The International Youth Conference (IYC) is a direct result of a call to action for youth attending the 68th UN Civil Society Conference (UNCSC), held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, from 26 to 28 August 2019. The Salt Lake City Conference featured strong youth participation: of the 5000 participants attending the UNCSC.

The Outcome Statement of UNCSC2019 was that The significance and potential of youth. More broadly, we affirm the need to empower all generations with education, skills, and opportunities. These will allow youth to sustain themselves; contribute to the health, well-being, prosperity, and resilience of society; and thereby enable all generations to thrive.

Following the 2019 UN Civil Society Conference ( UNCSC ) Some youth convened to launch the International Youth Conference (IYC) with the support of the UN Civil Society Unit, Department of Global Communications, UN-Habitat, and International Association for the advancement of innovative approaches to global challenges IAAI – Golcha, an NGO formally associated with the department.