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The 2018 Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum was held on 30 and 31 January, at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Forum, which the Council has been convening since 2012, continued to grow in size and stature, bringing together 38 Ministers and senior officials, the largest number to date, and more than 700 youth participants from around the world.
One of the highlights of the events was the dialogue between Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.
The conversation revolved around the Forum theme, ‘the role of youth in building sustainable and resilient urban and rural communities’ and how youth can engage in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by UN Member States in 2015.
Ms. Mohammed said that the Agenda 2030 was “shaped with youth” and young people were “the loudest voice” in the ground-breaking My World survey, in which almost 10 million made their voices heard during the UN system-wide discussions on the landmark 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She encouraged youth to “make noise” for their voices to be heard.
Stressing that the importance of youth engagement by Member States in their national plans to implement the SDGs, Ms. Wickramanayake said: “We talk about leaving no one behind but if we don’t keep up with that phase, young people will leave the UN behind.”
Also addressing the Forum was General Assembly President Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, who stressed that “if we neglect young people, we will not achieve a single SDG.”
He highlighted the role of youth in innovations that help reverse the trends that are harming the planet as well as in preventing conflict and building peace.
“I want to conclude with a blunt truth: our international system simply was not set up for young people. If you look at photographs of the signing of the UN Charter, you will not see any young men or young women. That is why, for years, young people were not seen – and were not heard – in the conference rooms, like this one,” he said.
“Young people can no longer be dismissed as the rebel fighters; the terrorists; the disenfranchised. They are the innovators, the solution-finders; the social and environmental entrepreneurs,” he added.
A summary statement was issued at the end of the forum, ‘“We were inspired by young people’s proposals to climate change and social inequity – smart water, energy efficiency, compost and recycling, decentralized economy think tanks, biodiversity and forest conservation and preservation of indigenous knowledge.”
The two-day Forum reveals the need to channel resources from all sources – public, private, philanthropic and official development assistance – to promote direct investment in the priority issues that affect young people, including youth initiatives and enterprises, youth organizations, and in productive sectors and activities that benefit them most.
More information about the Youth Forum click here.
Source: UN News Centre