缅北禁地

Today, there are 1.8 billion people aged between ten and 24: the largest generation of young people the world has ever known.  

Close to 90 per cent of young people live in developing countries, where they make up a large proportion of the population. And their numbers are growing: between 2015 and 2030, almost two billion young people will turn fifteen. 

Young people are heavily affected by the many complex crises unfolding around the world. Concurrent crises such as climate change, growing debt and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are deeply affecting their livelihoods, decent employment, exacerbating inequality and making their future less secure.

Connected to each other like never before, young people are already contributing to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress and inspiring political change. They do not only do this for their own benefit, but also for their families, loved ones, communities and nations. 

LDC5 

At  the Least Developed Countries will gather to set their development agenda for the next decade. More than anyone else, young people have a stake in that agenda.  

Provided with the necessary skills and opportunities, young people can be a driving force for an LDC5 outcome that supports their priorities in development, peace and security.  

Young people therefore must not only be empowered to participate in the LDC5 preparations -building a vision for the world they want to live in and suggesting policies and priorities for governments to enact in service of that vision. They must also be considered key partners in the achievement of sustainable development in LDCs. 

With political commitment and adequate resources, young people have the potential to make the most effective transformation of the world into a better place for all.  

ECOSOC Youth Forum  

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum is a key platform where young people can contribute to policy discussions at the United Nations through their collective ideas, solutions and innovations. 

At this year's Forum, , the International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organizations () and the Major Group for Children and Youth (), are hosting an event for young people from Least Developed Countries to gather with the drafters of the LDC5 outcome agenda to share their visions and priorities. 

This engagement will drive a youth-focused narrative throughout LDC5 preparations and manifest in a Youth Declaration that aims to influence the LDC5 Outcome Document, to be adopted by world leaders in Doha and, ultimately, become part of the new Programme of Action for LDCs. Young people the world over will help hold leaders to account in the implementation of this declaration.