Statement: Local youth actions for the Sustainable Development Goals and beyond
Source: UN Women
This year’s International Youth Day shines a spotlight on the extraordinary potential and pressing challenges facing young people—especially young women and girls—as they strive to turn global commitments into meaningful, community-driven change. For the 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 in the world, roughly half of whom are young women and girls, the stakes in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have never been higher and the challenges more evident.
Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration boldly stated that “women’s rights are human rights”, progress in fulfilling those rights has stalled and, in some areas, regressed. In a world facing profound global uncertainty, rising geopolitical tensions, economic instability, shrinking civic space, and deepening inequalities, young women and girls continue to lead the way ahead, accelerating gender equality gains where they matter most: in schools, marketplaces, village councils, parliaments, and online spaces. They are advocating for rights, challenging stereotypes, innovating climate solutions, and confronting discrimination and violence head-on.
This year’s International Youth Day shines a spotlight on the extraordinary potential and pressing challenges facing young people—especially young women and girls—as they strive to turn global commitments into meaningful, community-driven change. For the 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 in the world, roughly half of whom are young women and girls, the stakes in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have never been higher and the challenges more evident.
Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration boldly stated that “women’s rights are human rights”, progress in fulfilling those rights has stalled and, in some areas, regressed. In a world facing profound global uncertainty, rising geopolitical tensions, economic instability, shrinking civic space, and deepening inequalities, young women and girls continue to lead the way ahead, accelerating gender equality gains where they matter most: in schools, marketplaces, village councils, parliaments, and online spaces. They are advocating for rights, challenging stereotypes, innovating climate solutions, and confronting discrimination and violence head-on.