Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ

And I think we all have hardly seen this room as full and with positive energy?as today, so thank you for bringing?today not only the?sunshine?to this building but also your young spirit, the spirit of the future, yet as we heard also in the short movie, the phrase? ¡°young?people are the?future”.

Honestly, it is not?only?a bit of a cliche, but?it’s?also a?way of postponing responsibility.

Because?you know better than us, young people?are obviously?already part of the present otherwise you would not be here, but also?because the?reality?that?young people are facing today?around the world?tells?a very different?story.

So yes¡ªyoung people, you,?are?the?future, but right now, too many, especially young people who cannot?be?today?here with us in this room, are?even?being locked out of?the present, making their future almost?impossible.

And this is why this moment, this Youth Forum matters so much

What we need now is true implementation?and tangible change?because 2030 is not far away. We need to shape an inclusive and sustainable solutions roadmap?for?the 2030 Agenda.?We simply?cannot?fail.

To?build policies?with young?people,?and?not?only?for?young people.

This means creating space for young people to lead in your own countries¡ªand I started?as a young MP in?Parliament and you could not imagine how often?I?heard,?¡°Well,?are you the intern?¡±?and when I got?to have?two little children, so, ¡°who is caring for your daughters at this moment?¡± so yes?unfortunately, especially the women in the room, we have been through it all, but we?cannot?step back ¡ª and this is the responsibility of every Government to underline and make clear, you?cannot?be young enough to enter politics and engage in your own present and future.

Again,?I know?it?from my own country,?and I guess it is the same?in many places in the world,?that?during an election?campaign, every politician is campaigning for?the?best?education.

I mean if you write on your campaign?poster “I?don’t?want to have good schools, but bad schools”, you?probably?won’t?win any election.

But we have also seen it afterwards when it comes to prioritizing budgets and budgets are?short at these times everywhere around the world. You have?very strong?lobby groups on different matters, unfortunately, then the voice of the youth is not heard.

And there’s data from Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO which is unfortunately quite clear?which?estimates?that one in three countries?has?not met?its?benchmarks for education expenditure under SDG?4?and?this counts to all countries around the world from the global south to the global north.

And last, but certainly not least,?to the young people, to the young leaders, to you here today:?please?keep pushing boundaries. Keep questioning. Keep?leading.

I was at an event called the?Moonshot Awards where people who were representing their developing technologies to deliver, at teenager?age, clean?water, detect crop disease, and diagnose malaria¡ªideas that are already improving lives and creating a better future for all,?but investment is lacking.

¡­and most importantly:?be yourself.

Let nobody tell you that you?have to?dress like diplomats in a dark suit or speak like a diplomat to be taken seriously.

Because we need your voices precisely?because?you?are uniquely?you¡ªbecause you look, act,?and?speak?with?a young,?fresh,?and?future?perspective.

So,?keep imagining what others cannot yet see¡ªand keep pushing us to do better, Better Together.