#Youth2030

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the 2022 Economic and Social Council Youth Forum — “Youth2030:  Achieving the SDGs With and For Youth”, held in New York and virtually today:

The participation of young people is vital in order to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, young delegates and high-level Government officials alike told the Economic and Social Council today as it concluded its eleventh annual Youth Forum.

From remote work to green energy to ending conflicts, young people must be at the forefront of planning for a truly transformed, post-COVID-19 future, speakers told the Economic and Social Council’s annual Youth Forum today, while warning against resorting to tokenism or including youth voices to merely “tick a box”.

With more than 19,000 participants joining virtually over its two-day session, the 2021 Economic and Social Council Youth Forum concluded today as the largest and most diverse gathering of young people in the United Nations history, amid calls to retain useful pandemic-era tools while addressing the structural inequities that have long held youth back from achieving their full potential.

After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Economic and Social Council Youth Forum reconvened today in a virtual format to mark its tenth anniversary, with speakers emphasizing the critical role that the world’s 1.8 billion young people can — and must — play in “building back better” and fulfilling the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Economic and Social Council Youth Forum today: