Expert Preparatory Roundtable: Governance Innovation with and for the Young

Young people today face a series of crises they did not cause and are poorly equipped to tackle, including conflict, 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 will affect their future are being made. As stated by the Secretary-General in Our Common Agenda, young people “feel that our political, social and economic systems ignore their present and sacrifice their future.” 

To address this, and to renew our commitment to young people, the Secretary-General called on the international system to take steps to i) deliver on the needs and aspirations of young people, such as better education and sustainable employment opportunities; and ii) “give them a greater voice in designing their own futures”. He also made a number of concrete recommendations in Our Common Agenda to this end, including a Transforming Education Summit, the creation of a UN Youth Office, a “youth in politics” index, and further recommendations for youth inclusion in UN intergovernmental organs and bodies.   

This call for “strengthened solidarity” with the world’s young people will also guide the HLAB’s work on governance of global public goods, in support of which this roundtable is prompted by the following questions: 

• How can HLAB’s recommendations for improved global governance help to secure a more sustainable future for young people?  
• What specific proposals would help to ensure that countries with large and growing populations of young people are given opportunities to advance and lead the governance of global public goods? 
• What institutions or processes should be proposed by HLAB to strengthen solidarity with young people? How can engagement with young people ensure true inclusivity of voices, including from the global south, and outreach beyond the “usual suspects”?  
• How can the priorities of young people be mainstreamed across the key areas of HLAB, – these will be up to the board but could include health, climate, financial systems, digital issues, science, and peace?  

The Our Future Agenda report prepared by the UN Foundation Next Generation Fellows will offer a background for discussion. Participants will be asked to come prepared to provide concrete recommendations for discussion.