Young Academies of science and the humanities around the globe have developed a "Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Young Academies", a statement of their common core principles. The Declaration is based on the scientific excellence and disciplinary breadth of its members, which enable an interdisciplinary discourse, as well as the commitment at the interface to politics and society.

As a direct result of the fourth Global Meeting of Young Academies in July 2019 in Da Nang, Vietnam, the Declaration was presented at the World Science Forum in Budapest on 20 November 2019 at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. For the first Young Academy - the German Die Junge Akademie - Michael Saliba (also a member of the Global Young Academy, GYA) explained the special role of the Young Academies worldwide.

While the Young Academy in Germany was still a daring experiment when it was founded in 2000, the concept has now proven to be very successful not only here, since there are now more than 40 Young Academies in all regions of the world. With this increasing number, the need for a consensus on the basic principles and values that Young Academies possess has emerged for the further development of this active and growing community.

Under the coordination of the GYA, nearly 40 Young Academies from around the world have come together in recent months to develop a set of guiding principles, including the following: Excellence, Diversity & Inclusivity, Responsibility, Knowledge-based Evidence, Independence & Transparency and Integrity.

In addition to these core principles, young academics worldwide are encouraged to establish a Young Academy in countries where none exists. Existing Young Academies are encouraged to continue to align their activities with the newly codified core principles. In addition, cooperation between established science academies and representatives of the Young Academies is to be strengthened.