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A high-profile side event to the ECOSOC Youth Forum was held on 25 April 2023: “Making the SDGs work for adolescents and young people – What does it take?” The event was co-organized by the Major Group for Children and Youth, YIELD Hub, Girl Effect, FIA Foundation and PMNCH, and saw participation from over 290 registrants representing 75 countries.
The event, moderated by Lucy Fagan, Social Affairs Policy Officer at the Major Group for Children and Youth, featured discussion from youth leaders such as David Imbago from YIELD, Gertrude Sai from Girl Effect, Yegmur Yenilmez from UN Women, and Megi Merku from UN Youth Association Albania/AIESEC Albania with Dr. Zoya Ali Rizvi from the Government of India delivering closing remarks. The discussions focused on the crucial role of youth leading change and achieving the 2030 agenda, as well as the significance of the 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign and the Global Forum for Adolescents on 11-12 October, 2023, in supporting these efforts.
The event highlighted that we are approaching the halfway mark on the 2030 Agenda, and without meaningful engagement and leadership of adolescents and young people, the SDGs may not be achieved. With this year’s UN SDG Summit and next year’s Summit of the Future, it was emphasized that the voices of adolescents and young people must take the lead in shaping the future.
Youth champions also brought attention to the challenges faced by women and girls, especially those in low-and-middle-income countries, who are experiencing a ‘shadow pandemic’ with higher rates of sexual violence, child marriage, adolescent pregnancy, and barriers in realizing their reproductive rights and accessing sexual and reproductive health services. To address these issues, FIA Foundation and Girl Effect launched a new report titled “Mobility Matters” which assesses the availability, safety and reliability of existing transportation modes and identifies key barriers faced by young women and adolescent girls, including inconsistent pricing, sexual harassment and violence, and poor or dangerous transport infrastructure. The report also highlights the additional challenges faced by young mothers and girls living with disabilities. Testimonies from girls themselves further shed light on these issues, accessible here.
To create a better future for adolescents and young people, Youth Champions emphasized the need for a strategic and collaborative approach, including strong coalitions, clear and compelling messages and a range of advocacy tactics. The Global Forum for Adolescents was identified as a key platform to drive action on issues important to young people worldwide, with an emphasis on ensuring that it is not just for young people, but also by young people. Youth Champions also emphasized the key role the Forum can play in advancing greater adolescent leadership and participation in decision-making processes, and ensuring that young people from diverse backgrounds, including differences in gender, ethnicity, ability, socio-economic status, etc., are recognized and engaged. This means making advocacy and activism efforts inclusive and accessible to all young people.
Dr. Zoya Ali Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner (Adolescent Health) Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India noted that there are 1.8 billion adolescents and youth in the world today, with the largest number of young people residing in India. She emphasized that addressing the needs of adolescents and youth should not exist in a silo but should involve multiple sectors. She also highlighted that investing in adolescent wellbeing can have multiple benefits across society, including reducing maternal and infant mortality rates, addressing gender inequality, and supporting economic growth and poverty reduction. Dr. Rizvi further noted that research shows a significant return of investment for selected interventions to promote adolescent well-being with estimated returns of at least 5 to 10 dollars for every dollar invested. Dr. Rizvi emphasized that India’s current G20 presidency has been leveraged by leaders to showcase why and how adolescents and youth must be empowered, and how this demographic dividend can reap benefits for many years to come and that leaders championing the cause, especially as part of the 1.8 campaign and the Forum, are in a unique position to purposefully connect partners and facilitate dialogue for commitment to adolescent well-being to accelerate progress towards the SDGs.
Get involved
- Commitments: You can support your national government to make commitments on adolescent well-being, or you can make your own commitments as a non-state actor or as a government.
- What young people want: if you are under 24 years old, you can complete the What young people want chatbot. Regardless of your age, you can share the chatbot with your networks and join the next mobilizer training.
- GFA Programme: You can submit an expression of interest for a session during the GFA. Note the deadline is 30 April 11.59PM CET.
- National events: you can organize an event in your country to show your support for the 1.8 campaign and the GFA.
- Spread the word: Activate your social media channels to share about the 1.8 campaign and the GFA.
