Happy International Youth Day! We are meeting together at a very promising time. Governments have just agreed on a bold new sustainable development vision to transform our world by 2030. Today’s young people can help realize the sustainable development goals. Youth face many challenges, including poverty, conflicts and unemployment. But young people are not simply
At a critical moment in what the United Nations has dubbed “a year for global action,” the Third International Conference on Financing for Development kicked off today in the Ethiopian capital with calls to ensure the necessary resources to improve people's lives while protecting the planet. “You have recognized that in a world in which both
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which galvanized the world to produce the most successful anti-poverty movement in history, helped lift more than one billion people out of extreme poverty, made inroads against hunger and enabled more girls to attend school than ever before. However, despite remarkable gains, it will take more to ensure
The world has before it a unique opportunity to build a better future for all, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared yesterday in Bonn, Germany, where he urged broad support for a trio of course-correcting United Nations events in 2015 that aim to lock down agreements on protecting the planet, ensuring sustainable development and unleashing the finances and
“The world now has the largest generation of young people in history. I place great hope in their power to shape our future,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told leaders and dignitaries at High-Level Event on the Demographic Dividend and Youth Employment, held at UN Headquarters in New York on June 1st. Much the world
It gives me great pleasure to be with you today to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth. I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this important event. I am delighted to see so many young people gathered under the same roof with UN Member State officials
The United Nations General Assembly commemorated today the 20th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth with an acknowledgement that young people have been “disproportionately” affected by many global challenges but “are ready and willing to be actively involved in shaping their future.” In his remarks to the meeting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted
The United States and its young people, in particular, are essential to the success of the United Nations, Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said last week in his remarks to the UN Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) Members Day gathering at Headquarters. “I am asking you, particularly young people, to have a
The United Nations Secretary-General said today that the World Day for Social Justice comes at a pivotal moment for people and the planet, adding that this year's commemoration focuses on the scourge of human trafficking and the plight of approximately 21 million women, men and children in various forms of modern slavery. “New instruments such
