Remarks by
H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser
High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
Italian Diplomatic Academy
“UN: 70 YEARS OF SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES”
UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS – Conference Room 4 – 3 March 2016
Dear Students,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honored to join Dr. Chabib and the Italian Diplomatic Academy, to welcome you, young men and women, to celebrate together the 70th anniversary of the UN. We are all very glad to have you here today. Everyone above 35 years of age can admit that there is an amazing feeling when you are surrounded by young people: you feel young yourself! We can feel your ambition, your energy, your enthusiasm and it is very refreshing. At the Alliance, it reminds us of the reason why we work so hard to promote a more peaceful, a more secure and a more inclusive world.
Before I continue, I would like to highlight a key point. I am sure that the young people present in this room will understand. You probably often hear that “You are the leaders of tomorrow.” Allow me to rectify that sentence and say, “You are the Leaders of today!” You are the leaders of today because we need you now! You set social and economic trends. You are the innovators in social entrepreneurship, experts in social networking, early adopters and adapters of technologies, creators of millions of e-businesses and inventors of popular culture.
We are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the UN. Our world has deeply changed. Look around you: how many of you have cell phones? How many have tweeted or posted “selfies” online of this meeting? I am certain that many already did! It is amazing how connected we all are. Unfortunately, while we are experiencing unprecedented scientific and technological advances, we are also facing extremely difficult challenges. These successes and challenges have a direct impact on our lives, but particularly on you.
Since the birth of the United Nations in 1945, we have witnessed greater promotion of human rights, of women’s rights, of youth and of children’s rights. We have adopted innovative policies that promote freedom and dignity for all. In 2000, the international community agreed to the Millennium Development Goals, which expressed a deep commitment to the betterment of our human family.
A few months ago, in September 2015, we adopted the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This agenda is universal and includes EVERYONE, particularly YOUTH! That is why we need you!
The truth is that you are the most powerful force to help us implement sustainability in our world. Why? Because: You are 1.8 billion strong. I repeat, 1.8 billion. There is no other way BUT to capitalize on your strength. How? The answer lies in: Education, Engagement, and Empowerment.
First, Education: the UN recognizes education as the most powerful tool to help young men and women, boys and girls, to achieve their full potential in life. Goal 4 of the new Development Agenda clearly states that we need to “ensure inclusive and equitable, quality education and to promote life-long learning opportunities for all.” We have launched many initiatives and programmes for you to achieve the education you deserve. The last 15 years were crucial:
- In 2000: we adopted a Global Blueprint, the World Programme of Action for Youth.
- In 2012: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, appointed the first United Nations Special Envoy for Youth, our friend Mr. Ahmed Alhendawi, who is present here to day.
- And we have ECOSOC, the SECURITY COUNCIL and other UN agencies, including the Alliance of Civilizations, focusing their efforts towards youth education, engagement and empowerment.
I hope that you had the chance to participate in the 2016 ECOSOC Youth Forum, held last month here in NY, calling for youth worldwide “to take action “. Action must be in your mind at all times.
At the ECOSOC Youth Forum, the ILO Director General, launched the UN system’s Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. This initiative endorsed by the UN’s Chief Executives Board for Coordination, is the first ever-comprehensive UN System–wide effort to promote youth employment.
It is a unique partnership with governments, the UN system, businesses, academic institutions, youth organizations and other groups to scale-up action to create new opportunities and avenues for quality employment in the global economy and “assist young people in developing the skills needed to compete in today’s job market”.
Second, Engagement: there is a general consensus at the UN to focus and invest in you, the younger generation. Your ambition and your goals for peace is our inspiration and it contributes to the new agenda for sustainable development. We need you now to create a strong partnership for sustainable development. Youth networks are amazingly rich and can provide the necessary platform to advocate for the SDGs. We need you and you need sustainable development for you future.
By being engaged as young leaders, you can work towards better employment for youth, better food security and better health. These are issues that will affect your generation the most, and you must be part of the solution.
Third, Empowerment, particularly of young migrants, women and girls. Migrants, women and girls have the potential to fully contribute to our society’s development and they have already proved it! History show that migrations have influenced great nations, that women can be great leaders and girls’ aspirations can power change, just take the case of Malala Yousafzai.
Empowerment is important because it increases your autonomy and your capability to self-determination. By being empowered, you will have the strength to realize your full potential and to have your basic human rights respected. We see too often youth being disenfranchised through exclusion and discrimination. The results are shameful: radicalization of the most vulnerable youth and acts of violent extremism by others.
At the Alliance, we make every effort to empower marginalized young people in troubled communities: We have developed an expertise and leadership on youth, education and countering extremism. We provide meaningful alternatives to young people who are the target of extremist groups.
We offer them a platform where their voices can be heard through workshop, trainings, and small grants to fund local projects. We put the emphasis on international, intercultural and interreligious dialogue and cooperation to address the problems targeting youth and extremism.
In summary, in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the UN, we can simply say that the world has become more a interconnected, inter-dependent global village in constant progression. The success is due to the platform provided by the UN.
Last but not least, let me mention our forthcoming 7th Global forum, which will take place from 25-27 April in Baku, Azerbaijan, which will be an occasion to highlight the importance of YOUTH in building inclusive societies.
Around 3,000 state and non-state actors will gather during the two-day forum. I have decided to focus the forum on the challenges and the goals of living together in inclusive societies. Two plenaries will focus on “Preventing Violent Extremism” and “Best Practices in Social Inclusion”.
As part of the Forum, we are organizing a one-day Youth Event, on 25 April. This will be the opportunity for 150 young people, who have been selected from diverse backgrounds, to discuss common issues, to meet across cultures, political views, religions and to network.
I will advise you to follow up on the outcome: The Narratives of Tomorrow. These are the young people’s vision and solutions for the world to live together in inclusive societies. Stay tuned with your communities, the narratives will be available in our website.
Continue to raise your voices at the local level and stay up-to-date on what is happening in your communities, countries and the world at large.
Thank you.