At the North American Invitational Model United Nations, I saw the future of leadership—and it’s bright.

When the world’s troubles close in, when one crisis piles onto another and another, when more seems to be going wrong than right, despair can be close at hand. While this may be true, I have an antidote: Spend time with the “earnest young people,” as my wife Susie calls them.

Susie calls them “earnest” as a major compliment. She first used the phrase when she joined me for dinner with a group of UNICEF USA youth leaders from around the U.S. She was taken by their passion for making the world better, the commitment of time and talent to more than their core studies and their upbeat and positive spirits.

I had another opportunity to spend time with some earnest young people last week at an international Model UN conference in Washington, D.C., where I delivered a keynote speech. Called the North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN), the event is one of the oldest UN simulations for high school students in North America and the world, drawing some 3,300 participants for four days of discussion, negotiation and debate to seek solutions to world problems. Model UN focuses students on the act and art of diplomacy. I think of diplomacy as negotiating in a way to deliver positive outcomes while leaving little to no ill will on either side.??

And don’t we need that today? Conversations, negotiations and relationships that leave little to no ill will on either side? I asked the delegates to remember and model that as they set out using the tools of research, debate, speech writing and negotiation to find solutions to some of the most pressing issues in our world.??

In my remarks, I shared with these earnest young people that at UNICEF USA, we describe our big goal—what we are finding the solution for—this way: Every child, healthy, educated, protected and respected.?

While we use the phrase “every child,” we mean it broadly to include young people. And when we say “respected,” I told the delegates, we mean it. We respect who they are, what they think, what they say and what they do. We know that when those in power see young people and hear their ideas, we will make better decisions and the world will be a better place, not only in the future they will inherit, but in the present world in which we all live.?

At UNICEF USA, we create platforms for youth to speak to world leaders, including?at the UN. Here in the U.S., we also bring young people to speak to leaders in Congress. In cities, we promote what we call child-centered governance, which gives young people a seat at the table where decisions about programs and budgets are made.?

Young people matter—their ideas, their voices, their futures. And the leadership they provide is so needed, both through Model UN (the NAIMUN conference is entirely student-organized and led) and in other ways on their campuses and in their communities. ??

I also encouraged them to bring a child rights lens to their Model UN work. The most ratified human rights treaty in the world is the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It has inspired governments to change laws and policies and make investments so that more children can thrive by adhering to these four guiding principles of the child rights approach:?

1. Non-discrimination: Is every child and young person being treated fairly and protected from discrimination??
2. Best interest of the child: Are we ensuring that all our actions and decisions prioritize the well-being and development of the child???
3. Right to survival: Are we considering the physical, emotional and social well-being of every child who may be impacted by our decisions??
4. Participation: Are we creating spaces and processes to engage children and young people in the decision-making process???

The crises for children and young people around the world keep on coming. When we face these challenges in our work at UNICEF USA, we lean into this commitment: We won’t stop until every child is healthy, educated, protected and respected.?

I know the earnest young people won’t stop either!