G20 engagement groups and the Y20 explained

The G20 is a meeting of governments, but it also listens to groups outside government: businesses, unions, think tanks, scientists, women's organisations and young people. These are its engagement groups, and one of them, the Youth 20 or Y20, exists specifically for young people. This guide explains what engagement groups are, which ones exist, how the Y20 works, what happened at recent Y20 summits and how young people take part.

What engagement groups are

India's 2023 presidency defined them: "Engagement Groups, comprising non-government participants from each G20 member, provide recommendations to the G20 Leaders and contribute towards the policy-making process." South Africa's 2025 presidency said they "define joint positions on the group's agenda topics within their independent dialogue processes," with the responsibility for forming those opinions "lying entirely in the hands of these groups." In South Africa's 2025 plan, their recommendations were to reach the ministers' meetings and "the Leaders' Summit through the Sherpa Track process."

Engagement groups do not negotiate the leaders' declaration. Governments do that. What the groups produce are recommendations, which leaders may take up or not.

Which groups exist

India's presidency listed eleven, with the years they began:

• Business20 (B20): established in 2010.
• Civil20 (C20): civil society, an official group since 2013.
• Labour20 (L20): first held formally in 2011.
• Parliament20 (P20): started in 2010.
• Science20 (S20): started in 2017.
• SAI20: supreme audit institutions, introduced in 2022.
• Startup20: started under India's presidency in 2023.
• Think20 (T20): think tanks, started in 2012.
• Urban20 (U20): cities, started in 2017.
• Women20 (W20): launched in 2015.
• Youth20 (Y20): its first conference was in 2010.

The list has changed over the years. Brazil in 2024 described thirteen groups, adding one for supreme and constitutional courts (J20) and an oceans group, "Debuting under the Brazilian presidency." South Africa in 2025 also listed thirteen, and convened a G20 Social Summit in Johannesburg, which the declaration said gave "non-government stakeholders a unique opportunity to voice their views."

What the Y20 is

The Brazilian and South African presidencies used the same description: the Y20 "enables dialogue between young people from G20 member countries," giving them the chance "to reflect on the priority agenda of youth; to influence debates; and to contribute to the preparation of public policies." Its main output is a communiqué, "a document that summarizes the main conclusions and positions agreed upon by the participants," which is meant to be "formally presented to the Summit of Heads of State." The first Y20 summit was held in Vancouver, Canada, in 2010, and "according to the G20 definition, it is aimed at young people aged 18-30."

Recent Y20 summits

India, 2023. India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports organised the Y20 Summit in Varanasi from 17 to 20 August 2023. Delegates worked on five themes: the future of work, peacebuilding and reconciliation, climate change and disaster risk reduction, youth in democracy and governance, and health, wellbeing and sports. All India Radio reported that about 125 delegates took part, that "consensus was built after resolving the differences of opinions," and that the summit ended "with the unanimous adoption of the Y20 Communique," signed by the heads of the G20 delegations.

Brazil, 2024. The Brazilian presidency said its Y20 "organized an unprecedented public selection process, prioritizing gender, racial, and regional diversity," to choose five young Brazilians as delegates.

South Africa, 2025. This Y20 ended without a communiqué. Its chairperson said this was the first time in 14 years of the Y20 process. The Mail & Guardian reported that the main dispute was over South Africa's proposal for a permanent Y20 council, which the US, UK, EU, Turkey and Saudi Arabia opposed, and that delegates also struggled over "the precise wording on fossil fuels" and language on gender. Young negotiators face the same consensus problem as governments.

United States, 2026. The Y20 Summit was held in Washington, DC, in August 2026, run by a US youth organisation, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP), with five tracks: the global economy and job creation, energy, innovation and digital transformation, fragility, conflict and violence, and food security and global health. YPFP says delegates "formally finalized" a communiqué to be presented to G20 leaders. It also says its US delegation "does not represent the U.S. federal government in any capacity." The official US presidency site does not describe an engagement-group programme for 2026.

How young people take part

Each country chooses its own Y20 delegates through its own process, and the routes differ:

• United States, 2026: five delegates, selected by YPFP from its members who were US citizens aged 22 to 30.
• Italy, 2026: recruited by the Young Ambassadors Society with Italy's foreign ministry and the prime minister's sherpa office, for candidates aged 18 to 30.
• European Union, 2026: a call open to citizens of the 27 member states, with accommodation funded and delegates paying their own airfare.
• Brazil, 2024: a public selection of five delegates.
• India, 2023: as host, India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports organised the summit.

We could not find a published Indian selection route for the 2026 Y20. If you are an Indian student interested in the Y20, watch for announcements from the Indian government and from the next presidency, and check any call's eligibility rules carefully. The Y20 pages say it is aimed at young people aged 18 to 30, and each call sets its own age limits.

Why this matters for Model G20

• It shows another voice in the room. Your Model G20 conference may simulate engagement groups. If yours does, remember that your group recommends; it does not decide.
• It is practice for the real thing. The Y20's work, drafting and negotiating a communiqué by consensus, is exactly what a Model G20 committee does.
• Its texts are useful sources. Engagement group communiqués show what business, labour or youth groups asked leaders for, which helps you argue that a proposal has support beyond governments.

What to do next

See how a G20 leaders' declaration is agreed for how recommendations reach the leaders, and the G20 Sherpa Track and Finance Track explained for the structure around them. To prepare a position for a simulation, use how to write a Model G20 position paper.

For students in Grades 8 to 12 and undergraduates, Model G20 is One Young India's simulation of the G20 summit, held as a three-day residential summit at FLAME University, where delegates negotiate a shared communiqué by consensus.