Tsinghua Initiative on Advancing Global Values Education for Youth
(May 12, 2026)
To promote international exchange and collaboration in youth values education, as well as to build a global consensus on this important issue, the 2026 International Academic Forum on Youth Values Education, jointly hosted by Tsinghua University, Wuhan University, and Northeast Normal University, was held at Tsinghua University on May 11–12, 2026. Centered on the theme “Values Education for Youth in the Future: China and the World”, the forum brought together more than 170 representatives from 10 countries and regions around the world. The participants unanimously agreed to launch the following initiative to advance youth values education.
Values education refers to the educational practices that transmits positive values to the younger generation and promotes their understanding, identification with, and conscious enactment of those values. It bears not only on personal growth and family well-being, but also on social harmony, national prospects, and shared future of humanity. At present, youth values education faces new challenges arising from globalization, digitalization, and increasing cultural diversity. Addressing these challenges requires all sectors of society to build consensus, act in coordination, and assume greater social responsibility for the values education of young people.
Governments play a leading role in youth values education. They should continuously improve institutional design and policy frameworks for values education, while coordinating efforts among schools, families, communities, enterprises, and public institutions. Governments should also promote fine traditional values and the core values of society, and cultivate a broader social environment that honors virtue, encourages moral excellence, and inspires goodness.
Schools are the primary setting for youth values education. They should more consciously integrate values education into curricula, campus culture, and social practice, while adopting diverse approaches—including role modeling, knowledge transmission, emotional engagement, cultural immersion, and behavioral cultivation—to promote education that engages all participants, spans the entire educational process, and operates across multiple dimensions for youth well-being.
Families are the first setting for youth values learning. They should place equal emphasis on instruction and example, cultivate positive family traditions, and subtly transmit positive values through everyday life and interactions. Families should also guide young people in understanding and navigating value conflicts appropriately, helping them “button the first button of life” properly by establishing sound values from an early age.
Communities are important venues for youth values learning. Community activities should be attentive to their influence on young people’s values, leverage local economic, social, and cultural strengths, and provide rich resources, volunteer service opportunities, and effective guidance for youth values learning.
Enterprises and public institutions are vital social sphere for youth values education. They should develop programs accessible to young people, clearly articulate the core values they advocate and uphold, and help youth understand the significance of values across a wide range of professional activities, including production, management, decision-making, and service.
Media are key disseminators of positive values. They bear the responsibility of promoting truth, goodness, and beauty, and conveying positive social energy. In reporting and information dissemination, media should uphold ethical standards, resist vulgar and harmful content, and foster a healthy and uplifting media environment that supports youth values learning.
Public figures exert a significant influence on the formation of youth values. They should strive to serve as exemplars of positive values, exercise self-discipline, and uphold moral integrity as well as professional excellence. Through both their conduct and work, they should actively convey positive values and serve as role models for young people.
Researchers bear an important responsibility for exploring the dynamics and underlying patterns of youth values learning and education in the contemporary era. They should actively advance both foundational theory and applied research, identify substantive problems, and develop new frameworks, in collaboration with schools, families, and local communities. In doing so, they can provide intellectual leadership and theoretical support for the continuous improvement of educational practice.
While artificial intelligence is reshaping adolescents’ cognitive processes and modes of social interaction, it also brings risks such as information cocoons, algorithmic bias, and value disorientation. All stakeholders should work together to strengthen digital literacy education for young people and promote the integration of AI ethical principles and positive value standards throughout the entire process of technological development and application. In this way, value rationality can guide technological advancement, enabling artificial intelligence to truly foster the values learning and healthy development of the younger generation.
Young people, as the hope of society and the future of nations, should become conscious practitioners of positive values. They should internalize these values and translate them into action, deepen their understanding of themselves and the world through learning, reflection, and practice, gradually forming their own value orientations while establishing firm value convictions.
The international community encompasses diverse value traditions. Youth values education should help young people respect and appreciate this diversity, while promoting dialogue and exchange among different traditions and fostering shared human values that support peace and prosperity.
Looking ahead, let us work together to build a global community for youth values education, and forge a solid foundation of values for the healthy development of younger generations and the sustainable progress of human society.
