Economic and Social Council Youth Forum
Narratio was proud to attend the 2019 United Nations Economic and Social Council Youth Forum. Held since 2012, the Youth Forum allows for young leaders from around the world to engage in the topics and issues most important to the emerging generation of movers and the youth they represent.
The forum creates a space where over 1000 leaders can work together to develop meaningful pathways to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals have been adopted to bring about a brighter future for all coming generations and challenge everyone, across age and origin, to join in their pursuit.
The year’s theme for the forum, “Empowered, Included and Equal”, resonates with Narratio and we were pleased to capture insights from some of the charismatic and driven leaders in attendance.
How would you encourage youth from your country and community to join the conversation and express their thoughts on the world?
We live in a fascinating time where the pace of technological advancement is ever-increasing, and yet, with an abundance of information at our fingertips, we are more easily distracted than ever before. I challenge youth communities to educate themselves in present humanitarian challenges and injustices, to develop a passion for mission-oriented service, and to think of the ways in which emerging technologies can be used for the greater good.
Tara Subba, Indonesia
I believe that our rights are intersectional and call for a collective commitment to protecting them. I would encourage youth from South Africa and my personal communities to take each other’s injustices personally.
By doing this, we can join in a conversation that is supportive and inclusive. Through the use of social media we can create virtual communities as well to silence the negativity online and promote progressive protest and empathetic engagement
Bongiwe Bongwe, South Africa
Adwoa Tenkorang, Ghana
I would like to encourage the Congolese Youth in particular and the African youth in general to take a stand and come together for the common fight and challenges we face in our daily lives. In fact, I believe that each generation has its own challenges, our elders did their task and made of the world what we are living today. In return we have to be committed to leave our heritage, a better world for the next coming generations.
This can be done by following the ambitious UN sustainable development goals along with the agenda 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security. The youth need to participate in high level decision because at 1.8 billion, We young people, we are not only the future, but also we are an undeniable asset and a critical partner to realize sustainable peace.
Don't hesitate, Be present , Get involved and Make change because we can make a better world. And for those who are still wondering, why me? Why now? I would say, if not you, then who? If not now , then when.
We are the change we want to see happen in the world.
Emamsy Mbossa, Congo
First we must consider the tools and resources that we have at hand from our advocacy spaces, to appropriate the needs and innovative solutions in which youth can contribute from physical or even virtual spaces, since we have a lot of technology at hand.
Followed by the collaboration between different actors in society, regardless of whether it is public or private.
Last but not least, actions linked to volunteering based on innovative solutions that contribute to the Agenda 2030, this can be done from multiple areas such as social entrepreneurship, mentoring, forums, workshops, virtual consultations, social comptroller, mobilization, among others in order to contribute to meet the objectives and indicators of the 2030 Agenda.
Dania González, CEO- Youth to Lead / El Salvador.
Images from The United Nations Headquarters, the office of the UN Youth Envoy and significant moments throughout the two-day gathering of young leaders.
Photos by: Edward Grattan
“The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum is the world’s largest youth forum and the only official intergovernmental meeting that brings youth representatives together with government ministers and officials. The Forum gives today’s generation of young people—the largest ever — an opportunity to discuss their concerns, as they grow up in an increasingly unpredictable world. More than 1000 youth advocates will gather at the Forum to discuss how the world’s young people can be further engaged as drivers of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” - ECOSOC Youth Forum
I think the best leadership that exists is the one that inspire more leaders, so I would invite everyone to approach the people who inspire them on a local level and try to learn as much as possible from them.
Adan Cortes, Mexico
I would encourage young people to organize local meet-ups and events and invite their local government representatives to the events.
Madelle Kangha
I would first take time to explain the concept of the Sustainable Development Goals to youth in my country as they are not a popular discussion topic. I would then put it into their specific context and encourage them to first visualize the goals int their local environment before considering them on a continental then a global scale.
Once there is a better understanding of the SDGs I would then start encouraging them to start small projects that they can maintain on a low budget and use as a reminder of vision 2030. This would be in the form of weekly litter pick ups, vegetable gardens and weekly 30 minute discussions on local inequalities such as gender and racial inequality.
Knowledge is power and informing people of the many ways to approach issues is one of the first steps to sparking innovation and passion for the SDGs in others.
Chido Dzinotyiwei, Zimbabwe
'In the age of abundant information due to the internet, attention is the most valuable resource.'
At Barefoot Edu Foundation, we operate with a belief that discourse must be translated into action and the only way to truly engage youth for an extended duration of time without losing attention to these critical issues is to allow them to experience the theory by doing. We run micro fellowships which allow youth to supplement awareness obtained by Reading, Writing and Arithmetic with Gandhi's Head, Heart and Hands.
Jonathan Mendonca, India
Images by: Edward Grattan
