​International Youth Day UN75 E-Dialogue

This E-Dialogue dialogue brought together youth leaders and activists from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to share their views on the kind of future they wanted to see and to provide solutions to tackle the world’s most pressing problems. In keeping with the 2020 International Youth Day theme: “Youth Engagement for Global Action”, this dialogue answered the UN Secretary General’s call for youth to join the world’s biggest conversation on building a better and more sustainable future for all.

Encouraged by the youth’s willingness to participate in this global effort, UN Resident Coordinator Didier Trebucq welcomed the young leaders on behalf of the UN System, highlighting the need to “put a spotlight on the potential of our young Caribbean people”.

Director General of OECS, Dr. Didacus Jules, underlined that the  agenda for youth should be driven by young people, and maintained that the OECS’ mission is to “create an enabling environment and expand opportunities for all youth of the region to realize their potential and responsibility”.

Leader of Government Business, Barbados National Youth Parliament, Pierre Cooke Jr, moderated the panel. Successfully setting the tone for the conversation, he asked his peers to  first discuss what kind of future they wanted to create, with a focus on the challenges currently facing Caribbean youth. He next turned attention to the action that needed to be taken now to create a better world, with a focus on their ideas and innovations and finally he discussed the way forward,  in terms of what advice would they give to the international community in terms of prioritizing their focus to contribute to a better world future for youth. 

Challenges facing the youth today

Creative Enterprise Entrepreneur and Activist, Desi Brown of St. Kitts and Nevis, called for economic diversification and investment within the creative and cultural industry. She stressed that “cultural industries should be included as a critical strategic resource” and made a case for the creation of policy framework where funds are set aside for the development of young creatives.

CARICOM Youth Ambassador for Barbados, Chad Monerville underlined the need for economic diversification and a shift toward a knowledge-based economy. This, he maintained, could be done by utilizing the data and technology available as well as human capital to sell services across the world.

Focusing on economic growth and decent work, Rose-Mary Reynolds, founder of Youth Today, a youth development organisation in Antigua , spoke keenly to the need for legislation to support the change we wish to see. She called for more opportunities and access to apprenticeships for qualified young people, while emphasising the need for increased paid internships.

Actions needed to be taken

First Vice President of Saint Lucia National Youth Council, Anya Edwin, highlighted the various solutions brought to the fore as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. She underscored the need for the digitilisation of all economies where possible and for investment in “intellectual capacity and skill sets of our young people, with the development of e-learning”.

Addressing the issue of gender and basic inequalities, Nafesha Richardson, Founder of Spark SVG, charged that we must follow the Sustainable Development Goals motto and “Leave no one Behind”. The head of the organisation formed to provide a safe and supportive environment for Vincentian youth to dialogue about global issues, maintained that laws must be changed as it pertains to discrimination against people and policy must be inclusive regardless of race, disability, sexual orientation or gender.

The Way Forward

When asked what he would say to the UN’s Secretary General regarding the role of multilateralism and recovering better from the pandemic, Chad answered: “I would say to him hold tight and keep the faith”.  He explained that young people do still believe in cooperation and many persons do see the benefit of international cooperation.

Desi added that multilateralism has great value and she would tell the UN Secretary General, to “keep pushing this agenda for global cooperation and to redefine the notion that nationalism is stronger than encouraging multilateral efforts”.

In a world of dramatic changes and complex challenges, from the climate crisis to population shifts to the unknown course of technology, we need collective action more than ever before. Through UN75, the United Nations is encouraging people to put their heads together to define how enhanced international cooperation can help realize a better world by 2045, the UN’s 100th birthday.

The views and ideas that are generated will be presented to world leaders and senior UN officials at a high-profile event during the 75th Session of the General Assembly in September 2020 and disseminated online and through partners continuously.