Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder

Global Opportunity Youth Network Announces New Multi-Year Phase of Support from Accenture to Expand Opportunity Youth

Washington DC, October 27, 2026—The Aspen Institute’s Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN) is pleased to announce the launch of a new phase of support from Accenture. This multi-year, $5.9 million grant will enable GOYN to connect more than 422,000 Opportunity Youth to a journey toward economic mobility, improve the employability of more than 334,000 Opportunity Youth, and transform the lives of more than 122,000 Opportunity Youth across 18 communities in Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, and South Africa. Building on the work delivered since 2020, these results will be critical for GOYN and its community and youth partners as they work toward the goal of reaching over 2 million Opportunity Youth by 2030. 

In the targeted communities, Opportunity Youth face mounting barriers to decent work: limited access to market-relevant skills, exclusion from the design of programs meant to serve them, and insufficient employer engagement to ensure training matches their requirements and leads to sustained employment. This renewed support will deepen GOYN’s work for young people who are most disconnected from opportunity, particularly those left out of formal education or workforce systems, living in more remote geographies, or confronting the steepest structural barriers. 

Since GOYN’s inception, Accenture’s support has helped develop a range of GOYN capabilities and innovations, including GOYN’s Learning Lab (a comprehensive resource for global knowledge sharing), the Youth Innovation Fund (providing micro-grants to youth-led community projects), and its Data Platform (community-level data capability to track youth journeys and assess progress and impact). 

“Accenture brings a powerful combination of meaningful funding and deep expertise to help build GOYN’s overall strategy and organizational capacity, particularly in the critical areas of technology, data, and artificial intelligence. We are truly grateful to have such a respected global company as a champion and ally on our journey to ignite the untapped potential of millions of Opportunity Youth across the globe.” – Jamie McAuliffe, Founding Director, GOYN 

“Accenture has been a core global strategic partner for GOYN since it launched, helping to design, refine and evolve its overall strategy, including its data and AI capabilities. Our partnership accelerates and scales community-led strategies to advance employment opportunities for young people aged 15-29 who are out of school, unemployed, or working in informal jobs. We are proud to strengthen our partnership and continue to reinvent how we help young people build sustainable livelihoods and contribute to thriving communities.” – Jill Huntley, Global Managing Director, Corporate Citizenship Lead at Accenture 

About the Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN) 

Hosted at the Aspen Institute and managed in partnership with the Global Development Incubator (GDI), GOYN improves economic outcomes for “Opportunity Youth” – young people aged 15-35 who are talented, motivated, and ready to work but face structural barriers to decent employment. Currently in 20 communities across ten countries, GOYN makes a long-term commitment to its communities, bringing training organizations, employers, and policymakers together to tackle the systemic employment challenges that Opportunity Youth face. Young people themselves co-lead in designing solutions relevant to the local context, opening doors to sustainable livelihoods and stable, vibrant communities. 

By the end of 2025, GOYN had connected over 1 million Opportunity Youth, of whom more than 327,500 accessed opportunities to improve their employability through career counselling, mentoring, skilling, or work experience, and over 132,900 secured income-generating opportunities through employment or entrepreneurship. 

About the Aspen Institute 

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.