leaders Forums, the OYED is empowering the next generation of young leaders from around the world by creating exchange programs, events, programs and follow-up projects between them. By working with the next generation of leaders, the OYED and its partners have a unique opportunity to empower youth and have a long-term impact on the future global leadership.
  • Youth Initiatives

    The OYED has launched a number of Youth Initiatives, which are designed to lobby important youth issues that need to be implemented in national, regional and international parliaments and governments. The youth initiatives aim to increase parliamentarian and current leadership involvement in youth related issues as well as increasing youth involvement within parliaments and institutions by bringing together young people and senior leaders to work together to promote solutions to youth issues.
  • Internship Project

    The OYED Internship Project, which has now existed for seven years, was officially launched in January 2008 and has been successful in achieving its main purpose of enabling like-minded students and young professionals to come to Berlin and engage in intercultural and international programs. The internship program is an ongoing, evolving project and, as such its ultimate goal is to enable and empower young professionals to engage in intercultural relations and in so doing promote multiculturalism worldwide.
  • Research & Development

    The OYED is constantly conducting research about the current situation of youth within different countries and institutions in the world and attempting to identify both opportunities for further OYED developments as well as positive examples of successful youth empowerment.