Recovering from COVID-19, youth step up efforts for the global goals

Youth leaders, activists and youth-led organizations around the world will gather virtually with government ministers and officials at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this month to present bold solutions and initiatives for steering recovery from the pandemic and setting the world back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The Youth Forum will address the theme of ECOSOC and the 2022 UN High-level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF) on “Building back better from COVID-19 while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” It will also review progress in the areas of quality education (SDG4), gender equality (SDG5), life below water (SDG14), life on land (SDG15) and partnerships for the goals (SDG17).

ECOSOC President Collen Vixen Kelapile “looks forward to hearing from the global youth on how we can advance together the Youth Agenda and implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as we mount an effective response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic”.

As one of the main annual platforms at the UN for youth to share their ideas at the global level, Jayathma Wickramanyake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, believes “this year’s virtual ECOSOC Youth Forum will again provide exciting new ways for young people, as well as youth-led and youth-focused organizations and networks, to showcase and amplify their advocacy and commitment to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs while responding to the multiple global crises facing our rapidly changing world.”

The Youth Forum is hosted by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and co-organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth (OSGEY), in collaboration with the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), the International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organizations (ICMYO) and United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD).

The Youth Forum has become a dynamic space for young people to share their innovative ideas and scale up efforts for youth development and engagement in addressing pressing global challenges.

Learn more about the event here. To participate, register by 7 April 2022: https://bit.ly/Register2022YouthForum