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DAWN Youth Summit meetings in Berlin, in September 2007, and Budapest, in November 2008, brought together experts and ambassadors in childhood diabetes from many countries under the auspices of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD). The aims of these multidisciplinary international DAWN Youth meetings were to define joint goals and actions to improve psychosocial support for children and young people with diabetes and their families worldwide. The development of the IDF Youth Charter and the formation of the DAWN Youth initiative have enabled a much clearer understanding of the importance of psychosocial support for young people with diabetes and their families, and of the extent to which it is lacking throughout the world. Indeed, DAWN activities such as the Fact-Finding Survey (conducted to examine the legislative and administrative provisions relating to aspects of diabetes care in different countries) and the online WebTalk Study (examining the attitudes and views of youth with diabetes, parents of those with diabetes, and diabetes healthcare professionals) have been instrumental in this regard. The DAWN Youth Summits mobilized leaders in pediatric diabetes care to define the areas where specific improvements were realistically achievable. The DAWN Youth Summits were part of a series of international DAWN Youth dialog meetings and workshops held since late 2006, some coordinated with the Psychosocial Aspects of Diabetes (PSAD) Study Group under European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and some coordinated with the IDF Diabetes Youth Charter Working Group. The Summits brought together diabetes Youth Ambassadors (young people with diabetes who were able to contribute their own experiences and views), pediatric diabetologists, pediatric diabetes psychologists, diabetes anthropologists and sociologists, healthcare policymakers, parents of children with diabetes, and representatives of national patient associations, plus communication and media experts, and advisers to the World Health Organization. Discussion at the Summits centered on the five action areas for DAWN Youth: • Improve support for children with diabetes in schools. • Provide age-appropriate education and psychosocial diabetes care. • Provide support for parents and families. • Provide peer support and networking for young people with diabetes. • Address childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes in youth. Whereas the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is considered an important future area of action for DAWN Youth, the focus of the current article is on the first four areas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]