Today’s young people are more connected, dynamic and engaged than ever and the Global Goals can\u2019t happen without them, speakers told an annual United Nations forum, where young leaders called on the Organization keep its promise to \u2018leave no one behind\u2019 on the road to creating a prosperous world for everyone on a clean planet.<\/p>\n
The first day of the 2018\u00a0Youth Forum<\/a>, convened by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), got off to a rollicking start with young people from every corner of the world leading discussions with ministers and high-level government officials, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ agencies and other international organizations.<\/p>\n One of the highlights of today\u2019s events was the dialogue between Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General\u2019s Envoy on Youth.<\/p>\n The conversation revolved around the Forum theme, \u2018the role of youth in building sustainable and resilient urban and rural communities\u2019 and how youth can engage in the implementation of the\u00a02030 Agenda<\/a>\u00a0for Sustainable Development, adopted by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Member States in 2015.<\/p>\n Ms. Mohammed said that the Agenda 2030 was \u201cshaped with youth\u201d and young people were \u201cthe loudest voice\u201d in the ground-breaking\u00a0My World survey<\/a>, in which almost 10 million made their voices heard during the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ system-wide discussions on the landmark17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).<\/p>\n She encouraged youth to \u201cmake noise\u201d for their voices to be heard.<\/p>\n Stressing that the importance of youth engagement by Member States in their national plans to implement the\u00a0SDGs<\/a>, Ms. Wickramanayake said: \u201cWe talk about leaving no one behind but if we don\u2019t keep up with that phase, young people will leave the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ behind.\u201d<\/p>\n In a keynote address, Salina Abraham, President of the International Forestry Students\u2019 Association, said: \u201cSustainable development is not having to leave your home, family and culture behind to provide your children with an adequate life. It\u2019s not having to conceal your language or culture in an attempt to conform, only to never truly be accepted.<\/p>\n