Reflections from Jayathma Wickramanayake & Felipe Paullier
Concluding another successful year of work, the time has come for the Office of the Envoy on Youth to wrap up its mandate and officially pass the baton to the new United Nations Youth Office as we embark on a new era for the United Nations’ work with and for youth globally.
2023 was a year of transition. A shift that gained momentum with the adoption of General Assembly Resolution 76/306 the previous year. Not only did this resolution lay the groundwork for the establishment of the UN Youth Office, but it also made possible a historic appointment of an Assistant Secretary-General below the age of 35 — the youngest ever senior appointment at the UN!
This transition is not a departure from ground zero, nor did it occur in isolation. Instead, it represents an evolution, building upon nearly a decade of crucial efforts by the Envoys on Youth and the unwavering dedication of young people who keep pushing the United Nations to work more meaningfully with and for them.
Integral to this transition is the pivotal role played by the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth by diligently addressing its existing responsibilities, and in supporting the delivery of entrusted mandates to the UN Youth Office. In doing so, the office has been a linchpin, ensuring seamless continuity during the operational establishment of the UN Youth Office.
Reflecting on this journey, the complexities of the world continue to unfold. 2023 marked a year of grappling with myriad and far-reaching crises — from conflicts and rising geopolitical tensions, to climate change and the mental health crisis.
Despite constraints and daunting odds, and being amongst the most affected populations, we have seen how young people are steadfastly responding on the frontlines of crises - actively finding hope in despair, countering disillusionment and seeking innovative solutions.
As this year concludes, one conviction stands above all: this is not the time for young people to be on the side-lines; it’s the time to put them front and centre of our collective efforts to build peace, ensure sustainable development and uphold human rights.
This sentiment gains added significance in 2023, as we mark the fifth anniversary of Youth2030, the first ever UN system-wide Youth Strategy. The accelerated implementation of Youth2030 was crucial to ensuring our work goes beyond rhetoric and achieves tangible results, providing an opportunity to embed these values within the entire UN system, especially at the country level.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude to all partners and donors for their generous support, which enabled us to fulfil our mission. We would also like to express deep appreciation to our team members, whose unparalleled commitment, passion and competence have made the initiatives in this report possible.
Ushering in this new era, through sustained resourcing, intergenerational solidarity and multistakeholder partnerships, we have the utmost confidence that elevating meaningful youth engagement to unprecedented levels at the UN and beyond is not only conceivable but also essential for shaping a world that is inherently inclusive, equitable, and prosperous for all.
In solidarity,
Jayathma Wickramanayake, Former United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth
Felipe Paullier, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs
Establishment of the UN Youth Office
In his Our Common Agenda report, the Secretary-General proposed the establishment of a new United Nations Youth Office — responding to years of advocacy from youth and supporters calling for the institutionalization of the youth mandate in the UN Secretariat.
On 8 September 2022, the General Assembly officially passed a resolution supporting the establishment of the United Nations Youth Office as a dedicated office for youth affairs in the Secretariat, integrating the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. Throughout 2023, efforts have been ongoing to support the transition of activities from the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth to the UN Youth Office.
With a solid foundation now in place, the new UN Youth Office is poised to lead high-level advocacy and serve as the anchor for United Nations system coordination and accountability on youth matters across our work on peace, sustainable development, humanitarian issues and human rights.
About the UN Youth Office
As an unwavering champion and advocate for young people everywhere, the UN Youth Office envisions a world in which all young people are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them most. We lead system-wide collaboration, coordination and accountability on youth affairs, harmonizing the ways the United Nations works with and for young people in all their diversity. By fostering multi-stakeholder intergenerational solidarity, our work focuses on strengthening meaningful, inclusive and effective youth engagement in the areas of sustainable development, human rights, and peace and security. For more information, follow @UNYouthAffairs on social media.
Welcoming the first-ever Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs
On 28 October 2023, Dr. Felipe Paullier was announced as the first Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs and as head of the new UN Youth Office. Upon assuming his mandate on 1 December 2023, he became the youngest-ever senior appointment in the history of the UN.
“With the establishment of the UN Youth Office, we mark the start of a new era for the UN system. As I assume my mandate, I am eager to begin meeting with young people from all corners of the world, both virtually and on-the-ground in their communities. Learning from young people’s experiences over the coming months will be critical in helping me to shape an action plan for the new Youth Office that ensures no young person is left behind.”
Youth2030 — The UN Systemwide Youth Strategy
In 2023, Youth2030, the UN system-wide Youth Strategy, continued to gain momentum across the UN system, with 55 UN entities and 131 UN Country Teams participating in its implementation.
During the High-level Political Forum in July, the third Youth2030 Progress Report was launched, outlining highlights of progress, as well as gaps and recommendations for accelerating implementation.
Over the past five years, solid foundations for implementing the strategy across the UN system have been established. Global governance and system-wide coordination structures are in place, performance measurement and accountability systems have been institutionalized, baselines for implementation are available and mechanisms for periodic tracking of progress have been established.
The first Interim Review of Youth2030, initiated this year, kicked-off a process to understand the lessons learned from the first years of implementation and undertake adjustments for the remaining period of the strategy.
The data and insights from the "Youth2030 Progress Report: 2023" and the findings from the first interim review of the strategy will help strengthen future implementation in priority areas in focused geographic areas/regions where implementation is lagging.
In 2023, the #Youth2030 hashtag was used more than 33,600 times across digital channels, including social media. This included over 522,000 engagements with content using #Youth2030, with a potential reach of more than 135.6 million throughout the year — showing increasing awareness and engagement surrounding the UN Youth Strategy across digital platforms.
Strengthening Internships in the UN
For many young people, internships have served as entry points to dive deeper into the work of the UN system. New ideas, fresh perspectives and diverse expertise brought by interns are known to be significant boosters that have helped the UN to continuously innovate and strengthen its organizational agility in the face of new challenges.
Under the Youth2030, efforts have advanced together with the Department of Operational Support (DOS), the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance (DMSPC), the Fair Internships Initiative, Young UN and other entities to drive progress in this area.
The "Internships in the UN: An Exploratory Review" was launched in September 2023 and provides critical insights on the status of internships in UN entities that participated in the exploratory review and makes concrete recommendations on the path forward. This includes UN entities placing a strong focus on implementing policies on internships, investing in data and ensuring transparency to drive organizational decisions, strengthening system-wide coherence of internship policies across the UN. It is recommended that common standards for internships are established across the UN system, as well as clear system-wide metrics with progress tracked periodically — efforts which will be taken forward over the coming year.
Our Common Agenda
Responding to the Declaration on the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations and after a year of intensive consultations with Member States, civil society, youth, the UN system, and others, the Secretary-General launched his report Our Common Agenda on 10 September 2021.
Our Common Agenda looks ahead to the next 25 years and represents the Secretary-General's vision for the future of global cooperation. It calls for inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism to better respond to humanity’s most pressing challenges. At the heart of Our Common Agenda is the plea to strengthen solidarity with youth and future generations as a crosscutting necessity to address current and future global challenges.
Throughout 2023, the Office continued to support efforts towards mainstreaming youth engagement across all areas of Our Common Agenda implementation, including work on young women’s participation in decision-making, information integrity, the development of the Global Digital Compact, and the establishment of a New Agenda for Peace, among others.
Policy Brief on Meaningful Youth Engagement in Policymaking and Decision-making Processes
Our Common Agenda called for the “Envoy on Youth to prepare recommendations for more meaningful, diverse and effective youth engagement in UN deliberative and decision-making processes for the consideration of the General Assembly, the Security Council and ECOSOC and their respective subsidiary bodies. This will be done in consultation with the world’s young people.”
In response, the Office worked together with the Executive Office of the Secretary-General to prepare the Secretary-General's policy brief on Meaningful Youth Engagement in Policymaking and Decision-Making Processes, launched on 19 April.
The brief highlights the important role of young people in sustainable development, peace and security, and human rights, while also outlining concrete recommendations for Member States to strengthen meaningful youth engagement across intergovernmental decision-making processes at all levels.
The recommendations draw directly from inputs heard from Member States, UN partners, and most importantly from young people themselves — in recent years, more than 12 million young people across more than 194 countries have voiced their views on the future of multilateralism via a diverse range of consultative processes, sharing their expectations for strengthened youth engagement in intergovernmental policymaking and decision-making processes.
The proposals put forward are wide-ranging, including: expanding and strengthening youth participation in decision-making at all levels; making meaningful youth engagement a requirement in all UN decision-making processes; and supporting the establishment of a standing UN Youth Townhall and an integrated programme from the UN system to facilitate greater diversity, representativeness and preparedness in youth participation.
Looking towards the Summit of the Future in 2024, efforts will continue, working together with Member States and youth, to see these proposals put into action.
Engagement, Participation and Advocacy
Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals
On a biennial basis, the Office recognizes outstanding young leaders from across various sectors for their agency, courage and ingenuity in finding lasting solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.
Launched in 2016, the flagship Young Leaders for the SDGs initiative brings together a group of 17 young people between the ages of 15 to 29 years old from around the world who contribute to implementing the 2030 Agenda, fostering resilience in their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress, and inspiring political change.
Over the last four calls for applications, the initiative has received more than 20,000 applications from young people around the world. The Office works closely with existing cohorts of Young Leaders to reach millions of young people worldwide. With more than 50 alumni from over 40 countries across all regions of the world, the Office continues to engage with current and former Young Leaders by routinely providing advocacy opportunities and helping bring them and their networks closer to the UN to ultimately motivate and mobilize young people to apply their skills and energy to lead new solutions towards achieving the SDGs.
The 2022 cohort — announced in September 2022 — includes an aspiring astronaut, medical doctor and fashion designer, Paralympic medalist, poet, artists, climate entrepreneurs, peacebuilders, gender justice advocates, and education innovators, among others.
Since being appointed, this cohort of Young Leaders has accepted and participated in more than 300 engagements at global level, and more than 140 at regional and national level, including: The St. Gallen Symposium, Nobel Prize Summit, World Bank Group Youth Summit, Global Baku Forum, UNESCO’s Internet for Trust Conference, 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development, the Inter-Generational Dialogue on the International Education Day, iDiaspora Young Leaders hosted by IOM, Oslo Energy Forum 2023, and the Sustainability Impact Forum, among others.
The Young Leaders also hosted dedicated spotlight sessions during the ECOSOC Youth Forum in April 2023, highlighting their diverse work to advance the SDGs throughout their communities. Many served as panelists at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2023, with others also participating during UNGA High-Level Week in September 2023, moderating and speaking at various events throughout the week.
Young Leaders for the SDGs Working Retreat
The Young Leaders were brought together for the first time as a full cohort during the ECOSOC Youth Forum in April 2023 for a working retreat at UN Headquarters. The retreat provided an opportunity for meaningful exchange of ideas to build community, learn from one another, and connect with UN leadership, Member States and other key stakeholders.
Among others, the Young Leaders met with the Secretary-General, António Guterres; Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed; 77th President of the General Assembly, Csaba Korosi; Administer of the UN Development Programme, Achim Steiner; UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake.
Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
Building on efforts to bring more young leaders into decision-making and planning processes, the Office supported the UN Secretary-General's Climate Action Team in developing and launching the second cohort of the Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change in March 2023, announcing seven new young members. The Youth Advisory Group supports the work of the UN in raising ambition and accelerating global action to tackle the climate crisis.
During 2023, the Youth Advisory Group participated in a range of key climate and advocacy fora, including the Bonn Sessional 58 (SB58), various regional climate weeks, the High-Level Political Forum, the SDG Action Weekend, the SDG Media Zone, New York Climate Week, Youth4Climate, COY18 and COP28, among many others.
Ahead of the Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit in September 2023, the group also supported the delivery of a Youth Dialogue with the UN Secretary-General, where 20 representatives of youth networks were invited to discuss how global youth climate movements can be further empowered and energized to push governments and business leaders for much bolder climate actions in the lead-up to COP28.
The Office supported the Youth Advisory Group in organizing a similar Youth Roundtable with the Secretary-General and young climate activists during COP28 in Dubai, where young people shared their insights, concerns and recommendations on key priorities they hoped to see reflected in the negotiation process.
Engaging with Young People via Social Media
Throughout 2023, social media remained a key tool used by the Office to engage with youth worldwide, with nearly 800,000 people following and engaging with the Office’s accounts, including:
Collectively, we saw an accelerated growth of approximately 22.5% across our channels in 2023 (and a total 147,000 new followers).
In December 2023, in line with the establishment of the new Youth Office, we transitioned our social media handles from @UNYouthEnvoy to @UNYouthAffairs across all channels. At the same time, we launched new channels on Threads and LinkedIn, amassing an additional 12,500 and 1,200 followers respectively.
We also engaged with young people in China via Weibo, supporting the main UN account, and reaching more than 1.2 million people via our posts there (a nearly 16% increase on the year prior).
The Youth2030 Pulse is the monthly newsletter from the UN Youth Office, providing updates on youth-related campaigns, events, opportunities and resources from across the UN system.
As of December 2023, the newsletter counts a subscriber base of more than 53,000 (a 29% increase from 2022). It continues to also sustain a strong open rate of over 72% (compared to an industry average of 20-25%), and a click-through rate of 16% (compared to an industry average of 8-10%).
Twelve editions of the Youth2030 Pulse were published in 2023 (one per month), including special editions for International Youth Day (August) and on the status of youth engagement in the implementation of Our Common Agenda (November).
International Youth Day 2023
Under the theme of Celebrating Ways #YouthLead as Agents of Change for the Global Goals, the Office marked International Youth Day on 12 August by showcasing young people’s resilience, resourcefulness and leadership when it comes to creating a better world for all.
The campaign saw the Office hand over its digital channels (social media, website, email) to a different young person each day throughout the month of August, culminating in a first-of-its-kind month-long takeover, showcasing the myriad of intersectional ways that young people are contributing to achievement of the SDGs around the world.
More than 25 partners submitted content, including photos, quotes, blogs, videos and more, as part of the campaign, which was complimented by hundreds of submissions directly from youth. In total, the campaign featured young people from a total of 35 counties between the ages of 16 and 29. It garnered nearly two million impressions via digital channels, reaching nearly 440,000 accounts and mobilizing more than 56,000 interactions and 4,200 shares among young people around the world.
On Youth Day itself, a live broadcast was hosted together with Peace One Day, featuring the Young Leaders for the SDGs.
The 2023 edition of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum took place in a hybrid format from 25 to 27 April, providing a platform for young people to engage in a dialogue with Member States and other actors on concrete actions to accelerate the recovery from COVID-19 and to advance towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The third day focused on gathering young people’s recommendations and innovative ideas in preparation for the SDG Summit, held in September 2023. In the lead-up, a global public virtual consultation with youth entitled “Youth & the SDGs” was held from 14 March to 6 April by UN Entities, civil society organizations, and youth-led organizations. 649 participants from 109 countries engaged in the consultations, which culminated in “Key Takeaways from the Youth & the SDGs online consultation”.
Over 55 Ministers responsible for Youth Affairs and other high-level government officials, as well as 25 official UN Youth Delegates, participated in the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2023, in addition to high-level UN officials, civil society representatives, and other stakeholders. Over 1,000 young people joined the Youth Forum in person at the UN Headquarters in New York and over 25,000 participants virtually, making it the largest gathering of young people at the UN to date.
Youth Forum: How change-makers are shaping a more sustainable world | UN News; Can young leaders help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals?; Now is the time ‘to engage the youth’, UN Forum delegate; The young leader bringing clean power to Tanzanian villages; SDG ‘warriors’ open Youth Forum with advice for building better world.
SDG Summit
The SDG Summit 2023 took place on 18 and 19 September as the centerpiece of the High-level Week of the 78th session of the General Assembly. Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the SDG Summit marked the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development.
Ahead of the Summit, the Secretary-General convened an SDG Action Weekend on 16 and 17 September, which generated opportunities for various stakeholders, UN entities, and Member States to convene inside the UN Headquarters and set out specific commitments and contributions to drive SDG transformation between now and 2030.
Torchbearers for the SDGs: Consultations on Meaningful Youth Engagement & the 2030 Agenda
Together with the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) and the International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organizations (ICMYO), the Office led in facilitating a youth-led engagement roadmap towards the SDG Summit. The process directly built upon the views and recommendations from young people highlighted during the “Youth & the SDGs” global consultation, the outcomes of the 2023 ECOSOC Youth Forum, as well as the process culminating in the Secretary-General's Policy Brief on Meaningful Youth Engagement in Policymaking and Decision-Making Processes.
The roadmap included two virtual youth consultations (30 June and 11 August) under the banner of “Torchbearers for the SDGs: Consultations on Meaningful Youth Engagement & the 2030 Agenda”. It also featured the launch of a Guidance Note for Self-organized Youth Consultations, which invited youth-led, youth-focused or youth-serving organizations to host consultations in their communities between June and August 2023.
Over 4,500 young people from 159 countries collectively contributed to the consultations.
Building on these consultations, the process culminated with the “Torchbearers for the SDGs: Meaningful Youth Engagement & the 2030 Agenda” session during the SDG Action Weekend. The segment was moderated by two of the Young Leaders for the SDGs, and concluded with the official launch and presentation of the outcomes of the “Torchbearers for the SDGs” global consultation and the Global Youth Position Paper by youth representatives.
The documents jointly highlighted young people’s perspectives and recommendations on gaps and opportunities for meaningful youth engagement in policymaking and decision-making processes at all levels, including as it relates to their engagement as full-fledged partners in realizing the SDGs.
Through this process, young people echoed the Secretary-General's proposals calling for a global standard on meaningful youth engagement based on core guiding principles, as well as for meaningful youth engagement to be made a requirement in all intergovernmental processes, including at the UN.
In total, about 6,000 participants from UN Member States, civil society, youth groups, local and regional governments and the private sector convened at UN Headquarters for the SDG Action Weekend — highlighting that the participation, contributions and catalytic mobilization of all stakeholders is essential to the long-term implementation of the SDGs. Watch the recordings: Part 1 and Part 2.
With thanks for the financial support of Ireland as a co-facilitator for the SDG Summit, the Office also helped support the in-person participation of 27 young people and two chaperones for the SDG Action Weekend, the SDG Summit, and other activities taking place during UNGA78.
Ministerial Meeting of the Summit of the Future
The Summit of the Future, which will convene in September 2024 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the SDGs and the UN Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people's lives.
To support in preparations for the Summit next year, Member States held a Preparatory Ministerial Meeting on 21 September 2023, where Ministers set out their vision and priorities for the Summit, and outlined their expectations for an action-oriented “Pact for the Future”, which will include a dedicated chapter on youth and future generations.
One of the Young Leaders for the SDGs, Varaidzo (Vee) Kativhu, joined the high-level opening of the Preparatory Ministerial Meeting, emphasizing that young people must be included as equal partners in policymaking and decision-making processes at all levels, to be facilitated by strong commitments to meaningful youth engagement during the Summit of the Future.
Informed and Healthy Foundations
World Programme for Human Rights Education
In partnership with UN Human Rights and UNESCO we continued to support the implementation of the fourth phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education.
This phase of the Programme is based on the understanding that human rights education empowers young people to recognize and fulfill their role as active citizens, take action and uphold their human rights, and participate accordingly in public affairs and democratic decision-making processes.
In support of the process to establish the focus of the fifth phase of programme, the Office hosted a virtual consultation with youth representatives on 23 May 2023. Through this consultation, young participants expressed their thoughts, concerns and aspirations, shedding light on the target sectors and focus areas they believe should be prioritized.
On 11 October 2023, based on these inputs, the Human Rights Council decided that the fifth phase of the World Programme will continue to focus on youth, while expanding to include children as a priority sector, with special emphasis on human rights and digital technologies, the environment and climate change, and gender equality.
Follow-up to the Transforming Education Summit
Following the launch of the Youth Declaration on Transforming Education at the Transforming Education Summit in September 2022, the Office joined forces with UNESCO and the SDG4Youth & Students Network to develop the Global Youth Initiative on Transforming Education — the first-ever multistakeholder and global initiative to ensure meaningful youth engagement in education policymaking and decision-making processes, developed as a channel to take forward young people’s demands from the Youth Declaration on Transforming Education.
During the SDG Action Weekend in September 2023, the Office supported the participation of representatives from the SDG4Youth & Students network in the High Impact Initiative on Transforming Education session, marking the 1-year anniversary of the Transforming Education Summit.
2024-2025 Cohort of the SDG4Youth & Students Network
The Office supported in reviewing applications for the 2024-2025 cohort of the SDG4Youth & Students Network, which represents millions of young people and students all over the world. The Network also elects youth and student representatives to their Executive Committee, as well to the High-Level Steering Committee of SDG4.
International Day of Education
The International Day of Education (24 January) this year focused on the theme of “Invest in People, Prioritize Education,” building on the global momentum generated by the Transforming Education Summit. To mark the day, we moderated the “Transforming Education: Youth Dialogue on Innovative Learning – International Education Day”, organized by the UNESCO Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) and the UNESCO Division of Education 2030, in collaboration with SDG4Youth & Students Network.
Economic Empowerment through Decent Work
World Youth Skills Day
World Youth Skills Day (15 July) is an opportunity for young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, and public and private sector stakeholders to acknowledge and celebrate the importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.
In 2023, we joined the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Sri Lanka to the UN, as well as UNESCO and ILO in organizing a high-level panel discussion to mark the day on the topic of “Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future”.
Ahead of the panel, we hosted a #YouthLead Innovation Spotlight on Teachers, Trainers, & Future-Proof Skills for Youth on 14 July to discuss the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration to enable future-proof skills for youth through trainers’ and teachers’ empowerment. 2,000 young people from all regions participated in the event. VVOB – Education for Development also published a blog on skilling youth for a sustainable future, featuring young people from the Innovation Spotlight.
To commemorate World Youth Skills Day on social media, we joined forces with Generation Unlimited (GenU) to raise awareness about the importance of skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future, recognizing the need for #SkillsRightNow. We published a collaborative series of posts across both channels, amplifying youth voices and emphasizing the crucial role youth play as partners and leaders in cultivating skills vital for their future development.
Youth Skills, Employment & Economic Empowerment
Throughout 2023, we continued to support Generation Unlimited, Solutions for Youth Employment and Decent Jobs for Youth, multi-stakeholder coalitions that aim to provide leadership and resources for catalytic action to increase the number of young people engaged in productive work, including by creating quality jobs for young people.
Youth and human Rights
Young People's Political Participation
Through our flagship Be Seen, Be Heard campaign in collaboration with The Body Shop, we continued advocating for the meaningful engagement of young people in all their diversity in public life and politics at all levels.
The campaign aims at ultimately advocating for legislation or policy change to address the variety of structural and cultural barriers which prevent young people from fulfilling their right to participate in public life around the world. The policy objectives of the campaign are tailored to national contexts and include a variety of calls to action, including lowering the voting age to 16, aligning the eligibility age to run for office with voting age, and increasing youth representation in formal governance structures such as through youth councils, among others.
No Say Day
On 9 January, we marked No Say Day, representing the last day in 2023 when young people’s voices are effectively represented in parliaments around the world. Half of the world’s population is under 30, compared to just 2.6% of parliamentarians globally, meaning if this ratio were reflected in a year, youth voices would effectively go unheard just nine days into the year.
Engagements during the ECOSOC Youth Forum
Alongside the ECOSOC Youth Forum in April, we organized a high-level side event under the banner of “Be Seen, Be Heard: Let’s Rewrite the Rules of Young People’s Political Participation.” It brought together around 150 participants from more than 30 countries and territories, including youth activists, Ministers, State Secretaries, Young Parliamentarians and senior civil society representatives, inviting them to engage in insightful intergenerational discussions under the theme of youth political participation.
We also convened a Be Seen, Be Heard reception attended by over 200 participants, including high-level government representatives, youth activists and representatives from youth constituencies, civil society organizations and the UN system, all in the spirit of elevating the diverse voices of young people and promoting young people’s participation in political life.
Collaboration with Global Citizen
Under the banner of the campaign, we partnered with Global Citizen to position our work on youth participation in public life and politics as a core part of their advocacy work on civic space in 2023, mobilizing tens of thousands of people to take action online in support of the Be Seen, Be Heard campaign.
Through the partnership, the campaign was also represented at major advocacy events such as the Global Citizen Festival in New York and Power our Planet: Live in Paris, as well as via a dedicated X/Twitter Space Conversation with representatives of the Be Seen, Be Heard campaign at global and local levels.
Be Seen, Be Heard Around the World
The campaign also featured in various regional advocacy events throughout the year, including the European Youth Event where a specific panel discussion titled “Be Seen, Be Heard: Young people as agents of political change” facilitated conversations around lowering the voting age, meaningful youth engagement in politics and youth participation in multilateral environmental agreements.
The issue of youth participation in public life and politics also gained visibility and public awareness through media coverage such as the op-ed published by Fortune, as well as online articles written by young leaders engaged with the campaign (here and here).
The data collected in the Be Seen, Be Heard Global Youth Report was also referenced in a vast number of articles and knowledge materials throughout the year, including the Women Deliver publication on equitable youth engagement and co-leadership, as well as articles published by One Young World, the European Youth Forum and Freedom House.
Communications Impact
Since launching in May 2022, the #BeSeenBeHeard hashtag has been used more than 21,000 times across social media channels, and the campaign microsite has been viewed nearly 60,000 times with more than 30,000 unique users.
On social media, the campaign has cumulatively reached 47.8 million people to date as well as more than 406 million impressions. On the Office’s own social media channels, the campaign has amassed more than 1,239,000 impressions, 45,000 engagements and nearly 5,000 shares across all activations.
The Be Seen, Be Heard website was also revamped and is now accessible in the six official UN languages as well as highlights the specific objectives of the campaign at country and local levels.
Not Too Young To Run
In support of youth-led action to achieve greater youth representation and participation in political leadership, the Office created a dedicated webpage of the Not Too Young To Run campaign, focusing on aligning the eligibility age to run for political office with the voting age, by including useful content and resources on how to prepare and implement local activations and advocacy campaigns.
Not Too Young To Run is a longstanding partnership together with UNDP, UN Human Rights, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the European Youth Forum and Yiaga Africa.
Protection and Safe Engagement of Young People in Civic Spaces
This year we continued strengthening our advocacy on the protection of young people in civic space, building upon the launch of the “If I Disappear” Global Report on Protecting Young People in Civic Space in 2021.
As a core component of this work, together with partners across the UN system we actively promoted the virtual module Engaging Safely at the UN – a training for Young People as the primary youth-sensitive online training on preventing abuse of authority, discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), in the context of young people’s engagement with the UN.
This included prominent dissemination of the training with youth participants ahead of their engagements in major global UN-led events, including the Commission of the Status of Women, the 2023 ECOSOC Youth Forum and the SDG Summit.
Human Rights 75
To mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we actively supported activities of the OHCHR Youth Advisory Board, including by participating in the Human Rights 75 Global Youth Consultation in August and addressing the Youth Dialogue organized during the Human Rights 75 high-level event in Geneva in December.
The Youth Declaration, shaped by insights from the youth consultation, calls for collaboration among governments, businesses and civil society to uphold human rights for a just, inclusive and sustainable future.
Youth and Disability Inclusion
Checklist to Ensure the Meaningful Youth Engagement of Young Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action
In recognition of the needs of young people in crises, we collaborated with the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action to support youth-friendly and disability-inclusive humanitarian response through the development of a Checklist to Ensure the Meaningful Youth Engagement of Young Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action.
After the earthquake in Türkiye-Syria in February 2023, emergency response was provided to the affected population, and young persons with disabilities were identified as one of the social groups most affected by the crisis — the Checklist was developed in response to strengthen the meaningful youth engagement of young persons with disabilities in humanitarian action in future crises.
The Checklist was launched on 29 November to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), with three UN Country Teams (Ghana, Nepal and Colombia) sharing specific ways they will be leveraging the Checklist to strengthen local humanitarian response to emergencies.
Research on Young Persons with Disabilities
Throughout 2023, the Office co-chaired the Youth2030 Task Team on Young Persons with Disabilities together with UNFPA, with the aim of strengthening the meaningful participation of youth with disabilities across key processes and decision-making fora. In addition to key UN partners, the Task Team includes the International Disability Alliance’s Youth Committee and the Global Network of Young Persons with Disabilities (GNYPWD).
As a core component of this work, the Task Team is finalizing development of a research report focused on young persons with disabilities and their meaningful participation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The research has been developed in 40 countries from 5 regions, involving UN entities, civil society and Government stakeholders. Accessibility was ensured throughout all stages of the data collection phase (including the survey roll-out and the implementation of focus group discussions and interviews). The final research findings are anticipated to be launched in early 2024.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
The Office moderated UN DESA’s official International Day of Persons with Disabilities event in December 2023, under the theme: “United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with and by persons with disabilities.”
Panelists included the former Special Rapporteur on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UN Women, the World Institute on Disability, the World Bank Group, the International Disability Alliance and the UN Volunteer Program (UNV).
Peace and Resilience Building
Five-year Strategy on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes
In February 2023, we marked the official commencement of the International Steering Group responsible for implementing the Five-Year Strategic Action Plan for Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes with a virtual launch event.
The comprehensive strategy, originally launched during the High-Level Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes in January 2022, aims to transition from youth-inclusive norms to tangible youth-inclusive practices over the next five years.
The International Steering Group — co-chaired by the UN Youth Office, DPPA, and Search for Common Ground — serves as a platform for sharing best practices and supporting fundraising endeavors to operationalize the Five-Year Strategy.
Advancing Financing of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda
In September 2023, we partnered with the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) to organize an event on Transitioning Policy into Action - Advancing the YPS Agenda through Multilateral Collaboration on the sidelines of UNGA78 and on the margins of the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development. The event was co-convened by the Permanent Missions of Finland and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the UN.
It served as an opportunity to reflect on the recently launched policy paper on “Advancing financing of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda in the United Nations”, co-authored by the Office and UNOY, which was included in the recently published report on Financing the UN Development System: Choices in Uncertain Times.
Independent Snapshot Series: Advancing the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda in UN Peacekeeping Operations
The Office partnered with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO) to undertake the first-ever internal mapping on how UN Peacekeeping Operations engage with young people and implement the Youth, Peace and Security agenda. Based on the internal study that concluded in September 2023, a summarized Independent Snapshot Series with key findings and recommendations was launched in December 2023.
Events on the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda
International Day of Peace
To mark the International Day of Peace on 21 September, we participated in the official International Day of Peace Youth Observance event at UN Headquarters, where the Envoy on Youth shared personal reflections and inspirational stories from encounters with resilient young refugees in conflict-affected areas. We also supported the engagement of other youth representatives in the event, including facilitating remarks from one of the Young Leaders for the SDGs, Karimot Odebode.
8th Anniversary of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda
At COP28, ahead of the 8th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 2250, the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs joined an Intergenerational Dialogue on “Fostering Intersectional Action: Youth, Peace, and Climate Security,” focused on the interconnections between youth, peace, security and climate change.
Arria-formula Meeting of the Security Council on the Implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda
In August 2023, Ghana hosted an Arria-formula meeting focused on taking stock of the implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in the African region. The Office provided an official statement as part of the meeting, emphasizing the need for increased and targeted funding for the agenda, urging the UN Security Council and Member States to consider actionable recommendations for youth inclusion, safety, and financing.
Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action
This year, the Office continued to play an active role as part of the leadership of the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action, which is co-chaired by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). The Youth Compact is a multistakeholder coalition for operationalizing the global ambitions of transforming humanitarian action through advancing meaningful youth engagement at all levels.
A concrete outcome of the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, the Youth Compact works with and for young people within five action areas: service delivery; participation; capacity and local action; resources; and data and knowledge. Since its inception, more than 60 humanitarian partners, including Governments, United Nations entities, international and local civil society organizations and major youth organizations and networks have joined the initiative.
In 2023, the Office funded and oversaw a review of the Youth Compact, which was also intended to present recommendations on governance reforms and a five-year strategic plan, as a response to the growing requirements of the Youth Compact. This exercise was finalized and presented at the Compact’s annual meeting, which took place in Amman, Jordan in October 2023.
Global Refugee Forum
Throughout key events, campaigns and intergovernmental processes this year, we continued to advocate for the inclusion of refugee and displaced youth, recognizing that they face unique challenges while consistently demonstrating resilience and a desire to contribute meaningfully to their communities and to the world.
In December 2023, the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs delivered keynote remarks ahead of the Global Refugee Forum, in an event focused on “Youth Leadership In Action: The Future We Cannot Afford to Ignore”, highlighting the significant progress that has been made since the previous Global Refugee Forum in 2019, both in fulfilling pledges focused on youth and in young people increasingly taking center stage in policy debates and in humanitarian responses.
Under the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action, the office pledged to enhance support and collaboration for young people affected by displacement. Advocating for an integrated approach encompassing humanitarian, peacebuilding and sustainable development pillars, the pledge prioritizes inclusivity by systematically recognizing the rights, needs and capabilities of young people from diverse backgrounds.
Strengthening the Foundations for a UN that Delivers for Young People
Young People at COP28
The 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) took place in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December, preceded by the 18th Conference of Youth (COY18) that took place from 26 to 28 November. Again this year, we actively supported youth engagement and advocacy around both key events, calling for the greater mainstreaming and inclusion of young people across all climate decision-making processes.
Children, Youth and Skills Day
On the Children, Youth and Skills Day at COP28 (8 December), the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs joined the High-Level Dubai Youth Climate Dialogue and Youth Stocktake Launch event, organized by the COP28 Presidency in collaboration with YOUNGO and UNFCCC.
The event showcased youth policy priorities and facilitated a multi-stakeholder dialogue that united Member States, young climate leaders, and other stakeholders on the importance of meaningful youth inclusion and engagement in climate policymaking.
Engagements with Youth Networks and Partners
As his first official mission since assuming his mandate, Assistant Secretary-General Felipe Paullier met with a diverse contingency of youth networks and key partners at COP28, actively listening to young people to better understand their priorities and intersectional approaches to climate advocacy.
This kicked off a series of listening dialogues to happen over the coming months, where the Assistant Secretary-General will be meeting with young people and key partners both virtually and on-the-ground in their communities to better inform the work of the new Youth Office.
Meeting of Secretary-General with Young Climate Activists
Together with the UN Climate Action Team, we supported the Youth Advisory Group and the UNFCCC Youth Constituency (YOUNGO) to co-organize the Secretary-General’s Youth Roundtable at COP28. Engaging approximately 40 young people across the world including indigenous activists, grassroots young leaders and young people from conflict-affected areas, the dialogue provided an avenue for an open and frank conversation on the priorities of young people at COP28.
At the meeting, YOUNGO presented their Global Youth Statement — authored by more than 750,000 young climate leaders on their demands and key recommendations for COP28 — to the Secretary-General, who expressed strong solidarity with the proposals put forward and his commitment keeping the 1.5-degree ambition alive.
Heart-to-Heart: Intergenerational #YouthLead Dialogues
For the duration of COP28, we partnered with Connect4Climate at the World Bank Group to host a series of “Heart-to-Heart: Intergenerational #YouthLead Dialogues” out of the Children & Youth Pavilion.
The activation featured a set of 10 discussions with young activists, climate negotiators, community organizers, refugees and others in dialogue with senior leadership from diverse partners at the UN and beyond.
The campaign seeks to center young people’s calls for decision-makers to strengthen youth engagement across climate decision-making spaces and beyond, and will run until the end of January 2024.
Convention on Biological Diversity
In support of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), we partnered with the CBD Secretariat to run a dedicated youth-led takeover of their channels to coincide with International Biodiversity Day this year.
The takeover featured Josefa Tauli from the Secretary-General's Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, highlighting young people’s leadership in the biodiversity space, including as part of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN).
Youth Force: Joint Programme
As a partner of the joint programme entitled “Financing a Green, Inclusive and Sustainable Recovery”, we launched the “Youth Force: Transforming Accountable Growth and Recovery from COVID-19” programme this year, which the aim to empower young people as equal partners in efforts for a green and sustainable recovery. The primary focus of the programme is on young people from the Sahel region and least developed countries.
In the first phase of implementation this year, the focus was on capacity-building, via virtual and in-person trainings. In May 2023 we hosted a first virtual capacity-building session with the UN Staff System College and Office of the Special Coordinator for Development in the Sahel, structured as an intergenerational dialogue.
In July 2023, in partnership with the UN Staff System College, we hosted an in-person capacity-building sessions at the United Nations campus in Turin, Italy providing training on: climate financing, the implementation of “leave no one behind” as it relates to green recovery, intersectionality as it relates to climate action, advocacy and communications strategies for climate and green recovery, and foresight and futures literacy. The sessions were organized together with the Office of the Special Coordinator for Development in the Sahel, UNESCO, the Climate Investment Funds and academic and civil society partners.
In November 2023, at the 18th Conference of Youth (COY18) ahead of COP28 in Dubai, we collaborated with Climate Investment Funds to host an interactive session on climate financing.
Global Digital Compact
Recognizing the direct impact of digital development on the lives of young people, we continued to work closely with the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology and the UNICEF Office of Innovation to support youth inputs into the Global Digital Compact process.
This included jointly running a month-long “U-Report” poll conducted in nine countries that reached nearly 80,000 people (80 per cent of whom were under the age of 34), in addition to supporting the participation of young people in the Global Digital Compact deep-dive thematic debates as part of the intergovernmental process led by Member State co-facilitators Sweden and Rwanda.
As a follow up to this advocacy, together with the UNICEF Office of Innovation, Government of the Republic of Rwanda, Government of Sweden, and Ericsson, we co-organized an intergenerational dialogue the importance of youth as key partner to shape the digital future on the sideline of UNGA78.
Protection through Online Participation (POP)
In 2022, we partnered with the Office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children, ITU and multi-stakeholder partners from civil society, the private sector and academia to launch the Protection through Online Participation (POP) initiative that focuses on young people’s rights online by combining both participation and protection in one multi-stakeholder research project.
As part of this initiative, in June 2023 we supported the launch of a global survey in all six UN languages to help better understand how children and young people use the Internet to access protection. The survey was followed by a series of direct interviews with children and youth solutions-makers to gain insights on youth perspectives in utilizing digital technology and online platforms to provide protection for themselves and their peers.
Internet Governance Forum
At the Internet Governance Forum, we supported in mobilizing the official IGF 2023 Youth Track, designed to effectively engage young people as key stakeholders in the internet governance discussion. The IGF 2023 Youth Track was composed of four capacity development workshops and a Global Youth Summit, all focused on a safe digital future. The track focused on unpacking various digital transformation policy aspects and engaged thousands of young people.
We also hosted an open dialogue together with partners to highlight the importance of working with youth when it comes to their safety and rights online and offline – ultimately helping youth being seen as partners, innovators and actors of change. The session also discussed the preliminary findings of the Protection through Online Participation (POP) initiative’s efforts to map out child-led and youth-led online solutions that help children and young people to stay safe.
Additionally, we hosted a workshop on community-driven responsible Artificial Intelligence in partnership with Chatham House to highlight the importance of operationalizing AI that allows for equitable participation that leaves no one behind, including young people.
Highlights of Additional Partnerships Working With and For Youth
For more information, contact youthaffairs@un.org and follow us on social media @UNYouthAffairs.