Youth optimistic UNCTAD will resolve their issues

PUBLISHED ON July 13th, 2016

Youth optimistic UNCTAD will resolve their issues

The excitement of Nairobi hosting the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14) starting this Friday is catching up with the nation, delegates and other participants of the conference. The session that will bring together heads of state and government ministers and other prominent player from the business world, civil society and academia to tackle global trade and development issues is only a few days away.
While the week-long conference will feature ministerial debates, high level round tables, thematic events, a world investment forum, a civil society forum and a youth forum, little is known of the latter event.
It is laudable that for the first time in history, the youth will obtain the opportunity to deliberate and discuss on issues pertinent to them in a global platform. Of great concern to the millennial generation are topics identified by world leaders in September 2015 while adopting the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development namely education, more and better jobs and government accountability.

The UNCTAD youth forum will provide the over 250 participants a chance in ‘shaping the world we want’ which is the theme of the forum. It is also important to note that the global youth leaders have been carefully selected after a rigorous selection process that involved thousands of applications from all over the world.

This therefore means that they have the requisite ability and capacity in a bid to share their views with global leaders.

The main conference will see the global leaders agree on concrete steps for UNCTAD to take in support on the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. The main conference is backed by the theme decisions to action and hence it cannot be a better time to launch the UNCTAD Youth Forum. In addition, it is only natural that the forum is housed in such a conference since the current youth will be at the helm in 2030.

As participants in the Youth Forum, we are more than ready and excited at this opportunity and at the same time cognizant of the responsibility on our shoulders. History will hold us to account on what changes we will effect to shape the world we want. For this reason, we are more than ready to leave our indelible mark.

The world is coming to Nairobi but what the youth in the world expect is a concrete solution to youth issues from an international agenda.

Source: Business Daily

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