World needs generation of self-empowered ‘superheroes’, UN youth forum told

During the Youth Dialogue event held at the UN Headquarters on 31st May 2018, the President of the General Assembly stated that the UN needs to regularly talk directly to the youth across the world beyond simply talking about their concerns. The goal of the event was to help take a step back and listen to young people talk to each other. “The youth are often sidelined from the decisions that are affecting their lives”, he added. He further said that the issues he was keen to hear their opinions were on education, jobs and the complex issue of how young people could persuaded from taking a path towards violent extremism.
The UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth also attended the event. She said while mainstream media appears to be creating the perception of young people as a generation of careless or lazy individuals, who, if not managed well, could turn into a threat or burden to a country; it is the current generation of youth that is capable of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She argued that the youth are a fundamental part of the SDGs thus their efforts in implementation of the SDGs is needed by the rest of the world.
https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/news/2018/06/unga-youthdialogue/.

By Joyce Mukeli