Expert Preparatory Roundtable: Youth/Generational Equity

Young people today face a series of crises they did not cause, but are disproportionately affected by, including COVID-19, violent conflicts, economic crises, and a looming planetary emergency. And while people under the age of 30 make up roughly half the world’s population, they remain shut out of the spaces where decisions that affect their present and will affect their future are being made. As stated by the Secretary-General in the Our Common Agenda report, young people “feel that our political, social and economic systems ignore their present and sacrifice their future.” The roundtable will be organized in two sessions: Opening remarks & closing reflections by Jayathma Wickramanayake, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, and a session on empowering young people to be co-creators of their future.