UN Youth Forum, 6 to 8 April 2021
The Future We Want: Conversations on the Power of Youth in a Post-Pandemic World
The SDG Media Zone kicked off the 10th annual UN Youth Forum with conversations on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals as the world responds and recovers from the COVID-19 crisis. The SDG Media Zone looked at some of the most defining issues affecting young people today—climate change, reducing inequalities and mental health.
Under the theme, “The Future we Want,” the SDG Media Zone co-produced candid and inspiring conversations between thought leaders with major media organizations such as the BBC World Service and others to amplify the voices and visions of young people who are central to the global efforts to recover better, stronger and together.
The 15 to 20-minute conversations, focused on reimagining a more equal and fairer world, captured youth perspectives on global to community-level problems and solutions, taking the Sustainable Development Goals into the public discourse, particularly at a time of unprecedented paradigm shifts, and sweeping opportunities and challenges that come with change in a post-pandemic world.
Videos
6-8 April 2021 | THE FUTURE WE WANT: CONVERSATIONS ON THE POWER OF YOUTH IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD
The World We Want: Reimagining a Better World
Ahead of the opening of the UN Youth Forum on 7 April, the SDG Media Zone features a candid and inspiring conversation between the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake, and two young activists - Anika Jane Dorothy from Amplify Girls and Melati Wjisen from Youthtopia - who are leading change in their communities and transforming the world.
The curtain-raiser session, led by UN News, looks at how young people are rising from the chaos and devastation in the wake of the pandemic to build a fairer world and a more sustainable future. It explores what the participants, who are Forum’s keynote speakers, expect from annual Youth Forum – considered the largest gathering of young people at the United Nations.
The World We Want: Reimagining the Sustainable Development Goals
As we navigate 2021 and beyond, it is important that we hit the reset button and use the opportunity to recover better to deliver on the Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals, says UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.
The session, produced by the BBC World Service, features a conversation between the UN leader and three teenagers on what young people want from the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as they question the current state of the world with the hopes of shaping a more meaningful future for everyone.
The session is a special episode of the BBC World Service Radio’s 17-part series called Project 17, where 17 17-year-olds in 17 countries explore progress and setbacks in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The World We Want: Reimagining Climate Justice
Young people have often been on the forefront of movements for justice and social change. In recent years, they took to the streets to demand climate justice, telling the world to stop unsustainable practices that are harming our natural environment and climate.
Young people know that the impacts of climate change are not borne equally or fairly, between the rich and poor, women and men, and older and younger generations. The final session of the SDG Media zone focuses on the need for climate justice - looking at the climate crisis through a human rights lens and based on the belief that by working together we can create a better future for present and future generations.
Young and inspiring climate activists, who are changing the way we use our resources and understand climate change, explain why it is now more important than ever to prioritize the planet.