Youth

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum took place on April 8th and 9th, 2019 at the UN Headquarters. Over 1,000 youth participated in this year’s forum, which makes the ECOSOC Youth Forum the largest gathering of young people at the United Nations. The forum serves as a unique space for young people to share their ideas at the global level, allowing representatives of youth-led and youth-focused organizations to participate in dialogue with Member States.

Students from high schools and universities throughout mainland China visited New York between the 11th to the 15th of February to learn about the work of the United Nations, study the Sustainable Development Goals, and learn 21st century skills, during our latest edition of YTP: China.

From 18th – 22nd February a group of twenty-five students chosen jointly by Zhejiang University and UNA China, visited New York for WFUNA’s first Chinese Youth Global Competency Training Program at the United Nations (CYGCTP).

On Tuesday February 19th, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affair’s Division for Inclusive Social Development and the World Federation of United Nations Associations joined at the United Nations Headquarters for a panel discussion on “Achieving Inclusion and Showcasing the Work of Youth Delegates”. The event focused on how youth could and should be included into policy-making and especially how the mandate of Youth Delegates opens possibilities for youth act as agents of inclusion on the national and international level themselves.

The Master’s Degree in the United Nations and the Art of Peace focuses on the study of 70 years of UN action in the fields of peace-making, peacekeeping and peace-building. It aims to allow students to become more knowledgeable on the matter as well as profit directly from the hindsight of the United Nations and academic experts in order to better assess and apprehend peace initiatives and understand the processes of preserving, defending and promoting peace in all their complexity.

The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) was proud to host a delegation from the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP) from 26-30 November 2018. Sixteen deans, chancellors, and other officials from higher-education institutions visited New York for WFUNA’s Leadership Training Program (LTP). The delegation met with representatives from United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC), and the UN Global Compact.

Congratulations to WFUNA Young Leader of 2018: to Andrea Calzada Morales from UNA Mexico!

WFUNA’s 3rd Global Youth Forum, held in parallel with the 42nd Plenary Assembly, convened from 19 to 21 October in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Youth Delegates belonging to United Nations Association Youth Sections/Chapters from all around the globe gathered to discuss how we can engage and mobilize the WFUNA Youth Network towards achieving peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. During the Global Youth Forum, the upcoming WFUNA Youth Advisory Council for the 2018-2021 term is elected.

On Wednesday, Oct 10th 2018, WFUNA welcomed the current UN Youth Delegates for their annual meet-and-greet in the WFUNA office.

The UN Youth Delegate Programme (UNYDP) is coordinated by the UN Focal Point on Youth under the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and forms one key opportunity for the inclusion of youth in the representation and decision-making procedures of member states.

On 8 August 2018, the President of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Miroslav Lajčák, joined New York City youth, in Harlem, for an informal discussion. The conversation explored how the United Nations can better engage with youth and how youth can get more involved with the UN. Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals will not be possible without the involvement and leadership of young people.