Speakers Call New Generation ‘Trailblazers’ of 2030 Agenda as First Global Jobs Plan for Young People Launches at Economic and Social Council Youth Forum
With their advancement hampered by gender, ethnicity, social status or religion, and decisions affecting their lives too often in the hands of others, young people must be recognized as critical agents of change in order to transform inherited challenges into opportunities for a more prosperous, equal and sustainable world, Government and youth representatives stressed today, as the Economic and Social Council opened its fifth annual Youth Forum with the launch of the first global initiative on decent jobs for young people.
The two-day Forum, held under the theme “Youth Taking Action to Implement the 2030 Agenda”, provides a platform for youth representatives to share ideas and explore the role of young people in promoting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The opening day featured an interactive discussion on the role of youth in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as well as seven “breakout sessions” on the themes of: education; youth employment and entrepreneurship; climate change; poverty, inequalities and youth empowerment in urban areas; health; peaceful and inclusive societies; and gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
In opening remarks, Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, said the 2030 Agenda aimed at eradicating poverty and offering a life of dignity for all. Its Sustainable Development Goals were people-centred, universal and could determine young peoples’ future by ensuring that no one was left behind. Each day, young people were stymied by poverty and disease, denied access to education and health care, and displaced by war, famine and climate change. Too often they were side-lined from decision making.
“This situation must change,” he said, noting that the Secretary-General had made working with young people a priority with the first-ever appointment of a Special Envoy on Youth in 2013. More recently, the Security Council had recognized young people as peacebuilders with the adoption of resolution 2250 (2015) on youth peace and security. “We need you to engage in life-changing projects at the local level,” he said, by working with local and national leaders and being trailblazers for action, especially in countering extremism and a culture of violence.
Recalling that 75 million young people were unemployed, he said the United Nations today would launch the first global initiative on decent jobs for youth, bringing together 19 United Nations entities led by the International Labour Organization (ILO). “This is our commitment to you,” he said, urging young people to commit their leaders to action. “The United Nations needs your talent and energy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”
With that, Guy Ryder, Director-General of International Labour Organization, then launched the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, stressing that 40 per cent of young people today were either unemployed or had jobs that were insufficient for helping them escape poverty. The new initiative would tackle youth unemployment through evidence-based intervention and its success would depend on strategic alliance-building among all actors, including academia, youth representatives, private sector and civil society. The international community must implement commitments at regional and national levels, capturing what worked and what did not, so that labour markets could be improved and resources mobilized in innovative and sustainable ways.
Oh Joon (Republic of Korea), President of the Economic and Social Council, said young people were among the most affected by poverty, hunger, war and climate change. While the problems could seem overwhelming, many young people had changed their communities by engaging in social projects and advocating for the sustainable use of natural, economic and social resources. “Each and every one of us can be an advocate, ambassador and catalyst for change,” he said, adding that the fifth Youth Forum was part of a broader process that would contribute to the Council’s review of 2030 commitments. The success of the goals’ implementation would depend largely on the driving force of young people.
Broadly agreeing, Ahmad Alhendawi, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Youth, said he was delighted to see so many young people gathered under the same roof with the Government officials responsible for youth issues. It was an excellent indicator of the collective commitment to youth development. The Forum had grown to become a main platform for youth participation and engagement at the United Nations.
Turning to 10 frequent misunderstandings about youth and development, he decried that young people were considered liabilities and “a useless generation”. Rather, “when we give young people decent jobs, political weight, negotiating muscle and real influence in our world, they will create a better future,” he said. To that end, he strongly encouraged all Governments to uphold those principles in formulating their national policies.
Rounding out the opening segment, Samar Mezghanni, a writer and activist from Tunisia, delivered a keynote address, recalling that, at age seven, she had become “fed up” with adults telling her what to do, teachers sharply correcting her creative mistakes and cousins who would not let her play football because she was a girl. With adults believing the lie that a child’s role was only to receive, she wrote her first story, quickly learning that with recognition, skills and audience, came power.
“In this room, I see power,” she said, noting that the power she saw stemmed not from the United Nations, but from actions that each participant had taken. Young people had not practised the technical language used by international organizations, corporations or development agencies. Nor had they pursued solutions that had exacerbated problems. “We are still fresh with new ideas and imaginative brains”, and challenged conventional approaches because they cared about most vulnerable, she said, adding that “in many cases, we are them”.
To be sure, young people were growing up in a world driven by and organized around fear, she continued. In some countries, it was a fear of regimes. Elsewhere, it stemmed from depression, and worst of all, fear of others. Yet, the audacity to accept and connect to others made young people unique actors and empowered leaders. They could connect Governments and development actors with the most alienated populations. “We should not fear holding ourselves and our leaders accountable on the journey to 2030,” she stressed.
Team leaders then presented highlights from each of the breakout sessions, touching on themes of access, participation, engagement and resource mobilization that would cement young people’s leadership in decisions directly affecting their lives. They focused on the importance of access to safe learning environments; public-private collaborations to foster entrepreneurship; funding for climate action; technology and services to create better health outcomes for young people; and the creation of free, accessible and safe spaces in urban areas. Others spoke of the need for multilateral organizations to provide formal platforms to work towards the creation of inclusive and just societies and made recommendations for fostering both young women’s leadership and inclusive consultation for all genders, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or intersex communities.
The Economic and Social Council Youth Forum will reconvene in plenary at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 2 February, to continue its fifth session.
Interactive Discussion
The Council then held an interactive discussion titled “Setting the stage: Role of youth in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda”. Moderated by Mr. Alhendawi, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Youth, the discussion included senior Government officials and youth delegates and explored the obstacles to young peoples’ meaningful participation in the Agenda alongside steps needed to overcome them.
Describing youth involvement in global discussions, PAUL LADD, Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), drew attention to the My World 2015 global survey that had addressed priorities for a better world. Pointing out that more than 75 per cent of participants were under 30 years old, he said demands included health, education, better jobs, and honest and responsive Governments. Continuing, he said the Institute would initiate a global essay contest in 2016 with a focus on empowering women and girls.
Explaining how young people had participating in shaping those discussions in the past two years, a member of the children and youth major group said its members had participated in more than 20 intergovernmental discussions, 4 Economic and Social Council youth forums and several other meetings, and had provided valuable inputs for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, 2015 Sustainable Development Summit and the third International Conference on Financing for Development.
Turning to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, several speakers, from civil society to Member States, highlighted their perspectives. A youth ambassador discussed a project that had aimed at raising awareness about the goals among young people. The project was also aiming to include young people living in war conditions whose voices were seldom heard, she said.
The representative of Portugal said his country would continue to push the youth agenda in the United Nations system. Despite progress achieved over the past years, more could and must be done, particularly in the context of the 2030 Agenda, he said. The Agenda was a unique opportunity to overcome various challenges, including the lack of access to education, development of skills, decent work and the full participation of youth in decision-making processes. Underscoring the irreplaceable role of young people, he stressed the need to create partnerships with them and ensure their active involvement in the discussions to build a better world for all.
On the role of young people in addressing climate change, the representative of Maldives said his country had created a youth-oriented manifesto, supporting their empowerment. Investing in youth was essential to raise awareness on climate change and create behaviour change. Drawing attention to the need to invest in clean and renewable energy and to produce sustainable solutions, he asked the United Nations to help countries suffering from such phenomenon.
Sharing his country’s experience, the representative of Singapore said having too many young people was not the problem, but the solution. While Singapore did not have any natural resources, it had its people. In that regard, the Government attached great importance to education as it was the vehicle for social mobility. The Ministry of Education was the largest among other State institutions, providing 10 years of mandatory primary education and scholarships to those in need. However, education was a life-long learning process and Governments needed to invest in and empower youth.
With regard to the issue of poverty reduction, a member of civil society from China stressed that Governments had the responsibility to provide equal educational opportunities, create decent jobs and provide trainings to develop skills for employment. Liberia’s representative said it was very important to understand that young people were the biggest stakeholders in that business. The international community needed to recognize young people as assets to achieve globally agreed goals, he said, adding that there were no better experts on youth issues than young people.
On the issue of youth entrepreneurship, the representative of the United States said young people were the best at innovating, identifying and bridging gaps in the system. While the Sustainable Development Goals were extremely ambitious, it was clear that Governments, international organizations and civil society could not fully achieve their implementation without youth participation.