High Level Dialogue with the Secretary-General

Summary

This discussion focused on youth participation in global decision-making, particularly within the United Nations system. The conversation involved UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and several youth representatives, exploring challenges and potential solutions for meaningful youth engagement.

The discussion began with a poll revealing that many perceive current youth participation as tokenistic. Youth representatives emphasized the need for systemic change, moving beyond mere consultation to active involvement in decision-making processes. They called for decentralization of youth offices, removal of barriers to UN employment, and protection for young activists.

Secretary-General Guterres acknowledged past failures of his generation in addressing global challenges and stressed the importance of involving youth in shaping a better future. He committed to reforms aimed at increasing youth participation in UN bodies and reversing the aging trend in UN staff.

Participants highlighted the importance of including marginalized youth voices, such as indigenous youth and young refugees. They also discussed innovative approaches young people are using to tackle global issues, emphasizing the need for empowerment, trust, and funding.

The conversation concluded with a visioning exercise, contrasting two potential futures: one where youth remain excluded from decision-making, and another with transformative change enabling youth participation. Participants overwhelmingly favored the latter, with Guterres emphasizing the need to actively build this preferred future to address critical challenges like climate change and technological disparities.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The current state of youth participation in the UN and global decision-making is largely tokenistic and needs to shift to more meaningful engagement

– There is a need for concrete reforms and actions to give young people real power and influence, not just consultation

– Intergenerational collaboration and accountability is necessary to address global challenges created by past generations

– Innovation and empowerment of youth, especially marginalized groups, is critical for solving global issues

– Two potential futures were envisioned – one of continued challenges vs. one of transformative change led by youth

Overall purpose/goal:

The discussion aimed to have an honest, frank conversation about the state of youth engagement in global governance, particularly at the UN, and explore ways to make youth participation more meaningful and impactful going forward.

Tone:

The tone was largely serious and earnest, with participants speaking candidly about shortcomings in current youth engagement practices. However, there were also moments of inspiration and hope, particularly when discussing potential positive futures and youth-led innovations. The Secretary-General’s frank acknowledgment of past failures added gravity to the conversation. Overall, the tone balanced critical analysis with forward-looking optimism.

Speakers

Based on the transcript, there were 6 main speakers participating in the discussion:

– Moderator: Hajer Sharief, Co-founder, Together We Build It

– Antonio Guterres: United Nations Secretary-General

– Caleb Brathwaite: President of the Barbados Youth Development Council

– Daphne Frias: Youth activist, Organizer, Story-teller

– Josefa Tauli: Policy Co-ordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network

– Amani Joel Mafigi: Co-founder of Unleashed (Potentials in Motion)

The speakers represented various youth perspectives and organizations focused on issues like climate change, indigenous rights, disability inclusion, and youth empowerment.

Youth Participation in Global Decision-Making: A Critical Dialogue

This comprehensive discussion brought together UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and youth representatives to explore the challenges and potential solutions for meaningful youth engagement in global decision-making, particularly within the United Nations system. The session began with a visual scribe exercise, setting the stage for an interactive and dynamic conversation.

Current State of Youth Participation

A Mentimeter poll revealed that many perceive current youth engagement as largely tokenistic, with this option ranking highest among participants. This sentiment was echoed by several speakers. Daphne Frias, a disability and climate justice organiser, emphasised that youth voices are often heard but not acted upon, highlighting the prevalence of tokenism in current practices. Caleb Brathwaite, President of the Barbados Youth Development Council, argued that the system needs updating to better impact young people, suggesting that current structures are outdated and ineffective.

Secretary-General Guterres acknowledged that his generation had “messed up in relation to the world today”, setting a tone of accountability and urgency for change. He stated that the UN is in transition from merely listening to youth to including them in decision-making processes, but recognized the need for significant improvements.

Barriers to Meaningful Participation

Speakers identified several obstacles to meaningful youth engagement. Frias highlighted educational and language barriers that prevent many young people from working within the UN system. She also emphasized the extreme risks faced by young activists, particularly in Latin America and the Global South, where some youth are “giving up our lives” to defend the planet. Josefa Tauli, Indigenous youth policy coordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, shared personal experiences, mentioning her father’s criminalization as an environmental defender.

Proposed Reforms and Solutions

The conversation shifted to concrete reforms and actions needed to give young people real power and influence. Brathwaite proposed decentralising UN youth offices globally to better implement youth engagement initiatives. Secretary-General Guterres committed to integrating youth systematically into UN decision-making processes and increasing the number of young people working within the organisation to reverse the trend of an ageing staff.

Tauli emphasised the need to shift power dynamics to be led by marginalised youth voices, including indigenous youth, youth with disabilities, and young refugees. She argued that unless institutions and processes are being led by these groups, efforts at inclusion would be failing.

Youth Innovation and Empowerment

Amani Joel Mafigi, Co-founder of Unleashed Potentials in Motion, highlighted the innovative approaches young people are using to tackle global issues. He called for support for youth-led initiatives solving global challenges and proposed creating a Youth Empowerment Fund for climate action, social justice, and innovation.

Secretary-General Guterres echoed this sentiment, stressing the importance of unleashing the potential of young people to lead and contribute to society. He made a provocative statement that “Power is never given. Power is taken”, challenging young people to actively claim their place in decision-making processes rather than waiting for it to be granted.

Envisioning the Future

The conversation concluded with a visioning exercise contrasting two potential futures. Tauli envisioned a world where children are not afraid of the future and environmental defenders are protected. Secretary-General Guterres framed the choice as between a world of climate crisis and inequality versus one of sustainability and fairness.

Participants overwhelmingly favoured a future with transformative change enabling youth participation. Guterres emphasised the need to actively build this preferred future to address critical challenges like climate change and technological disparities. He also highlighted the importance of preserving truth, referencing the book “The Death of Truth” and stressing the need to ensure truth survives in our society.

Personal Reflections and Challenges

Throughout the discussion, speakers shared personal insights. Frias expressed the weight of responsibility felt by young activists, stating that sometimes she just wants to be 26 years old without the burden of fixing global problems. This sentiment highlighted the complex emotions and pressures faced by youth engaged in global issues.

Conclusion

This frank and earnest discussion highlighted the urgent need for systemic change in how the UN and global institutions engage with youth. It balanced critical analysis of current shortcomings with forward-looking strategies for youth-led solutions to global challenges. The conversation underscored the importance of moving beyond tokenism to meaningful engagement, empowering marginalised youth voices, and actively building a more sustainable and equitable future through intergenerational collaboration and accountability.

The moderator closed the session by thanking the participants and announcing three upcoming sessions focused on inclusion, equity, and trust, indicating an ongoing commitment to these crucial themes in youth engagement and global decision-making.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Thank you very much for being here today. Everyone in the room, thank you for coming. And for those who are joining us online as well, thank you so much for joining. And for those who planned on being here and couldn’t come, thank you so much also. So I must say I had the privilege to facilitate many discussions in the previous years, but this one feels a little bit different, especially given the current state of the world. I mean, we’re seeing armed conflicts, we’re seeing wars, we’re seeing record high of displacements, record high of temperatures, heat waves across the world, climate crisis, natural crisis, lots of crises. But then I must also say sometimes it seems that the consequences of what we’re seeing in terms of challenges are not felt equally around the world, if I must say. To use a metaphor, sometimes it feels that there are parts of the world where people are relatively having a comfortable, safe lives, and other parts of the world where people are struggling. And maybe a more explicit metaphor, personally for me, sometimes I wake up in the morning and I look at the world and I feel like some parts of the world really feels like a barbie house, while other parts of the world feels like the real Hunger Games. And then we have the UN, right, our primary global organization, global leader, that seems a little bit stuck, maybe, maybe not. There is many young people around the world who maybe think that the UN is not fit for purpose, after all it was established in 1945. But there are also many people around the world who support the UN, believe in the mission of unity. And many of these people are here today, are joining us online as well. So all of this is to say, and I personally do believe that the UN have an important role to play as a global leader in this world, in tackling challenges and finding solutions and in leading all of us to really come together. So to do that, I would really want us to have an honest and frank conversation. I know the title of this session is dialogue, but what a dialogue really means is a conversation among equals, right? A conversation among people who believes and have shared values and have a shared vision. So I would ask everyone, us here on stage, but also everyone in the room, everyone online, to for an hour or two, a day or two, or for the rest of our lives, to put our titles a little bit aside, our affiliations a little bit aside, and let’s come together and have a conversation as individuals and as we, the people. Because you know what I really find fascinating? This is the charter of the United Nations, right? And in the permeable of the charter, I find it fascinating that it says, we, the peoples of the United Nations. And I think this says it all. We, the people of the United Nations have determined, and today the people also are coming together to determine. So if you all agree that this is gonna be a honest, frank conversation, again, not only among us, but with everyone in the room and a conversation that should continues, then I would want to hear a yes. So do we agree on that? Honest, frank conversation. Yes. Yes. What about you? Okay, everyone is excited. And to kick off this honest and frank conversation, we have an incredible group of people here. We have Daphne, who is a disability and a climate justice organizer. Thank you so much for joining us. We have the United Nations Secretary General. Thank you so much for joining us. And we have Caleb, President of the Barbados Youth Development Council. Thank you for joining us. So, a few things. We have an exercise going on, which is a visual scribe. I don’t know if we have some of the photos up here. Okay, that’s cool. We started. We started. And then we’re going to come back to this later on at the end of the session. But, again, since this is a conversation between everyone, we will start with an interactive poll. So, basically, what we want to do is we want you to answer a question. And this is based on the Heart’s Ladder of Participation, which ranks youth engagement from non-participation to participation. And it has different levels. So the first thing I would want everyone to do is to pick up your phone. Everyone pick up their phones. And go to menti.com. And that’s how you’re going to log into the question, which, as you see up here, in your opinion. What is the current stage of youth participation? So again, go to menti.com and then you have to enter a code, which is, I don’t know if you can see it on the screen, it’s all the way up there, but it’s 99409443. So again, for those who can’t see it on the screen, it’s 99409443. And we are already getting answers. Oh wow, that’s many answers, that’s great. So we have different levels, as you see on the screen. We have tokenism, we have youth-informed, we have youth-consulted, we have shared decision with youth, we have youth and adult-initiated, and we have youth-initiated and directed. Okay, so maybe while the answers are coming in, Caleb, maybe I can start with you. What do you think of the results? Are you surprised?

Caleb Brathwaite: Well, first and foremost, thank you very much for inviting me to speak briefly and to be in the presence of Changemakers of the World. Looking at the results, I see in terms of tokenism, tokenism is coming in rather high, and following that is youth-informed. Closest is youth-consulted, but what we should have been seeing is that of youth-initiated and directed. And it paints a bigger picture of how young people view youth engagement with United Nations. As the Secretary General rightfully said in one of his speeches, in relation to that, this system here was built by our grandparents, and how therefore can it really better impact us as young people and that of our grandchildren. And what really needs to happen is that there needs to be, the system needs to be updated, and the system needs to be able to better care for us now in 2024 as young people and beyond.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Yeah. So the system needs to be updated. And then for you, what does the pact of the summit of the future means to you? The pact of the future and the summit of the future, what does it mean for you?

Caleb Brathwaite: The pact for the future, which essentially brings us here, all of us here, for the summit of the future. What it means for me is that of a mere agreement, and agreements on top of agreements we have seen come out of these hallowed walls, agreements on top of agreements, but what we need now is action. How can we achieve action? And I’d like to commend the work of His Excellency, the Secretary General, in establishing the youth affairs and having that of the Assistant Secretary General, because it is forward thinking, and I believe that we have to give a round of applause. You have been doing excellent work. But we need to go further. How can we go further? There’s already established the UN youth office, and what needs to happen is that it needs to be decentralized. Establishing UN youth offices around the world and already established multi-country offices so that the UN can play a better role in terms of ensuring what the part of the future in Chapter 4, which looks at youth engagement, can be really achieved, and so that there can be a better life for young people around the world. We must hold our governments accountable, we must keep our governments feet to the fair to ensure that that part of the future in relation to Chapter 4 is really actualized and realized for young people around the world. That is how we will turn this mere agreement, Chapter 4 and the path for the future, into action.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Into action. That’s the key word today and moving forward, right? Thank you so much, Caleb. Daphne, we’ve seen a lot of developments when it comes to youth engagements. We’ve seen more mechanisms, more processes for youth engagement within the UN system or also, generally speaking. But do you think there are still obstacles when it comes to meaningful and equal youth engagement and participation?

Daphne Frias: Definitely. And again, as Caleb mentioned, I am so excited and grateful to be part of this conversation. But I don’t think the question is necessarily if there are obstacles, it’s more what are the obstacles and how can we remove them? So much so that as we saw in the Mentimeter poll, the highest ranking selection was tokenism. And the most sort of insidious thing about tokenism is that our stories got to be shared with others, but they don’t actually inform action going forward. Our voices occupy rooms, but then they fall on silent ears. And truly, it’s time for the people who do so much of the talking to do less of the talking. And for the people who don’t get to do as much of that talking to take center stage and to have the voices of my generation, the generation that has fueled the Summit of the Future, that has fueled the UN Youth Office to lead. I think we have to also talk about the fact that not only is the UN an entity that many young people don’t feel connected to, but when trying to achieve positions, employment or positions of engagement within the UN, there are so many barriers in terms of educational obstacles, language obstacles, and things of that nature. When it comes to the criteria for what is required for UN employees and getting young people into the forum of the UN, it is so few and far between. I also didn’t want to take a second to say some words in Spanish. I am a climate organizer and the background of my work is really highlighting the injustices that marginalized communities face, especially in the global south and especially as a visibly disabled Latina woman. Young people in countries of Latin America and the global south have always been fighting, but we are, some of us, giving up our lives in order to do this and this should not be the case. Fighting for our planet should not be something that is prohibited. It should be something that we do happily together with our community. What I said a little bit, so many young people, especially in the global south, are losing their lives trying to defend our planet, trying to fight for a better future, and simply it should not be controversial to defend and fight for our planet. We need, thank you, we need to expand the enforcement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We need to make sure that young people’s voices are protected in that declaration. And, unless that changes, what you see reflected in that poll is going to stay exactly the same. Tokenism is going to continue to be at the top, and youth engagement is not going to be fully realized.

Moderator: Yeah. And, yeah, she deserves a round of applause, for sure. And then, Daphne, in your opinion, have you seen gaps in the lead-up to the summit of the future when it comes to youth engagement?

Daphne Frias: I think that in creating Chapter 4, in creating our guidelines and conventions, it was more youth-influenced and less youth-led, in terms of we’ve compiled things from the major group for youth and children, we’ve compiled things from member states and the young people from member states, but it was less allowing youth to really build, brick by brick, what Chapter 4 should look like. And I think that we really need to push the boundaries of our ideas of reverse mentorship, where it’s not adults only teaching young people, but having adults understand that they can learn from us, as well. And how can we open those pathways so that it isn’t a hierarchical relationship, but it is a symbiotic relationship where we can continuously share our ideas with one another. And as we gather here today for the first summit of the future, I want there to be many summits of the future, but also work that happens outside of these summits, in UN offices, in member states, in places of community, because that’s really where the power happens.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): 100% agreed. So, Mr. Secretary General, if I would refer again to… to the UN Charter, where it says, we the peoples of the United Nations. And I must say, I’m fascinated by this sentence, although it’s been there since the establishment of the UN. And I’m fascinated by it because I find it very interesting that it says, we the peoples of the United Nations. It doesn’t necessarily say, we the governments of the world. This doesn’t say, we the people representing the other people. It really says, we the people. So for me, it sounds that it really centers us as a collective of individuals. And when it comes to youth participation and youth engagement, we’ve seen the results. We’ve heard from Caleb. We’ve heard from Daphne. In your opinion, what are the concrete steps and reforms that the UN should undertake to really ensure that we are centering the sentence, we the peoples, which include we the young people of the world?

Antonio Guterres: Well, thank you very much for your question. I think one needs to look into the history. In the beginning, when I was quite young, the attitudes of political leaders, but also of organizations like the UN in relation to the youth was grow up. There was no interest at all to have a discussion with young people. Then there was this idea that, I mean, young people is relevant. So we better try to make sure that young people does what we would like them to do. Let’s not forget that facing this attitude of rejection, young people revolted. May 68, remember, I’m talking about my young people’s time. And so. people started at these organizations to talk to young people, to try to communicate things to young people, not to listen to young people, but to tell things to young people, to try to convince young people to do this or to do that. Then we discovered that that wouldn’t lead anywhere. Young people became more and more assertive and so the third stage in which we are now is a stage in which there is a growing interest and the creation of some mechanisms to listen to young people. And there is a lot yet to be done. I think what this demonstrated is that we are somewhere, somewhere in the development of this phase, listening to young people, not listening systematically, not listening in an organized way always, but starting to listen. But what we need is the fourth phase and the fourth phase is to have young people participating in decision-making processes. And that is what requires a number of reforms and let’s be clear, that is something that is not easy in an organization like the UN that is still, even if it is with the peoples, an intergovernmental organization. And so a central aspect of the summit of the future and the central aspect of the reforms you talk about is how can we guarantee that the civil society, how can we guarantee that cities and the local authorities and especially how can we guarantee that young people participate in the different processes of decision of the UN. Now this is the task that our office now has to engage very strongly. which means looking into all the bodies of the UN work, General Assembly, how does the Economic and Social Council work. Security Council will be more difficult. We need to find ways in which, with the office totally committed to that, to make sure that in the decision-making processes of these bodies, there are moments in which there is an active intervention of young people. Not only that there is a consultation of young people, but moments of active intervention of young people. As we need to have moments of active intervention of the civil society, and as we need to have in some aspects moments of active intervention of the regional and local authorities that know better than governments at national level what’s really happening with we the people on the ground. Now, these are the reforms that we intend to accelerate now, and it means discussing with the leaders of the different bodies how to make sure that in the work of each of the bodies, there are moments in the different processes in which the young people have a systemic participation and not one like those that are there in that picture. And we are totally committed to do it. But there is another thing that is essential, is to have more young people working inside the organization. Unfortunately, many organizations in the world, and the UN is one of them, for different reasons, but especially for budgetary constraints, tend to have an aging population. is to reverse that trend. We need to have much more young people working daily. There where the dossiers are prepared, there where the decisions are studied, there where the ideas are born, to make sure that the kind of product that comes from the different areas and departments of the organization is much more adapted to the needs and to the interests of young people than what it is the case today. So, two main objectives. Organize the processes of the bodies of the UN to give young people a clear, interfering voice in decisive moments when things are being decided, not when things have already happened. And second, make a huge effort with all the budgetary difficulties that we have, a huge effort to reverse the trend of the aging nature of the UN staff.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): And in the spirit that this is an honest conversation and a frank conversation, do you think this would be enough to move and change this from moments to lasting moments?

Antonio Guterres: We need to persevere. We will face many resistances. So, if we want to have a lasting moment, we must be determined to overcome the obstacle. The obstacles will appear, but we must be determined to overcome these obstacles. And there is a fundamental reason for that. I mean, look at the world today. We have to recognize that my generation messed up in relation to the world today. There was a critical moment. I was at the time in government, in the 90s. We had the end of the Cold War, we had globalization that appeared to be the solution of all problems and there was a sense that the world was moving in the right direction and the generation that was in charge did nothing to correct the negative aspects that were going to appear. And then we saw that the globalization indeed produced richness but it produced inequality. And then we saw that the end of the Cold War meant a multiplication of hot wars and we see them now everywhere in the world. And then we discovered that the economic model that was in place had forgotten that there is nature, had forgotten that there is planet and started to use resources that were limited and started to have an impact of destruction of the planet itself. So this is the product of the model that my generation put in place. Taking profit of the end of the Cold War and of the globalization and its enormous potential, instead of transforming it in a world of peace and in a world of prosperity for everybody and in a world with peace with nature, developed a world of multiplication of warm conflicts, a world in which we have war with nature and a world in which we have an enormous increase of inequality that of course makes the situation of the use in large parts of the world absolutely dramatic. Now, if my generation recognizes that we failed, and that we need to revert things, and that we need a new model that takes place of the enormous potential of new technologies, that takes place of the enormous energy that has been generated in the world, makes peace with nature, creates true mechanisms of participation and equality at global level, and overcomes the contradictions that lead to the conflicts of today, for that we need a new generation, a digital generation, I’m still an analogic, a digital generation, that is able to understand that we are leading to a disaster, and that is able to revert things, and take profit of the enormous potential that exists in the world, to build something in which the next generation will feel comfortable. And we cannot do that if your generation is not part of the decision-making process that is still controlled by my generation, that messed up in the way it has happened. You said you wanted a frank conversation.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Yes, did I expect that? No. But thank you so much, because I know you’ll have to deal with this. Daphne, I saw you nodding your head a lot. What were you thinking?

Daphne Frias: It’s very rare where the generation before ours takes responsibility for the harms that have been caused, and I’m 26 years old. Sometimes I just want to be 26 years old. I don’t want to have to fix the climate crisis. I don’t want to have to stop wars. I just want to watch Netflix.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): We all do.

Daphne Frias: I just want to pet my dog and eat some cookies and live my life. But unfortunately, that is not our reality, but it can be. It can be if we not necessarily push for intergenerational collaboration, but make that the standard where it isn’t one young person representing millions of young people. I cannot possibly speak for a young person in Kenya, speak for a young person going through genocide in Palestine, speak for speak for a young person. Thank you. In Australia, I can only speak for me and I can only share my story. But the more of us that we have and the more of our stories that get shared, that is where the true change happens. So I hope that more of the older generation can follow the SG’s example and take responsibility and say, okay, we understand and we’re ready to do the hard work because it’s gonna take a lot.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Thank you, Daphne, for this. Caleb, just in a sentence, what were your thoughts?

Caleb Brathwaite: My initial thoughts are, whoa, and as Daphne said, take someone from the generation past taking responsibility for how this generation is now is incredible. I also laid hope, as Daphne also said, that he also lays solutions. I’m coming from a small developing state that reaches on the brink of the climate crisis, hurricanes that you’ve never seen before. You know, as a small developing state, we are not the world’s largest emitters, but we face the greatest threats, and that for the SG taking responsibility for what would have transpired years ago is incredible. We know what lies ahead. We know what the mission, and it’s for all of us in this room to collectively work to achieve that mission, and it’s prosperity for all young people.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Amazing. For all of us in this room, thank you so much, Caleb. Thank you so much, Daphne. We will continue the conversation with another two amazing young people, Amani and Josefa. So Caleb and Daphne, thank you so much for joining us, and please keep the conversation going. That was very honest, Mr. Secretary General. That was very honest. Thank you for sharing that.

Antonio Guterres: That is simply the truth.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): That is simply the truth. Yeah, that deserves a round of applause. That is simply the truth.

Antonio Guterres: You know, there is a book that was published called The Death of Truth, and we see a lot of things being done in misinformation, especially social media, to kill the truth. You must make sure that the truth survives.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): And is heard.

Antonio Guterres: The truth wins.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator) Thank you so much. Josefa, thank you so much for joining us. You are an indigenous youth policy coordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network. Amani, thank you so much for joining us, the co-founder of Unleashed Potentials in Motion. So Josefa, if I would start with you. In your opinion, what are the strategies that can be used and deployed today to ensure a meaningful youth participation in the decision-making processes, also taking into account what DSG has shared?

Josefa Tauli: Thank you so much, and I absolutely agree. Because among the young people, I just really, really want to emphasize that there are among them indigenous youth, youth with disabilities, young refugees, who are marginalized. And I think that unless our systems, our institutions, our decision-making processes, unless those work for them, and unless they listen to them and are led by them, that I think we would not only be failing at leaving no one behind, we would also be failing at listening to the voices and values and lived experiences that are very, very central to really healing the world that we live in. And I really say this also as an indigenous young woman who is constantly being shaped and molded by the young people, the indigenous people that I interact with every day at home and in the work that I do, these are people who really continue to be caring, caring for each other, caring for the land, caring for nature, and remain compassionate and kind, you know, even as they fight a system that is harming them and oppressing them and even killing them. So unless our institutions and processes are being led by them, then we would be failing at what we need to do, really. Just to add, I think what we need then is a shift, really, the shift in who holds power and space to speak and to lead, a shift in who gets resources, a shift in whose expertise we are listening to and whose values are guiding decision-making. For me, this needs to happen for transformation to really happen if we are sincere about really shifting and changing the system.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): That’s That’s very well put, especially if we are sincere and I hope everyone here is sincere about making that shift. Amani, what are some of the examples of innovative approaches that youth utilize in tackling the global challenges?

Amani Joel Mafigi: Thank you so much for the question and for the opportunity to speak. First of all, we have mentioned a lot of challenges and I know the world is currently facing a lot of them. You mentioned about innovation. Innovation is one way that we can assure a better future, but this innovation should be innovation for good. There are a lot of challenges and all these challenges can be really solved if we are to change the way we are doing things for better. I will share briefly about my story. I am a displaced person for the last 16 years. I’ve been living in Uganda as a firstly displaced person from the Democratic Republic of Congo. My life has been with a lot of adversities, but also great choices to make the world a better place. In 2018, I co-founded a youth-led organization called Unleashed Potentials in Motion, where we empower young people in leadership, potential discovery, business development, and social entrepreneurship. We have seen how this innovation can support young people to realize their future goals, because for anyone who has experienced a displacement, you know how it comes with traumas, having left your home behind. having left your story behind, some of your family members. So, and right now we have over 120 displaced people, 20 million displaced people. And it is such a huge, it’s such a huge opportunity that we have to tap in their talents, their skills, without leaving anyone behind. One of the youth that we trained called Basia Baraka. Let me finalize with this little story. Basia left his home in 2016. He tried to join school, but failed because of language barrier and lack of scholarship opportunities. He learned that Unleashed had opened up its doors, he applied quickly, and then he gained a scholarship at the organization. He started there through mentorship, he made research and realized that in the settlement, malaria was killing quite a big number of young people. So, he thought, which innovation could I create to reduce on the risk of this problem? He realized that he could use organic materials found in the settlement, in the community, to make a mosquito repellent jelly. Basia made the mosquito repellent jelly that is currently solving big challenges. And he’s supporting quite a number of young people to get jobs through his innovation. Now, this is one of the many innovations that young people are making. Like in this room, there are quite a lot of bright minds that are having a lot of innovations that they are creating to solve the challenge that face our world today. When youth are empowered, trusted, and funded, major breakthroughs that will shape our world to solve the challenges of today and the challenges of tomorrow is a guarantee. Thank you.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Thank you so much, Caleb. Mr. Secretary General, we. We heard Josefa, she talked about the shift and the need for a genuine shift, right? A genuine shift, a genuine interest in making the shift for meaningful and equal youth participation. And Amani shared with us his story and also made a very incredible remark about the need to have youth empowered, trusted and funded. What are your thoughts on this?

Antonio Guterres: I believe that one of the things that is essential at country level, as in international organizations, is to unleash the potential of young people. I mean, things are organized in a way in which to a certain extent young people has no opportunity to develop their own capacities and to be able to have an active engagement and contribution to the society as a whole. So one of the key reforms that needs to be done, that needs to be implemented at all levels is to free the young people, to let young people strive, to let the potential of young people be multiplied. And what we see today, if one thinks about how technology is evolving, this is a need even for the future economy. The future economy requires a level of youth in the capacity to understand the new technologies and to use the new technologies. That it’s absolutely essential to create the space, create the environment in which young people can assume leadership in their lives, in their activities. and more and more in the lives and activities of the community. This is, I think, the main objective of my generation, is to let the next generation be able to take the power that we are still misusing.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Wow. Is that a commitment?

Antonio Guterres: Yes, it is. But I mean, let’s be clear, power is never given. Power is taken. Which means young people need to have an exigent approach to their participation in countries, in organizations, in the life of our planet. So, I encourage young people not to be afraid to fight for their rights.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Power is never given, it’s taken. That’s quite a statement of inspiration for young people to continue the determination. There’s two words that you said that sparked a thought for me. Unleash and free. And in the spirit that this is a conversation among all of us, as I said, not only the four of us here on stage with the other two young colleagues, but this is a conversation among all of us, I would want us to try to unleash our creativity and our imagination and free our minds a bit. discussions, we’ve been discussing challenges here, we’ve been discussing strategies, gaps and so on. But we also want to have a moment to think, to reflect and to imagine a little bit. So the first thing I’ll ask everyone is to make sure that you’re sitting comfortably in your chairs, you know, just sit comfortably and think a little bit about the future, about the world we want to live in. Maybe take a deep breath, maybe another deep breath. And if you feel comfortable, close your eyes. If you don’t, just try to think and connect with yourself a little bit. And while we do that, I want you to think and imagine two different worlds. One world where nothing changes, no reforms are done to ensure youth meaningful participation, a world where everyone goes business as usual, and a world where the status quo right now, where young people do not have the power to influence or to participate. That’s the first world. Now, I want you to imagine a second world where we adopt transformative change, where young people are able to unleash. unleash their power, unleash their potential, where young people can be free to participate and able to influence the decision-making processes. So maybe just take another deep breath and think about these two different worlds. Just for a second, imagine how they look like. And then now we have created two different worlds. And my question to you, Josefa, if I can start with you. Which world would you want to live in? Which one would you want your future? The future generation to live in, and what stood out for you about that world?

Josefa Tauli: So of course, it’s the one where transformation really happens. And I’ll share two aspects that are really personal to me. First is in this future, children and young people are not afraid of the future that’s facing them and don’t have to fight as hard as we’re fighting now. Even as we speak, there is a big climate march going on outside these halls who are calling to stop funding extractivism and the climate crisis. So one where children and young people are not afraid of the future. And the second aspect is thinking of my family at home in the Philippines, because my father is an environmental defender and he’s facing a difficult situation with criminalization. So in this world that I envision in the future, I really hope that environmental defenders are safe and fully protected.

Moderator: Thank you so much. And Amani, what about you and what action do we need to take for that world or maybe not take?

Amani Joel Mafigi: More than ever, young people are more than committed to create change in their communities. We want to bring our energy, our talents, and our skills. One action that could be taken to achieve a world where we are able to solve challenges that we face at this moment and for the future to come, we could create a Youth Empowerment Fund that supports initiatives that are solving challenges in climatic action, social justice, and innovation because this way we can indeed be able to project the future and see a light, to project the future and want to be there, not a world where we don’t want to be. And I was talking to someone yesterday who mentioned that at times when they look into the future, they feel like they do not want to be into that future. And it is us. It is one by one to take action. Like the Secretary General mentioned, the seat is not given, it is taken. So it is for every individual to take their actions in whichever way possible that they can to create that change and to have that world. Thank you.

Moderator: Thank you so much, Caleb. Now, I have the same question to the audience. So raise your hand if you want to be in World 1. There is one hand over there. There is another hand. Was that a third hand? No? Okay. And raise your hand if you want to be in World 2. That’s many hands, more than what I can count. Mr. Secretary General, which world would you want to be in?

Antonio Guterres: It’s not a matter of wanting to be, it’s a matter of building it. We need to build Number 2. What is Number 1? Number 1 means the temperature will rise to 2.5 to 3 degrees. It means that we will have devastating impacts caused by high-level sea rise, by storms, drought, by all kinds of natural phenomena. There will be no more glaciers. There will be no more corals. Biodiversity will be largely eliminated. Is this the world where we want to live? Of course, a few people will live well in this world. There will be a group of privileged people, because inequalities will grow, that will live in a kind of air-conditioning igloo and go on enjoying the good things of life. But the overwhelming majority of the population of the world will be in big trouble. And then it will be the world in which the enormous potential of the technologies that we are developing, especially artificial intelligence, will be in the hands of a small group of great companies, and the capacity… of transforming this world in a world in which human agency will be less and less relevant, in which we will be controlled by a system that we don’t even understand, where we will not even be able to know what is true and what is false. This is the world that will be world number one. But world number two is possible. We can fight climate change now. We can reduce the emissions drastically in this decade, and we can guarantee that we stick to the 1.5 degrees, and that the peace with nature is reestablished in the world and biodiversity is preserved, and the experience of indigenous communities demonstrates that it is possible. And on the other hand, we can use artificial intelligence to make it a fantastic instrument of development in a way that is much more fair, with much less inequality in the world, because it’s something that, with adequate investment in literacy, with adequate investment in the youth, the youth will be able to use it everywhere. So, I mean, the world number two is a world that will respond to the dramatic challenges that the world number one is creating. Destruction of nature with climate change reversed by a world in which we all can live normally.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Indeed.

Antonio Guterres: Technology to divide, technology to unite. And then, one thing that is very important that was said, we see more and more young people today with a lot of anxiety about the future. We have a serious mental health problem developing in the world today because of this perception. that we are going in the wrong direction and that the world is becoming more and more difficult and more and more dangerous. That is why it is absolutely essential to go to model number two.

Hajer Sharief (Moderator): Model number two, world number two is possible and I really like how you challenged me on my question that it’s not the world we want to live in but which one we can build and that’s something that we will continue discussing today, especially in the sessions. Now, after this session, we’re going to have a half an hour break and then there are three sessions that are focused on inclusion, equity and trust which I think are essential to build world number two. Before we close, in the beginning, we saw the visual that was shown on the screen and maybe now we can take a look at it. That’s such an amazing visual, I must say, and it captures very well this honest and frank conversation. Thank you, everyone, for joining us. Thank you, Josefa. Thank you, Secretary General. Thank you, Amani. And I hope this is a conversation that will continue. Thank you so much, everyone.

Agreement Points

Need for meaningful youth participation in UN decision-making

Daphne Frias

Caleb Brathwaite

Antonio Guterres

Josefa Tauli

Amani Joel Mafigi

Tokenism is prevalent – youth voices heard but not acted upon

System needs updating to better impact young people

UN is in transition from just listening to youth to including them in decision-making

Shift power dynamics to be led by marginalized youth voices

Support youth-led initiatives solving global challenges

All speakers emphasized the importance of moving beyond tokenism to meaningful youth participation in UN decision-making processes.

Necessity for systemic changes in UN structures

Caleb Brathwaite

Antonio Guterres

Decentralize UN youth offices globally

Integrate youth into UN decision-making processes systematically

Increase number of young people working within the UN

Both speakers argued for structural changes within the UN to better incorporate youth perspectives and participation.

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the importance of empowering youth to take leadership roles and contribute to solving global challenges.

Antonio Guterres

Amani Joel Mafigi

Unleash potential of young people to lead and contribute to society

Support youth-led initiatives solving global challenges

Both speakers envisioned a future where current global challenges, particularly climate change, are addressed to create a more sustainable and equitable world for future generations.

Josefa Tauli

Antonio Guterres

A world where children are not afraid of the future

Choice between a world of climate crisis and inequality vs. one of sustainability and fairness

Unexpected Consensus

Acknowledgment of past failures and need for youth leadership

Antonio Guterres

Daphne Frias

Empower youth to take power and fight for their rights

It’s very rare where the generation before ours takes responsibility for the harms that have been caused

The UN Secretary-General’s frank admission of his generation’s failures and encouragement for youth to take power was unexpectedly aligned with the youth representative’s call for accountability from older generations.

Overall Assessment

Summary

There was broad agreement on the need for meaningful youth participation in UN decision-making, structural changes within the UN to facilitate this, and the importance of empowering youth to address global challenges. Speakers also shared a vision for a more sustainable and equitable future.

Consensus level

High level of consensus among all speakers on the core issues of youth participation and empowerment. This strong agreement implies a shared recognition of the urgency for change in how the UN engages with youth, which could potentially lead to more concrete actions and reforms in the near future.

Disagreement Points

Current state of youth participation in the UN

Daphne Frias

Caleb Brathwaite

Antonio Guterres

Tokenism is prevalent – youth voices heard but not acted upon

System needs updating to better impact young people

UN is in transition from just listening to youth to including them in decision-making

While all speakers agree that youth participation needs improvement, they differ in their assessment of the current state. Frias emphasizes tokenism, Brathwaite focuses on systemic outdatedness, and Guterres presents a more optimistic view of transition towards inclusion.

Overall Assessment

Summary

The main areas of disagreement revolve around the current state of youth participation in the UN and the specific approaches to improve it. While there is a general consensus on the need for change, speakers differ in their assessment of the current situation and the most effective strategies for improvement.

Disagreement level

The level of disagreement among the speakers is moderate. While there are differing perspectives on the current state and specific strategies, there is a strong underlying agreement on the need for increased and meaningful youth participation. This level of disagreement is constructive as it provides diverse viewpoints and approaches to addressing the issue, which can lead to more comprehensive and effective solutions.

Partial Agreements

Both Brathwaite and Guterres agree on the need for structural changes to increase youth participation, but they propose different approaches. Brathwaite suggests decentralizing UN youth offices, while Guterres focuses on integrating youth into existing decision-making processes and increasing youth employment within the UN.

Caleb Brathwaite

Antonio Guterres

Decentralize UN youth offices globally

Integrate youth into UN decision-making processes systematically

Increase number of young people working within the UN

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the importance of empowering youth to take leadership roles and contribute to solving global challenges.

Antonio Guterres

Amani Joel Mafigi

Unleash potential of young people to lead and contribute to society

Support youth-led initiatives solving global challenges

Both speakers envisioned a future where current global challenges, particularly climate change, are addressed to create a more sustainable and equitable world for future generations.

Josefa Tauli

Antonio Guterres

A world where children are not afraid of the future

Choice between a world of climate crisis and inequality vs. one of sustainability and fairness

Key Takeaways

Youth participation in UN processes is currently at the level of tokenism and consultation, not true decision-making power

Meaningful youth engagement requires systemic reforms to UN structures and processes

Young people are innovating solutions to global challenges but need more support and resources

A transformative shift in power dynamics is needed to center marginalized youth voices

Two potential futures were envisioned – one of climate crisis and inequality vs. one of sustainability and equity

Resolutions and Action Items

Integrate youth systematically into UN decision-making processes

Increase number of young people working within the UN

Decentralize UN youth offices globally

Create a Youth Empowerment Fund for youth-led initiatives

Unresolved Issues

Specific mechanisms for integrating youth into UN decision-making bodies

How to overcome budgetary constraints to hire more young UN staff

Ways to protect environmental defenders and activists

How to address youth mental health and anxiety about the future

Suggested Compromises

Implement reverse mentorship programs where adults learn from youth

Balance between consultation and direct youth participation in decision-making

We the peoples of the United Nations have determined, and today the people also are coming together to determine.

Speaker

Hajer Sharief (Moderator)

Reason

This comment set the tone for the entire discussion by emphasizing the importance of collective action and participation from all people, not just governments or representatives.

Impact

It framed the subsequent conversation around the need for greater youth engagement and participation in UN processes.

The system needs to be updated, and the system needs to be able to better care for us now in 2024 as young people and beyond.

Speaker

Caleb Brathwaite

Reason

This comment directly challenged the current UN system and called for significant reforms to better serve young people.

Impact

It sparked a discussion about concrete steps and reforms needed to ensure meaningful youth participation in UN decision-making processes.

Young people in countries of Latin America and the global south have always been fighting, but we are, some of us, giving up our lives in order to do this and this should not be the case.

Speaker

Daphne Frias

Reason

This powerful statement highlighted the extreme risks faced by young activists in certain parts of the world, bringing attention to global inequalities in youth engagement.

Impact

It deepened the conversation by introducing the critical issue of safety for young activists and the need for global protection of youth voices.

We have to recognize that my generation messed up in relation to the world today.

Speaker

Antonio Guterres

Reason

This candid admission from the UN Secretary-General was strikingly honest and set a tone of accountability for past failures.

Impact

It shifted the conversation towards a more frank discussion of intergenerational responsibility and the need for systemic change led by younger generations.

Unless our institutions and processes are being led by them, then we would be failing at what we need to do, really.

Speaker

Josefa Tauli

Reason

This comment emphasized the need for not just inclusion, but leadership from marginalized youth groups in decision-making processes.

Impact

It pushed the discussion towards considering more radical changes in power structures within global institutions.

Power is never given. Power is taken. Which means young people need to have an exigent approach to their participation in countries, in organizations, in the life of our planet.

Speaker

Antonio Guterres

Reason

This provocative statement challenged young people to actively claim their place in decision-making processes rather than waiting for it to be granted.

Impact

It energized the discussion and shifted the focus towards actionable steps young people can take to increase their influence and participation.

Overall Assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by progressively deepening the analysis of youth participation in global decision-making. The conversation evolved from identifying problems to proposing solutions, and ultimately to challenging young people to take an active role in claiming their power. The frank admissions from the Secretary-General added gravity to the discussion and opened space for more radical proposals for change. Overall, the comments pushed the dialogue beyond surface-level considerations of youth inclusion towards a more nuanced examination of power structures, global inequalities, and the need for fundamental systemic changes.

How can the UN youth office be decentralized to better engage young people globally?

Speaker

Caleb Brathwaite

Explanation

Caleb suggested establishing UN youth offices around the world in multi-country offices to better implement youth engagement initiatives

How can barriers to youth employment and engagement within the UN system be reduced?

Speaker

Daphne Frias

Explanation

Daphne highlighted obstacles like educational and language requirements that prevent many young people from working at the UN

How can the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be expanded to better protect young people’s voices?

Speaker

Daphne Frias

Explanation

Daphne suggested this as a way to address issues of tokenism and improve meaningful youth participation

What concrete reforms are needed to ensure youth participation in UN decision-making processes?

Speaker

Moderator

Explanation

The moderator asked this of the Secretary-General to understand specific steps for improvement

How can the UN reverse the trend of an aging staff and incorporate more young people?

Speaker

Antonio Guterres

Explanation

The Secretary-General identified this as a key area to address to improve youth representation within the organization

What strategies can ensure meaningful participation of marginalized youth groups in decision-making?

Speaker

Josefa Tauli

Explanation

Josefa emphasized the need to include indigenous youth, youth with disabilities, and young refugees in processes

How can resources and power be shifted to amplify youth voices and leadership?

Speaker

Josefa Tauli

Explanation

Josefa suggested this was necessary for true transformation of systems and institutions

What innovative approaches are youth using to tackle global challenges?

Speaker

Moderator

Explanation

The moderator asked this to highlight youth-led solutions and initiatives

How can a Youth Empowerment Fund be created to support youth initiatives in climate action, social justice, and innovation?

Speaker

Amani Joel Mafigi

Explanation

Amani proposed this as a concrete action to empower youth to solve global challenges