27 April 2023, New York – The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum 2023 traditionally gathered thousands of young people at the United Nation’s Headquarters in New York to engage youth this time in the decision-making process on the in-depth review of UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17. The ECOSOC Youth Forum is held as a youth pre-summit for preparing positions for the SDG Summit in September 2023.
“Over 21 000 young people are participating in the ECOSOC Youth Forum online and 800 in-person”, said Lachezara Stoeva, President of the Economic and Social Council.
On the sidelines of the Forum, Mission Impact Program partnered with the BRICS Youth Energy Agency on holding an official side-event “Youth Reviewing SDG7 Enablers: The Global South Perspective”. The side-event was dedicated to discussing the United Nations SDG7 through the lens of energy enablers which present different factors that ensure the achieving of SDG7 by 2030. This concept has been developed by experts at a youth-led organization – BRICS YEA (BRICS Youth Energy Agency) – to address the review process from up-to-date and youth thought perspective.
Among the panel’s experts were Amira Bilqis (Y4E-Southeast Asia), Alexander Kormishin (BRICS YEA), Mujeeb Khan (Global Support Team, MGCY’s SDG7 Youth Constituency), Pankti Dalal (SIPA), Gulnara Bikkulova (Mission Impact) and Ghadi Sabra (UNECE). The panel was moderated by Vadim Kuznetsov (BRICS YEA & SDG7 Youth Constituency).
One of the energy enablers was the Human-Centric Approach at work which addresses the need to motivate and unleash potential of employees to ensure their commitment and efficiency at work. “Human-Centricity is a crucial value that has to be taken up by all employers, in particular in the energy sector, to ensure that there are less strikes and more commitment to ensure accessible energy for all”, said Gulnara Bikkulova, Mission Impact’s Program Director. “Last year, we introduced the Human-Centricity Index to help companies evaluate their contribution to well-being of their employers and relevant communities. This year, our Index’s corporate community will fix their commitments in the Human-Centricity Alliance”.
The side-event also addressed other energy enablers such as behavioral change, power of communities, gender balance, critical minerals and the digitalization introduced by young experts from the BRICS countries, Europe and Southeast Asia. The outcomes of the discussion will be filed with the Youth Energy Transition Commission which will prepare a report for the United Nation’s Secretary-General on youth contributions to achieving the SDG7 by the SDG Summit 2023.
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The 2023 ECOSOC Youth Forum will provide a platform for young leaders from around the world to engage in dialogue among themselves and with United Nations Member States and share ideas for advancing the youth development agenda at national, regional and global levels. The Forum will also serve as a unique space for young people to share their vision and recommendations for consideration at major upcoming United Nations meetings, including the 2023 Economic and Social Council, the 2023 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and the SDG Summit, which will take place in September 2023.