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  3. How can youth help the world build sustainable, resilient urban and rural communities?

How can youth help the world build sustainable, resilient urban and rural communities?

Youth from all over the world gathered at the United Nations to have their voices heard at the ECOSOC Youth Forum, held on 30-31 January 2018 in New York. They took the opportunity to address the challenges that today’s generation faces and to engage Member States in policy discussions.

Throughout the Forum, the SDG Media Zone live-streamed interviews and panel discussions across multiple platforms to engage with young people globally. For those who missed it, you can read all about Day 1 and Day 2 by following the links. Participants ranged from YouTube influencers, youth leaders, and policy makers; to actors and actresses.

  • Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to gender equality as a crucial thread for the entire 2030 Agenda in a discussion called Women Leaders of the UN, alongside Under-Secretary-General for Management Jan Beagle, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake, and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ursula Mueller.
  • In Why the Youth Forum matters, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth - in conversation with the President of ECOSOC - said that young people were here to show that they were talking action: “We don’t wait for an invitation.”
  • Megan Boone, actress on the TV show “The Blacklist”, announced the launch of a short film contest showcasing action for sustainable development called Picture This - Festival for the Planet.
  • Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize winner from Liberia and UN SDG Advocate, talked about the importance of education in holding peaceful elections in Liberia, and the need to establish partnerships to bring young people closer to the UN, and the UN closer to them.
  • A team of eight teenagers from Minnesota, USA, shared what lessons they learned while working on the Green Girls Robotics Team and how it contributed to their desire to pursue engineering as a career.

Please visit this website to catch up on all 21 panels, including a panel in Chinese by famous actor/singer and UNICEF Special Advocate for Education Wang Yuan, whose panel on the UN Weibo channel was viewed more than 1.1 million times. And have a look at our panels in Spanish and French.

How can youth help the world build sustainable, resilient urban and rural communities?

How can youth help the world build sustainable, resilient urban and rural communities?

While in New York for the annual Economic and Social Council Youth Forum, youth leaders from around the world shared with UN News some of their thoughts – centred around promoting awareness, driving engagement, enhancing youth participation in decision-making, as well as in the STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

Photos of the 2018 ECOSOC Youth Forum.

Source: UN DPI - UN ECOSOC - UN DESA