International Youth Day: When a conversation becomes a calling

In the corridor of the School and University Health Service for Adolescents and Young People (SSSU-SAJ) in Dabou, Côte d’Ivoire, two teenage girls slow their pace. They have just attended a session on the menstrual cycle, contraception, and sexual and reproductive health led by Noura Fatim Touré. One turns to the other.

“If she hadn’t called us over, you would have got pregnant today… it would have been over for you.”

Just minutes earlier, the activity had seemed no different from the many awareness-raising sessions organised to promote the Hello Ado application. Then the two girls quietly approach Noura.

They tell her they had planned to meet their boyfriends that day. But the conversation they have just had has made them reconsider.

“Thank you, big sister. We were on our way to meet our boyfriends, but after talking with you, we decided to go home and think things through.”

The day a calling was born

As the two girls walk away, Noura stands still for a moment.

She has already led countless discussions on these topics. Yet this time, something feels different. She realises that sometimes, just a few minutes of conversation at the right moment can change the course of a life.

“That conversation made me realise the impact I could have on young people’s lives. In those moments, I wasn’t just a stranger, I was their big sister, someone they could trust, someone they could ask questions without feeling judged.”

That day, one certainty takes shape.

“I told myself: this is what I want to do for a living. I want to improve adolescents’ and young people’s sexual and reproductive health, raise awareness, and help them make informed decisions about their sexuality.”

Without realising it, that conversation in the corridor of a health centre would go on to shape every major decision she made.

The following academic year, she enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree in Project Management. A few years later, she completed a Master’s degree in Project Management, specialising in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL).

Turning commitment into expertise

Her choice of studies was not the only decision guided by this newfound purpose.

Having joined UNESCO’s Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O3) Programme in 2021 through the NGO OSEFF, and becoming a member of the West and Central Africa Commitment Youth Community in Côte d’Ivoire in 2023, Noura gradually discovered another dimension of youth engagement.

Beyond raising awareness, she came to understand that young people can also help monitor, analyse and improve the public policies that affect their lives.

“I gradually realised that meaningful youth participation goes beyond involvement in activities. It also means equipping young people to understand, monitor, analyse and question the implementation of the public policies that concern them.”

When it came time to choose the topic for her Master’s dissertation, the decision felt obvious.

She dedicated her research to the accountability of the West and Central Africa Commitment (WCA Commitment) in Côte d’Ivoire—an initiative she had first encountered through community engagement before helping promote it among other young people.

“UNESCO not only introduced me to the WCA Commitment through the O3 Programme and gave me the opportunity to promote it; it also provided me with the tools to turn it into a genuine subject of research, analysis and professional engagement.”

Her research enabled her to work closely with UNESCO teams and partners involved in the WCA Commitment. Through these exchanges, she developed an in-depth understanding of accountability mechanisms, built a strong professional network, and gained experience that extended far beyond the classroom.

A few months later, she graduated with distinction.

A journey that comes together

Looking back, Noura now sees a common thread connecting every stage of her journey: a conversation with two teenage girls, community engagement, academic studies, a Master’s dissertation, and the beginnings of professional expertise.

None of these milestones would have taken quite the same shape without the one before it. Together, they chart the path of a young woman who chose to turn her commitment into a career.

The O3 Programme did not map out her future for her. It created opportunities to learn, engage and develop her potential. Noura chose to seize those opportunities and, over time, transformed them into expertise that she now hopes to place at the service of other young people.

Looking ahead

Today, Noura hopes to contribute to programmes that place young people at the heart of designing, monitoring and evaluating the public policies that affect them, not simply as beneficiaries, but as partners in driving change.

The two girls she met that afternoon will probably never know that their conversation also changed the life of the person listening to them.

They left with information that helped them make a more informed decision.

Noura left with a conviction that continues to guide every choice she makes.

Since then, she has supported other young people in making informed decisions about their futures, just as someone once helped her realise that sometimes, a few minutes of listening can change the course of a life.