‘Future Must Not Be Left to Chance,’ Says Speaker, as Summit Dialogue Hears Calls for Youth-Led Decision-Making That Accounts for Generational Impact

Current decisions must be made with the participation of youth and women to account for the long-term impact on future generations, speakers emphasized during an interactive dialogue at the Summit of the Future today.

Opening the afternoon session, titled:  “The Future Starts Now:  enhancing the global system for current and future generations”, the Prime Minister of Jamaica observed that the global landscape has fundamentally changed since 1945, also noting that technology advancement has surpassed “our ability to regulate its use”.  “Let this moment be one of reflection, but more importantly — one of action,” he stressed, urging States to ensure that multilateralism is not “just a relic of the past but a dynamic force”.

For his part, the Prime Minister of Saint Maarten said that today’s challenges “call for a fundamental re-evaluation of our societal fabric”, as he called for decoupling economic development from environmental degradation, promoting gender equality and investing in quality education and universal health care.  Recognizing that future generations cannot represent themselves and “it’s up to us to do that for them”, he added:  “Thinking and acting for future generations requires a shift in mindset, but also a shift in our souls.”

Engaging youth in tackling current global challenges for future generations is a key focus of the Pact for the Future, an intergovernmentally negotiated, action-oriented outcome adopted at the Summit of the Future yesterday.  The Pact includes the Declaration on Future Generations, outlining commitments to build a sustainable and peaceful world for the more than 10 billion people projected to be born before the end of this century and generations to come.

What speakers highlighted:

• Choices States make today will impact future generations 
• Calls for enhancing multilateralism and inclusive, fair global governance
• Women and youth empowerment is crucial for achieving sustainable development 

“We need institutions […] that are not afraid of working hand in hand with young people,” said Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs.  Noting that the Pact also includes a dedicated Chapter on youth, he urged States to engage young people as full-fledged partners.  This can be achieved by transforming social and cultural beliefs that young people are inexperienced or unable to take decisions, providing adequate funding for youth and supporting their participation in decision- and policymaking.  “Our ultimate goal is to ensure that meaningful youth engagement becomes the norm, rather than the exception,” he said.

“Our capacity to harm, even extinguish all of humanity, has reached unparalleled dimensions,” underscored Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, while noting that States can use that technological capacity to contribute to the well-being of future generations.  Emphasizing that nations need a pragmatic principle of human rights norms to protect the present and future, he stated:  “I challenge all policymakers to ensure that every decision takes into account its impact on human rights and our planet generations down the line.”

Mafalda Duarte, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, observed that, despite successes, progress on the climate crisis “is not moving fast enough”.  “We need to raise our collective ambition and deliver,” she stressed, underscoring the need to embrace reform of the entire climate finance ecosystem including multilateral development banks, climate funds, the private sector and civil society. To that end, in 2024, her organization proposed a road map for it to manage $50 billion with maximum efficiency and impact.

In the ensuing discussion, delegations echoed calls for future-oriented decision-making and the reform of global institutions to be more inclusive.  “Our future must not be left to chance,” said the Pacific Island Forum’s representative, adding the global system must recognize the intergenerational perspective to safeguard the future for “our grandchildren”.  Calling for support in capitalizing his grouping’s resilience fund, he said there is a need for an inclusive, action-orientated and accountable multilateral system that prioritizes the voices of the most vulnerable.

Recognizing the challenges States face are too complex to tackle in isolation, the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania stressed that international institutions should be more inclusive, particularly for the Global South.  “The global system we create today will shape the world for the generations to come,” he said.  Adding to that, Singapore’s representative observed that Governments need to be “agile and nimble” to build a better world for future generations while highlighting the need for more anticipatory planning in policy work on the impacts of climate change and technology.

Several speakers called for enhanced multilateralism.  “Through genuine and inclusive cooperation, we can formulate the policies that leave no one behind,” said the Deputy Chairwoman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia.  Similarly, the representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said that “regional organizations can be your agents on the ground to drive global change”, reporting that OSCE has pioneered subregional cooperation — including in addressing climate change.

“Choosing multilateralism means choosing rules over the force,” said Montenegro’s Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, welcoming all initiatives aimed at fostering more inclusive and effective global governance.

Among those underscoring the need to empower youth and women for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was Spain’s Prime Minister, who stressed that any regression in the rights of women and girls must be resisted.  They must play a full role in peacebuilding and the next UN Secretary-General should be a woman.  Likewise, Ecuador’s Secretary of National Planning reported that her country empowers rural women by enhancing climate-resilient agricultural practices.  In 2024, Quito provided more than 800 education scholarships for young people.

For his part, Burundi’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Development said that his country has set up a Youth Investment Bank to empower young people and a Women’s Investment Bank to tap into their economic potential.

“We must do everything we can to ensure that our children and youth succeed in today's and tomorrow's complex world,” said Slovenia’s Minister for Education, Research, Development and Youth, highlighting that millions of children face poverty, lack access to basic services and do not have fundamental rights.