Statement for the 3rd anniversary of the launch of the Youth 2030 Strategy
Three years ago the Secretary General launched the UNs strategy on youth - “Youth 2030” - with the participation of the Danish Prime Minister and a Danish Youth Delegate. Denmark was the first country to co-finance the youth strategy - an illustration of the strong Danish commitment to meaningful youth participation.
In the past 3 years we have achieved great progress on the implementation of Youth2030 and meaningful youth participation in the UN. Young people are increasingly - and rightfully - recognized as agents of change. However, more needs to be done.
That young people must be taken seriously is more evident now than ever. All over the world, young people have taken action to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on their local communities, address climate change or GBV – as illustrated by Umu Alberta from Sierra Leone and the other brilliant young advocates at today’s briefing. Thank you for raising your voices. We have a collective responsibility to provide platforms and opportunities for them to voice their views, insights, thoughts, ideas and concerns. The global youth must be at the core of the decisions that will shape their future.
Denmark is as committed to meaningful youth participation today as we were three years ago and we believe that there should be no talking about youth, without youth. That is why I would like to share the remainder of my speaking time with 1 of the 8 Danish youth delegates. Nadia, you have the floor
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Thank you so much Mr. Ambassador.
To meet the visions of the UN youth strategy, engaging young people in a meaningful way is crucial. We have come a long way in the last 3 years and many steps in the right direction have been taken. When that is said, there are still specific areas that we need to focus on.
Regarding that, I would like to highlight a part of the vision of the youth strategy that I find important to keep in mind for the years to come: “… Ensuring that every young person is empowered to achieve their full potential.”
Unfortunately, not all young people have that opportunity today. Too many barriers exist in our societies around the world. Your opportunities unfortunately depend on where you are born. These barriers need to be broken down to create equal opportunities for all. I do not expect the UN system to do this alone, but I believe that the UN can and should lead by example.
In the last 3 years since the UN Youth Strategy was launched, the UN system has improved youth participation. And I am, as a youth delegate to the UN, an example of this. With that being said, these partnerships must be expanded. Often, we as young people experience that we are mainly invited to talk about topics related to youth. Unfortunately, we are not to the same extent invited to talk about other themes that do concern many of us just as much.
This is an issue - because innovation and new ideas grow when people across generations meet. And new ideas are needed in solving all the SDGs. In addition, I have never met a person that has achieved her full potential without the help of others.
Not only do we as individual young people need to achieve our full potential. We as a world society must also achieve that potential to successfully end poverty and tackle climate change, and in other words: reach the sustainable development goals.