New Edition of Student Activism Toolkit for a World of 8 Billion
Written by Barbara Huth, Online Learning Manager | Published: June 8, 2026
Our annual student video contest has shown us that teens want their voices heard on important global issues. Contest winners often tell us that they are motivated to continue working on the global population challenges introduced in their videos. The 2025 high school first place winner for the child wellbeing topic, Ha Jin Sung, said that after participating in the contest she felt more passionate about advocating for change.
“There are sustainable solutions out there which are already making great strides … we just need to shine light on them and help implement them worldwide.”
We recently updated the Activism Toolkit on our World of 8 Billion website to equip middle and high school students with practical tools to explore local and global challenges and take meaningful steps toward change. The toolkit offers background readings on past contest topics to inspire and deepen understanding of pressing global issues and an awareness journal to help them observe, reflect on, and brainstorm ways to meet community needs. The Activism Toolkit provides student-friendly resources and a roadmap that empowers them to keep making an impact on issues they care about. There are customizable digital and printable worksheets that help students brainstorm ideas, set goals, and develop activism plans. We also included a teacher’s guide to help educators incorporate the toolkit into their classes, but the materials are designed so that students can navigate them easily on their own.
An activism roadmap
The centerpiece of the toolkit is a five-step roadmap, which is equipped with tools, ideas, and structure to help students along their activism journey. It serves as an approachable framework for young people to organize and carry out an activism project. There are downloadable, ready-to-use resources throughout, including an impact plan to set goals and an activism commitment sheet to track progress and achievements.
Learn About Activism provides background on activism and its role in raising awareness and driving change and introduces the different pathways an activist can take to make a difference, whether as individuals or collectively.
Choose and Define Your Challenge asks young activists to consider why working on their issue is important to them and members of their community, and what changes they would like to see locally and globally.
Explore Activism Activities presents some of the many ways student activism can take shape, from small daily habits to larger community efforts. We group these into four categories: daily changes, creative expression, civic engagement, and amplifying voices.
Set Goals and Plan prompts students to create an impact plan for what they want to accomplish. In this step, they will further research their challenge, plan the activities they will undertake, and set a timeline to accomplish their goals.
Take Action and Share encourages students to implement their plans, take action, share their progress with others, and consider the next steps needed to continue making a difference.
For the different types of activism presented in Step 3, we include specific examples paired with helpful outside resources. Students could take individual actions such as trying to eat local foods that are in season, or they could take collective actions such as starting a school composting program. They could create art — a song, a photograph, a mural, or something else — that illuminates an issue. They could develop civic skills by contacting their legislators or joining a global youth organization such as the UNESCO Youth Climate Action Network. The roadmap also includes resources to help teens share their message, such as a template for writing a letter to the editor of a publication, a guide to starting a podcast, and websites for finding and attending, or even organizing, a rally. These examples show students practical, personal actions they can take and group efforts they can participate in to amplify their collective impact.
Commitment to activism
The goal of the toolkit is to inspire young people to remain informed, engaged citizens on the environmental and social issues they care about. When students finish the roadmap, they are encouraged to continue reflecting, revising, and revisiting earlier steps to make their mark as global changemakers.
The Activism Toolkit is available on the World of 8 Billion website here.
Email Barbara at bhuth@populationeducation.org