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9 May 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dear friends,<\/p>\n It is an honor for me to participate in the Youth Forum. I very much appreciate the theme, \u201cLand: a job for tomorrow\u201d<\/i>, which is an interesting play on words.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As young people, your minds are of course ever on the future and on your careers. I understand this all too well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time, your being here is indicative of your passion for this area of work and your commitment to preserving the land we call home.<\/p>\n I commend the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Convention to Combat Desertification for facilitating this platform.<\/p>\n Dear friends,<\/p>\n I would also like to commend each of you. In a time of such great uncertainty \u2013 a global pandemic, conflict, and climate change \u2013 you have elected to engage and to proactively seek out opportunities for change. I understand your eagerness and your rightful impatience, and I applaud your conviction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We need this conviction now.<\/p>\n Nearly 160 million children live in areas where the intensity of the drought is high or extremely high. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the impacts of climate change will only increase the frequency of extreme weather events.<\/p>\n This has deep implications for young people, who are often uniquely affected by land degradation. Worsening drought situation in many parts of the worldwill have an adverse effect on everything from food production and agriculture, to education and healthcare, to jobs and economic growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yet, I remain hopeful. I am a firm believer in the ingenuity of humanity, and we see this in the incredible innovations that continue to change our world. I believe that, when faced with extreme pressure, we have the capacity to find and develop solutions.<\/p>\n We need only look at the pace of innovation in renewable energies, or the rapid development of multiple, viable vaccines for COVID-19 to see what humanity is capable of.<\/p>\n With that in mind, and aligning with your theme, I see a future where innovative approaches to land preservation is a source of new jobs and economic growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Much like the companies that are springing up to address plastic pollution in the ocean, turning this discard into usable products \u2013 everything from running shoes to sunglasses \u2013 there is a new market for areas that help to conserve and protect the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is your generation that will help identify these solutions; it is your generation that will take these next steps.<\/p>\n For myself and for our current policymakers, our role is to open every door and every avenue to you. We must ensure that we put in place the measures to facilitate this innovation and to create a space for change.<\/p>\n This requires us to listen to you now, not wait until you are older, and to take steps to ensure that every policy, every implementing mechanism, is influenced by the inputs of young people.<\/p>\n As President of the General Assembly, I have made it my commitment to visit schools and universities, and to speak to students and young people at every opportunity. I want to hear from you what we can do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On that note. I am all ears\u2026 and I thank you.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Abidjan, Cote d\u2019Ivoire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":361,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Excellencies, colleagues,<\/p> I welcome you all to our second meeting and our first interaction following the resumed part of the session.<\/p> Before I begin, I would like to recognize the loss of our dear friend and esteemed colleague, Ms. Gail Farngalo.<\/p> A Liberian national, Gail was my Team Leader for Human Rights and was active on gender during both the 75th<\/sup> and 76th<\/sup> sessions. She leaves behind a legacy of achievements and a groundswell of respect and affection from across the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and diplomatic communities. Her presence is certainly felt here today.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> When I took on this Presidency of Hope, I pledged to make gender equality a priority area for the 76th<\/sup> session. I continue to look to the board for its wisdom and expertise, as I endeavour to fulfil that pledge.<\/p> In this regard, I have already benefited from the board\u2019s advice, from when we met on October 28th<\/sup> last year.<\/p> Acting on that advice, I committed to ensuring that all my five rays of hope, and all my major initiatives, are approached with a gender lens.<\/p> I made sure that the composition of my office is gender-balanced.<\/p> I have committed to participating only in panels that have equal gender representation.<\/p> Throughout my official interactions and travels, I have endeavoured to meet with women, including heads of states and governments, scientists, civil society representatives, and youth.<\/p> And I am proud to inform you that five young women have been recruited into the Fellowship for HOPE<\/em> that my office recently launched. The Fellowship as you are well aware is targeted at benefiting young diplomats from underrepresented countries, pursuing careers in diplomacy or public service.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> While recognizing that we have a long way to go in the battle for gender-equality, I am proud of what my team has been able to accomplish within the past few months.<\/p> Our work continues.<\/p> We will continue to raise our voices on issues disproportionately impacting women, such as domestic violence and work place harassment. We will continue to push the importance of gender-equal work spaces.<\/p> And we will continue to find new paths to empower young women with ambitious professional aspirations.<\/p> Now is not the time to rest on our laurels.<\/p> With the board\u2019s guidance and support, we must use the many opportunities over the coming months to further empower women and girls, and dismantle discriminatory practices against them.<\/p> There are several upcoming events that will provide us such opportunities. I look forward to the board\u2019s suggestions on how we can best utilize them.<\/p> As an example, the International Day of Women and Girls in science is fast approaching. We must recognize that women\u2019s contributions in science and technology have helped us cure diseases; discover new horizons in space; and develop technologies that have vastly improved our quality of life.<\/p> As we celebrate their achievements, we must also open pathways for young girls who aspire to follow in the footsteps of pioneers in science and technology.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> Let us also reflect that the theme chosen by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for this year is on \u201cachieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes\u201d.<\/p> As we strive to meet our obligations to the planet, let us recognize the important work done by women and girls at the forefront of the climate crisis, and whose humanitarian work in disaster-stricken areas has helped save lives and rebuild communities. We owe it to them to not only celebrate their work but to support them.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> Our programme of work for the months ahead has been circulated to members prior to the meeting, for consideration and feedback. Please note that the events we have planned are not exhaustive. I welcome further suggestions from the board on the content and format of future events and activities.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> We have made much progress within a short while. And with the board\u2019s support and guidance, I am sure that we can keep up this strong momentum.<\/p> I look forward to working alongside all of you to achieve our vision of a gender-equal world.<\/p> Thank you.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[550,556,553],"committee-meeting":[],"class_list":["post-265416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speeches","tag-ga","tag-pga","tag-shahid","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n