Marie Chatardov\u00e1, the President of the UN Economic and Social Council, the UN body that convenes the annual\u00a0Youth Forum<\/a>, has said that it is vital to empower young people to break cycles of poverty allow them to fulfil their potential to the fullest.<\/p>\n \u201cIf young people have the right support, education, and means, they can go on to build better societies. They have energy, creativity, and innovation to power entrepreneurship and create jobs for themselves and others,\u201d she wrote in an opinion piece, published in the\u00a0Miami Herald<\/em>\u00a0on Friday.<\/p>\n Citing examples of the youth taking action on pressing global concerns, such as on impacts of climate change or growing pollution, Mr. Chatardov\u00e1 said that young people do not wait idly for others to transform their ideas into reality.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are leaders who roll up their sleeves and work hard to transform their societies,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Marie Chatardov\u00e1, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). UN Photo\/Manuel Elias<\/p><\/div>\n Around the world, the population of young people is now almost\u00a01.8 billion<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the largest ever. And it offers both immense potential as well as considerable challenges ranging from 71 million unemployed youth and an additional 161 million in situations of moderate or extreme poverty despite having a job.<\/p>\n In this situation, building on the work of young people to address the problems of the young people is critical, highlighted Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Envoy of the Secretary-General on Youth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will be discussing the issues As a subset of the partnerships agenda, she explained, is the involvement of the youth in the implementation of the\u00a02030 Agenda<\/a>\u00a0for Sustainable Development and the\u00a0SDGs<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/737358-Chatardova-1024x682.jpg\")
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