Reflections from Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth
2022 was undoubtedly a milestone moment for youth at the United Nations. More than ever before, this year was characterized by a widespread recognition of young people's powerful role as agents of positive change and an acknowledgment that to truly achieve the world envisioned in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, young people must be equal partners in this process.
As a notable highlight, we witnessed the unanimous adoption of a resolution by the UN General Assembly, laying the foundation for the establishment of the forthcoming UN Youth Office integrating the current activities of my Office and institutionalizing the UN’s long-term mandate to work on youth-related matters. In a year flush with achievements for young people on the international stage, this is surely the pinnacle, culminating years of hard work and mobilization from the grassroots to the global level.
Across the full spectrum of the UN’s work, my team and I have been pleased to support important strides made with and for young people over the past year — from meaningful youth engagement at the Transforming Education Summit to the first-ever Children and Youth Pavilion at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) to the multi-stakeholder #BeSeenBeHeard campaign centered on amplifying young people’s political participation and engagement in public life.
Through these and so many other examples, we see the myriad of ways that young people continue to forge ahead — pushing for change in their communities, educating their peers, creating innovative solutions, fighting to protect the planet, advocating for fundamental human rights, and building peace and equality.
However, we must not forget that we are still living through multiple interconnected crises — the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing climate crisis, systems of inequality and exclusion, shrinking civic space, and ongoing conflicts are but a few examples. Young people worldwide, particularly those who are already most vulnerable and marginalized due to intersecting forms of discrimination, continue to be disproportionately impacted.
Next year, as we mark the midpoint to 2030 and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, we must ensure that the progress made at the global level is felt by every young person around the world, in all of their diversity. The UN systemwide youth strategy, Youth2030, which recently celebrated its fourth anniversary, remains our roadmap for action in this regard, and we must continue to strengthen and support it.
I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with so many exceptional young change makers from all corners of the globe over this past year. As you look through this “Year in Review” I hope you are as inspired as I am by the multitude of ways young people have meaningfully engaged with the UN, and I look forward to continuing to build upon these efforts in the year to come, always cultivating a UN that better works with and for young people everywhere.
I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to all partners and donors of my Office, whose partnership and kind contributions enabled us to carry out our essential work. I also thank my exceptionally hardworking and passionate team, who work tirelessly to drive this agenda forward.
I am excited about what is to come, and I thank you for your continuous support and leadership.
In solidarity,
Jayathma
Youth2030 — The UN Systemwide Youth Strategy
In 2022, implementation of Youth2030 — the UN’s systemwide youth strategy — continued to gain momentum across the UN system, with 51 UN entities and 130 UN Country Teams advancing the strategy.
Foundations for system-wide implementation are in place, including scorecards for performance measurement and accountability, mechanisms for institutionalized reporting of the UN system, as well as a variety of knowledge products all housed on the Youth2030 online portal, which welcomed more than 13,000 unique visitors and over 18,000 site sessions throughout the year.
2022 also marked the launch of the second-ever Youth2030 Progress Report, outlining highlights of progress, as well as gaps and recommendations for accelerating implementation.
Launch of the Youth2030: Progress Report 2022
Youth2030 Briefing to Youth Networks
Youth2030 Briefing to Member States
In 2022, the #Youth2030 hashtag was used more than 3,900 times on social media. There have been over 133,000 engagements with content using #Youth2030, showing continued awareness for the UN youth strategy on social media platforms.
Our Common Agenda
In September 2021, responding to a request from the General Assembly in its UN75 declaration, the Secretary-General released the “Our Common Agenda” report, presenting a vision on the future of global cooperation. It calls for inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism to better respond to humanity’s most pressing challenges.
As a core component of the report, “Our Common Agenda” calls for a renewal of solidarity across generations, particularly with younger generations, and puts forward a set of concrete recommendations to further that objective.
Resolution on the Establishment of the New UN Youth Office
In “Our Common Agenda” the Secretary-General proposed the establishment of a new UN Youth Office — responding to years of advocacy from youth and supporters calling for the institutionalization of the youth mandate in the UN Secretariat.
Integrating the existing work of the Envoy on Youth’s Office, the forthcoming Youth Office will continue to lead high-level advocacy and serve as the anchor for United Nations system coordination and accountability on youth matters across our work on peace, sustainable development, humanitarian issues and human rights.
In September 2022, Member States unanimously passed Resolution A/RES/76/306 mandating the establishment of the office and paving the way for the transition next year.
Meaningful Youth Engagement
As called for by young people around the world and proposed in “Our Common Agenda”, this year we initiated the process of preparing a series of recommendations for more meaningful, diverse and effective youth engagement in UN deliberative and decision-making processes, including the General Assembly, the Security Council and ECOSOC.
In August 2022, we worked with the 76th President of the General Assembly to facilitate a focused discussion on identifying ways and means of youth engagement in the work of the General Assembly. The meeting saw 38 interventions from both Member States and Observers, and paves the way for a series of further consultations in 2023.
Engagement, Participation and Advocacy
Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals
On a biennial basis, we are proud to recognize outstanding young leaders from across various sectors for their agency, courage and ingenuity in finding lasting solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.
Launched in 2016, the flagship Young Leaders for the SDGs initiative brings together a group of 17 young people between the ages of 15 to 29 years old from around the world who contribute to implementing the 2030 Agenda, fostering resilience in their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress, and inspiring political change.
Application Process
In March, we launched an open call for applications for the 2022 cohort of 17 Young Leaders for the SDGs, resulting in more than 5,400 applications from 194 countries. Over a one month period, the call for applications reached nearly 700,000 people across social media, and garnered nearly 28,000 engagements.
High-Level Selection Committee
The selection of the final 17 Young Leaders was supported by a High-Level Selection Committee comprised of influential leaders from the United Nations, national and local governments, civil society, the entertainment industry, private sector, and beyond.
Announcement
The next cohort of Young Leaders for the SDGs was officially announced during UN General Assembly week as part of the SDG Moment, reaching more than 1.1 million people online, and amassing more than 32,000 engagements.
The 2022 cohort hails from all corners of the world, and includes an aspiring astronaut, medical doctor and fashion designer, Paralympic medalist, poet, artists, climate entrepreneurs, peacebuilders, gender justice advocates, and education innovators, among others.
Since September, the new cohort of Young Leaders have already participated in more than 50 engagements at global, regional and local level.
Young Leaders 2020 Working Retreat
To close out the two-year term for the 2020 cohort of Young Leaders, we hosted a working retreat at UN Headquarters from 2 to 3 August 2022. The retreat provided an opportunity to reflect on achievements over the past two years, and to engage in an exchange of ideas and meaningful conversations with UN leadership and other key stakeholders.
Among others, the Young Leaders met with:
- Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed
- Under-Secretary General for the Department of Global Communications, Melissa Fleming
- Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action, Selwin Hart
- UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem
- UN Global Compact Executive Director and Assistant-Secretary General, Sanda Ojiambo
Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
Throughout 2022 we continued to support the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change in advising the Secretary-General on his approach to climate action, and in bringing the priorities and perspectives of young people into UN decision-making processes on climate change.
Youth Advisory Group Retreat
Engagements
Engaging with Young People via Social Media
At the end of 2022, nearly 653,000 people follow and engage with us over our social media channels — Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok — including:
We also engaged with young people in China via Weibo, supporting the main UN account, and reaching more than 1 million people via our posts there.
Launch of the Youth2030 Pulse
On International Youth Day (12 August) we launched the Youth2030 Pulse Newsletter. Envisioned as a centralized channel for youth-related updates on campaigns, events, opportunities and resources from across the UN system, this monthly newsletter serves as a one-stop-shop where young people can subscribe to receive updates on the UN’s work with and for youth.
The newsletter has grown a subscriber base of more than 41,000 with an open rate of over 75% (compared to industry average of 20%), and a click-through rate of nearly 17% (compared to an industry average of 10%).
Website
Following a series of updates to our website homepage and navigation bar early this year, our web presence continued to experience sustained performance with more than 1 million total website users, including continued representation of healthy regional and geographic balance among users.
The website also amassed a total of over 1.6 million page views, which accounts for an overall increase of 1% compared to 2021.
ECOSOC Youth Forum 2022
The 2022 edition of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum took place virtually from 19 to 20 April, providing a platform for young people to engage in dialogue with Member States and other actors on concrete actions to rebuild from COVID-19 and to advance towards the implementation of the SDGs.
The Forum was convened by the President of ECOSOC and co-organized by ourselves and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), with co-convening support from the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) and the International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organizations (ICMYO).
Engagements of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth
Speaking Engagements
In 2022, the Envoy on Youth participated in over 300 events, held online and offline, in addition to preparing pre-recorded video messages to another 70+ events and social media campaigns where we could not engage live.
UN Day 2022
International Volunteers Day
The Role of Youth in Countering Hate Speech and Promoting Peaceful and Inclusive Societies
SheDecides +5
International Mother Language Day
Informed and Healthy Foundations
World Programme for Human Rights Education
In partnership with UN Human Rights and UNESCO we continued to support the implementation of the fourth phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education.
This phase of the Programme is based on the understanding that human rights education empowers young people to recognize and fulfill their role as active citizens, take action and uphold their human rights, and participate accordingly in public affairs and democratic decision-making processes.
OxFID Global Youth Challenge
In collaboration with the Oxford Forum on International Development (OxFID) we launched a Global Youth Challenge inviting young people to provide solutions to support or strengthen the implementation of the Programme, focusing on human rights education with, for and by youth.
From over 400 solutions, 10 finalists competed in the Pitch Day presentations event held online in July 2022, of which three groups of winners were subsequently selected for their innovative ideas on how to advance human rights education with, for and by youth. Check out the winning solutions.
International Human Rights Day
On the occasion of Human Rights Day (10 December), we partnered with UN Human Rights and UNESCO, together with Amnesty International and Soka Gakkai International, to organize a virtual celebration on “Transforming Education Through Human Rights.”
The meeting aimed to explore the evolving role of human rights and their transformative potential for societies. Over 500 people registered for the event, which also marked the official launch of the booklet on the Plan of Action for the 4th phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education.
International Day of Education
On the International Day of Education (24 January), we joined forces with UNESCO, UNGEI, Transform Education and the SDG4Youth Network to organize a closed-door, intergenerational online dialogue entitled “Solidarity Circle — Changing Course, Transforming Education With Youth”.
The dialogue provided a safe space for young education activists to discuss and brainstorm together with high-level UN representatives on their aspirations for transforming education and their hopes for the Transforming Education Summit later in 2022.
Transforming Education Summit
As put forth in “Our Common Agenda”, in September 2022 the UN convened the Transforming Education Summit, with the aim of putting education back at the top of political priorities, highlighting the ongoing education crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and other global challenges, as well as bringing different stakeholders together to drive a new pathway for education.
Between June and September 2022, we coordinated, together with the Transforming Education Summit Secretariat, a youth-led process bringing together almost 500,000 young people from over 170 countries and all regions to share their collective views, recommendations and commitments on transforming education.
The collective vision, demands and commitments of young people gathered through this process culminated in the first-of-its-kind Youth Declaration on Transforming Education, launched on 16 September.
Economic Empowerment through Decent Work
World Youth Skills Day
World Youth Skills Day (15 July) is an opportunity for young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, and public and private sector stakeholders to acknowledge and celebrate the importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.
Again in 2022, we joined the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Sri Lanka to the UN, as well as UNESCO and ILO in organizing a hybrid panel discussion to mark the day on the topic of “Transforming Youth Skills for the Future”.
Youth Dialogue with ILO Director-General
During the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, we supported the International Labor Organization in facilitating an informal conversation between youth and ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder. The conversation was held as an informal lunch at the ILO Offices in New York on 22 September, focusing on the importance of creating decent jobs for youth and ensuring meaningful youth engagement, among other related topics.
Youth Economic Empowerment
We also continued to support Solutions for Youth Employment and Decent Jobs for Youth, multi-stakeholder coalitions that aim to provide leadership and resources for catalytic action to increase the number of young people engaged in productive work, including by creating quality jobs for young people.
Youth and human Rights
Young People's Political Participation
Launch of the Be Seen, Be Heard Campaign
In May 2022, we launched the new multi-year global Be Seen, Be Heard campaign in collaboration with the Body Shop. The campaign aims at amplifying the voices of young people and actively promoting young people’s participation in political life, with the goal of ultimately advocating for legislation or policy change to address the variety of structural and cultural barriers which prevent young people from fulfilling their right to participate in public life around the world.
The policy objectives of the campaign are tailored to national contexts and include a variety of calls to action, including lowering the voting age to 16, aligning the eligibility age to run for office with voting age, and increasing youth representation in formal governance structures such as through youth councils, among others.
The campaign launched with a live media broadcast to journalists from the SDG Studio at UN Headquarters, moderated by Versha Sharma, Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue. The event also featured Gina Martin (Equality Campaigner, Speaker and Writer) and Samson Itodo (Founder of Yiaga Africa), who debated around the challenges and opportunities for young people to engage in politics. The campaign launch drove 400 pieces of media coverage globally and over 11,000 mentions on social media.
To date, the #BeSeenBeHeard hashtag has been used more than 21,000 times across social media, and the campaign microsite has been viewed nearly 39,000 times with more than 16,000 unique users.
On social media, the campaign has cumulatively reached nearly 48 million people to date, including nearly 407 million impressions. On our channels alone, the campaign has driven more than 26,000 engagements with young people around the world, including nearly 4,000 shares across all activations.
Be Seen, Be Heard Global Youth Report
Together with The Body Shop, we released a new Be Seen, Be Heard Global Youth Report, unpacking the structural barriers young people face in accessing their right to political participation and exploring how different stakeholders can contribute to removing such barriers.
Through substantiating the issue and offering concrete recommendations for policy and legislative improvements, the report provides a strong basis for local advocacy efforts which seek to defend and advance the needs and rights of young people in all of their diversity.
To mark International Youth Day (12 August), we launched a series of activations throughout August to celebrate youth leadership, amplify young voices in public life, and raise awareness around the importance of meaningful youth representation and intergenerational collaboration in decision-making spaces around the world.
Under the banner of Be Seen, Be Heard, the activations focused on presenting key data and stats on understanding young people’s political participation, based on findings of the Be Seen, Be Heard Global Youth Report, including interactive social media quizzes and youth profiles.
It also included a “Celebrating Young Leaders” video challenge on Instagram Reels and TikTok, profiling inspiring young people who are challenging the way traditional decision-making has been done.
To kick off the activations, the Envoy hosted an Instagram Live conversation with influencer Connor Franta.
We also participated in BBC World’s Africa in Focus programme, hosting a segment on political participation including Samson Itodo (Executive Director, Yiaga Africa) and Elizabeth Gulugulu (Global Focal Point, YOUNGO) as guests.
Across communications channels, International Youth Day activations reached more than 430,000 people, including nearly 12,000 engagements and more than 1,500 shares.
Be Seen, Be Heard Around the World
Since launch, the Be Seen, Be Heard campaign has been present as part of a number of major global advocacy events including One Young World and the Global Citizen Festival where the campaign provided a means to bring forward discussions around youth political participation. At COP27, we also discussed the campaign alongside youth activists calling for the establishment of formal, transparent and diverse youth engagement mechanisms in national policy development.
Global Report on Protecting Young People in Civic Space
Launch of the Spanish and Arabic translations of the report
As a follow-up to the launch of the Global Report on Protecting Young People in Civic Space in 2021, we partnered with youth-led organizations, the UN and civil society to co-organize regional launches of the translated protection report in the Latin American and Caribbean region, as well as the Arab region.
The report is the first of its kind, presenting the testimonies of more than 500 young people from diverse backgrounds worldwide, on the types of challenges they face when they exercise their rights and act as peacebuilders, human rights defenders and community mobilizers in civic space. Highlighting the need for stronger global protection mechanisms, the report includes recommendations and guidance for various stakeholders, including governments, intergovernmental and regional organizations, civil society and young people.
Engaging Safely at the UN – a Training for Young People
Building on the UN’s comprehensive code of conduct and recommendations provided by the Secretary-General, and recognizing that power dynamics rooted in age can play a role in cases of harassment, abuse of authority and/or exploitation, we developed a new youth-friendly online training on preventing abuse of authority, discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, and sexual exploitation and abuse, in the context of young people’s engagement with the UN.
Through various examples inspired by real-life events, the training aims to:
- Build the capacity of young people in reacting to unwelcome conduct by raising awareness about the existing UN reporting mechanisms.
- Encourage a variety of response options, including official reporting and bystander interventions.
- Ensure that young people have a clear understanding of the UN’s responsibility in preventing and addressing harm against them arising from actions and behaviors of UN’s staff and other actors in a UN setting.
The training is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
Queer Youth Dialogues
Following the launch of the Queer Youth Dialogues in May 2021, we continued the series by bringing together young LGBTIQ+ people, activists and civil society organizations alongside UN Entities and Member States throughout 2022 to enhance and promote the human rights of LGBTIQ+ youth and strengthen structures for their meaningful participation.
In February, together with partners we hosted a dialogue on “Leading the way on LGBTIQ people’s inclusion: the private sector experience,” discussing ways in which companies are leveraging their influence and advocacy to accelerate equality, the need for inclusive leadership, the value of queer-owned businesses and generational shifts in consumer and labour demands.
In March, we hosted a dialogue on “Deconstructing barriers & eliminating binaries: the intersectional power of LGBTIQ youth” to discuss decolonization, the need for dismantling the gender binary, and its impact on global convenings such as the Commission on the Status of Women.
The final session of the Queer Youth Dialogues took place on 17 May 2022 to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT). The session culminated in the launch of the Call to Action for the Rights of LGBTIQ Youth, summarizing key advocacy points raised throughout the Dialogue series.
In support of the Dialogues, we collaborated with the Global Queer Youth Network and other partners to launch two dedicated communications activations to further amplify the voices of LGBTIQ+ youth. We leant our Instagram feed for an “Ask Me Anything” takeover, where followers submitted questions related to LGBTIQ+ topics, which were answered live by representatives from the Global Queer Youth Network. In partnership with Openly, the “Queer Youth Stories” featured op-eds from queer youth, delving further into the themes of the Dialogues.
From May 2021 and May 2022, the Queer Youth Dialogues reached nearly 380,000 people via the collective social media channels of the organizing partners, including more than 14,000 engagements and 1,000 shares.
Youth and Disability Inclusion
In February, the Envoy on Youth participated in the Global Disability Summit (GDS), which was co-hosted by the Governments of Norway and Ghana, together with the International Disability Alliance (IDA).
During the 15th Conference of State Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in June 2022, we co-hosted together with IDA’s Youth Committee a high-level side event on “LGBTIQ+ youth with disabilities re-envisioning the road to equality.”
For the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), we amplified the voices of four young people with disabilities who are innovating for greater inclusion.
We also supported the engagement of two of our Young Leaders who spoke at the UN’s flagship event to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, under the theme of “Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fueling an accessible and equitable world.”
Indigenous Youth
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Social Media Takeover
During the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in March 2022, we handed over our social media accounts to seven young people from different regions who work with the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus to amplify stories about their life and advocacy.
The takeover featured English and Spanish content that touches on various topics including indigenous health, as well as indigenous rights and autonomy. In total, the takeover amassed more than 40,000 impressions, 6,000 interactions and 450 shares, mainstreaming the voices of indigenous youth alongside the Forum.
Peace and Resilience Building
Global Conference on Youth Inclusive Peace Processes
From 20 to 21 January 2022, the High-Level Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes was co-hosted virtually by the Governments of the State of Qatar, Finland and Colombia, and co-organized by our office together with civil society and UN partners. More than 500 representatives from Governments, civil society including youth organizations, academia, multilateral institutions, and donors engaged in a series of strategic discussions, and more than 10,000 additional individuals tuned in to follow the event online — ensuring the Conference successfully delivered on its objectives to secure national commitments to advance country-level operationalization of the youth, peace & security agenda, and to strengthen meaningful youth participation in peace processes.
The event featured the launch of “A Guide for Public Officials in support of country-level operationalization of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda,” as well as a first-of-its-kind “Five-year Strategic Action Plan for Youth-inclusive Peace Processes” building on recommendations put forth by key stakeholders working in the space.
In total, the conference webpage received nearly 8,500 views during the conference period. Across social media, the conference reached more than 480,000 people, including nearly 17,000 engagements and 1,700 shares.
7th Anniversary of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda (UN Security Council Resolution 2250)
On 9 December, to mark the 7th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on youth, peace & security, we collaborated with a young peacebuilder from Mexico to co-develop a video message highlighting milestones and the ongoing experiences of young people working on youth, peace & security on the ground.
Arria-formula Meeting of the Security Council on the Implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda
On 12 December, the Security Council hosted an Arria-formula meeting, led by Ireland and co-sponsored by Ecuador and Ghana — with support from the UN Youth, Peace & Security Secretariat and our office. The meeting served as an opportunity for the Security Council to take stock of the progress, achievements and challenges in implementing the youth, peace & security agenda thus far, and to reflect on the findings and recommendations of the second Report of the Secretary-General on Youth, Peace & Security (S/2022/220) published earlier this year.
5th Annual Meeting of the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action
In October 2022, we participated in the 5th annual meeting of the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action, held in a hybrid format both in New York and with a parallel online programme. The Envoy on Youth provided opening remarks for the meeting, reiterating the importance of the Compact as a functioning platform for operationalizing the global ambitions in transforming humanitarian and development cooperation through advancing meaningful youth engagement at all levels, touching the lives of many young people caught up in the crosswinds of conflict and disaster.
Amplifying the Voices of Young People in Humanitarian Settings
In 2022, we organized two social media takeovers focused on amplifying the voices of young people in humanitarian settings, with the goal of providing a platform for unfiltered youth voices and lived experiences of displaced youth, as well as amplifying the efforts of young people working on the frontlines and providing humanitarian support.
Social Media Takeover with Young People from Ukraine
In response to the war in Ukraine, on 5 May we featured twelve young people who are community organizers, working on civic engagement, providing professional development services and supporting refugees — with the content reaching nearly 34,000 people online. The takeover further inspired the creation of a national project by partners working with young people in Ukraine, which collected dozens of stories from young people from different backgrounds in their communities to advocate for the interests and concerns of young people in Ukraine among different stakeholders on the national and international levels.
World Humanitarian Day Social Media Takeover with Young People from Yemen
To mark World Humanitarian Day (19 August), we featured four young people from Yemen who are working on youth-led initiatives across the country, including a human rights activist from the deaf community, youth involved in civic spaces, as well as a young person involved in research and monitoring and evaluation. The takeover reached nearly 28,000 people online, including nearly 2,000 engagements with the content.
Strengthening the Foundations for a UN that Delivers for Young People
Believe in Better – From Policy to Practice
In January 2022, together with ActionAid Denmark and UN partners, we launched the Believe in Better – From Policy to Practice report demonstrating how the UN currently works with young people so that they are meaningfully and actively included in decision-making spaces at multiple levels of governance, and providing a snapshot of insights and data into how young people are organizing, included, and responded to by those in positions of power.
The report is based on a multi-country review of youth, the SDGs and social accountability across 35 UN Country Teams, including inputs from 105 UN Country Team representatives, 99 government representatives and 229 youth network representatives, in addition to “deep dives” in seven countries — Kenya, Ghana, Thailand, Albania, Jordan, Pakistan and Guatemala.
Young People at COP27
#YouthLead Climate Takeover at COP27
During the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, we hosted a #YouthLead Climate Takeover as part of the first-ever Children & Youth Pavilion, inviting young climate champions and partners to takeover @UNYouthEnvoy channels on social media.
The takeover featured 40 young climate advocates and supporters across 27 video segments, lending legitimacy and support to young people’s demands, with a view towards pushing decision-makers for more urgent, ambitious climate action and greater accountability. From 6 to 18 November, the takeover reached more than 435,000 people across all channels, including more than 123,000 video views, 19,000 engagements and 930 shares of the content.
Meeting of Secretary-General with Young Climate Activists
Together with the UN Climate Action Team, we supported the Youth Advisory Group and the UNFCCC Youth Constituency (YOUNGO) to co-organize the Secretary-General’s Youth Dialogue at COP27. Engaging approximately 60 young people across the world including indigenous activists, grassroots young leaders and survivors of recent extreme weather events, the dialogue provided an avenue for an open and frank conversation on the priorities of young people at COP27.
At the meeting, YOUNGO presented their Global Youth Statement — authored by thousands of young climate leaders on their demands to world leaders at COP27 — to the Secretary-General, who expressed strong solidarity with the proposals put forward.
Be Seen, Be Heard at COP27
On Youth Day at COP27 (10 November), we supported the Youth Climate Council Global Alliance and The Body Shop Greece to host an event centered on young people’s political participation in climate policies as part of the Be Seen, Be Heard campaign.
Hosted at the Nordic Pavilion, the event shared lessons and experiences from Youth Climate Councils around the world, culminating in a recommendation to the Nordic Council of Ministers to set up Youth Climate Councils in their countries to facilitate youth input into climate policy at national level.
Envoy on Youth Speaks at the Global Climate Strike
The Envoy on Youth joined hundreds of young people for the Global Climate Strike in New York on 23 September to reaffirm the UN’s commitment to the advocacy of young people on phasing out fossil fuels, debt relief for the most vulnerable and poorest countries, and advancing implementation of the Paris Agreement to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
16 Days to End Gender-based Violence with UN Women
To commemorate the 16 Days of Activism this year on the theme of “UNiTE! Activism to end violence against women & girls,” we collaborated with the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women to feature six of our Young Leaders as part of their campaign showcasing the role of young people in preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls. The contributions of the Young Leaders were profiled on social media, and captured in a summary article.
Generation Connect Youth Summit & World Telecommunication Development Conference 2022
In collaboration with ITU, we supported the online global consultation process for the youth call to action on a digital future between April and May 2022. The process built on our existing collaboration with ITU’s Generation Connect network, adding to a two-year consultation process of youth-led regional discussions. The global consultations brought together students, young professionals, digital entrepreneurs and youth networks from around the world.
The outcome document entitled “My Digital Future”, was presented during the Generation Connect Youth Summit and shared with world leaders and policymakers at the World Telecommunication Development Conference in Kigali, Rwanda. The document highlights young people’s recommendations on the topic of governance in the digital age, transforming education and digital skills, and meaningful youth engagement in digital technology policy-making processes.
Global Digital Compact
Recognizing the direct impact of digital development on the lives of young people, we initiated work together with the work of the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology in leading the Global Digital Compact preparatory process, also working in close collaboration with the UNICEF Office of Innovation. In December 2022, we jointly initiated a consultation process calling for young people’s input and recommendations towards the establishment of the Global Digital Compact.
Protection through Online Participation (POP)
In 2022, we partnered with the Office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, ITU and multi-stakeholder partners from civil society, the private sector and academia to launch an initiative that focuses on young people’s rights online by combining both participation and protection in one multi-stakeholder research project.
The initiative, Protection through Online Participation (POP), was launched on Safer Internet Day (7 February) with the objective to gather evidence on support systems for youth to stay safe online, to better understand how young people are using digital tools and online spaces to develop protection and safety support, as well as to develop recommendations to industry, policymakers and institutions on this important topic.
Highlights of Additional Partnerships Working With and For Youth
For more information, contact youthenvoy@un.org and follow us on social media @UNYouthEnvoy.