K. Male'
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30 Jul 2022 | Sat 16:46
Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives
Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives
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Abdulla Shahid
Involving youth in global multilateralism is important for a more sustainable future: PGA
 
From climate change to pandemics, the world youth communities are inheriting suffers from many interlocking challenges
 
Underscoring youth perspectives on global issues do not only require tangible commitments by governments
 
PGA urged to amplify the voices that are all too often marginalized

President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid has asserted that the involvement of young women and men in global multilateralism is significant to lay the foundations for a more inclusive and sustainable future.

The Maldivian foreign minister made this remark at his keynote address at the ‘Future We Want’ Model United Nations (UN), on Friday.

Highlighting that the youth community is the future and first and foremost, “our present”, PGA Shahid revealed that this makes it crucial to the UN’s mission to ensure their meaningful engagement in the UN multilateral system, by prioritizing their full participation and recognizing their integral role in decision-making.

He went on to note that the commitment to engage meaningfully with young people and to bring youth voices, experiences and ideas to global debates, building the open exchanges and collaboration that are needed for positive change at present, has been clearly brought out by the UN Secretary General in his “Our Common Agenda” report.

By involving young women and men in global multilateralism, I believe we can lay the foundations for a more inclusive and sustainable future. A future that will enable us to bridge the digital divide, to achieve the SDGs, and to overcome climate change. As I have emphasized throughout my term as President, by virtue of their age, energy, activism, and learning abilities, young people are key agents of change. Young people have brought to light the value of global solidarity and mobilization across borders to drive change for more inclusive and sustainable societies.”
Abdulla Shahid, PGA.

Noting that young people have “consistently” demonstrated their capacity to advocate for themselves and their communities and to thereby address many of the challenges the globe faces, PGA Shahid added that they play an increasingly important role in designing, co-producing knowledge, providing solutions and raising awareness for climate action.

This makes putting young people front and center, and ensuring they feel ownership over the multilateral system, vastly significant. He said that this includes the UN which is at the “heart” of international cooperation.

I am very proud to have launched and successfully implemented the Fellowship of HOPE. Through this programme, eight young diplomats from underrepresented countries have joined my office, giving them the opportunity to become better acquainted with the work of the UN, a program consonant with the Model UN’s work. I am also pleased to have organized the High-level Debate on “Enhancing youth mainstreaming in crime prevention policies” which addressed the importance of engaging young people proactively to prevent crime. Most recently, I have launched the “Voices of Youth – Time Capsule”, a novel occasion to center youth voices in our work and showcase their hopes and aspirations for their future.”
Abdulla Shahid, PGA.

Highlighting that from climate change to pandemics, the world youth communities are inheriting suffers from many interlocking challenges which disproportionately affect those most vulnerable, PGA Shahid stressed that from global communities all the way up to the UN, young people “must” be involved in the decisions that will shape their destinies and futures.

PGA Shahid added that underscoring youth perspectives on global issues and identifying new ways of engaging them in decision-making requires not only tangible commitments by governments but a “complete” reorientation of the functioning of the multilateral system.

With this being said, the PGA urged to amplify the voices that are all too often marginalized.

Last updated at: 4 months ago
Reviewed by: Maryam Dhaanish Nasheed
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