Youth are Key Drivers in Achieving a Prosperous Future, says UN General Assembly President

Image credit: United Nations

by Kiwiana Ngabung – EMTV Online, Port Moresby

One of the key points highlighted by President of the UN General Assembly at the ECOSOC Youth Forum was the significance of including youth in partnerships, innovative decision-making, and collaborative actions towards an improved, and sustainable world.

Peter Thomson, in his opening address at the two-day event, emphasised on this year’s discussion: ‘Role of youth in poverty eradication and promoting prosperity in a changing world’.

“The Youth of today will be the adults who will inherit the success or failure of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda,” President of the UN General Assembly, Thomson said.

He said 156 million youth currently live in extreme poverty, and in a world that is rapidly changing there’s risk of this number rising unless urgent action is taken.

Thomson said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change provides a “universal masterplan” for us to a secure and prosperous future. But for this to be accomplished, bold new ideas, innovative and strategic thinking and urgent collaborative action by youth is required.

“Thus our best chance of achieving the transformation to a sustainable way of life must lie in ensuring that young people are fully engaged and that they are empowered as innovators in our development processes.”

As President of the UN General Assembly, Thomson said he is committed to driving a universal push for progress on the SDGs.

“For this push to succeed the Youth of today must understand the logic behind the goals and their universal, integrated, transformative nature. I firmly believe that the Youth of today will be the key force for achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”

Young people are encouraged to bring their energy, passion and ideas to tasks that will change the world and contribute towards the SDGs.

The ECOSOC Youth Forum ran from January 30 to 31, 2017 in New York, USA.

The annual forum provides a platform for youth to engage in a dialogue with Member states, and share ideas on innovation, collective action and solutions to global problems.