Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Delegates,
Welcome to New York!
I am truly excited to see so many youth delegates at this year¡¯s ECOSOC Youth Forum and am honoured by the opportunity to engage with you at this networking event.
As many here know, the UN Youth Delegate Programme is a critical channel for youth engagement in UN processes.
The programme strengthens global decision-making by promoting and supporting the inclusion of young people in official national delegations to UN meetings.
Young people bring diverse skills, experiences, perspectives, and energy to deliberations at the United Nations.
Youth voices are resonating louder than ever in our global decision-making processes, and this year¡¯s ECOSOC Youth Forum is no exception.
We are highly encouraged and inspired by the record number of both Member States and Youth Delegates participating, some for the first time in the history of the Programme.
In the past 20 years we have seen the number of Youth Delegates attending the General Assembly increase substantively from 10 to 66.
A record number of 92 Youth Delegates from 37 Member States are registered to participate in the 2024 ECOSOC Youth Forum. This growth is testament to an increasing awareness that, when we include youth, we make better policy choices.
As we celebrate these remarkable strides, we must remain committed to removing all barriers to youth participation. Furthermore, we must ensure that Youth Delegate engagement at the UN is impactful, diverse, inclusive and geographically balanced.
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs remains committed to supporting Member States on this critical mission. We have recently launched a series of targeted briefings for Member States to promote awareness of the Programme among under-represented regions and sub-regions.
At the same time, we believe that peer-to-peer exchange and knowledge sharing is critical to unlocking the global potential of the Programme. To this end, over the past year, we have developed new partnerships, knowledge products, and platforms for such exchanges to take place.
We also draw valuable insight from our meetings and feedback sessions with Youth Delegates. We promise to continue listening, discussing and finding solutions with you, that strengthen the Youth Delegate Programme and youth participation.
Let us commit ourselves to championing effective youth engagement at the highest levels of decision-making, paving the way for a brighter and more inclusive future for all.
Thank you for being a vital part of this year's ECOSOC Youth Forum. We hope you enjoy the event, and once again, welcome to New York!
Thank you!