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The Global Forum for Adolescents continues to receive support from key partners as critical to enhancing visibility, political support, and momentum for adolescent and youth well-being.
The Global Forum for Adolescents is a massive virtual platform for partners from around the world to share evidence, spark multi-sectoral action, and promote political and financial commitments for adolescent well-being through a series of national events and a two-day global program. It is a major milestone for the 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign, advocating for adolescent well-being and seeking better policies and financing for adolescent and youth issues.
The Forum aligns with the proceedings at the United Nations General Assembly in November of 2021 which reaffirmed that fulfilling the human rights, needs, and well-being of youth, including adolescents, is critical to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Assembly in 2021 also recognized the importance of the full, effective, constructive, and inclusive participation of youth in decision-making and the important role of Member States in promoting and protecting human rights and meeting the needs and aspirations of young people.
In November 2022, WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a memo addressed to all WHO regional directors, rallied support for the Forum. “As we enter the United Nations Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals, the largest adolescent population, comprised of 1.8 billion young people aged 10-24, must be prioritized.” He went on to advocate for stronger cooperation and joint efforts to address cross-cutting issues affecting adolescents and youth and requested that the regional directors support Member States to report back on adolescent well-being and make commitments to advance the adolescent-related SDGs.
A call for support and commitments also came from Omar Abdi and Diene Keita the Deputy Executive Directors for UNICEF and UNFPA, "This letter is to request your leadership with Country Representatives in supporting countries to engage adolescents and young people in the lead up to the Global Forum." They went on to call for commitments to advance the progress towards the SDGs with an adolescent-specific lens.
For information on how to get involved in the Global Forum and 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign, please review the Partner Engagement Kit.
