J U L Y 2 0 1 7 - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 I M P A C T R E P O R T SEASON'S GREETINGS! SEASON'S GREETINGS! Here is what the Office of the Here is what the Office of the United Nations Secretary- Secretary-General's Envoy on General's Envoy on Youth Youth achieved since June 2017 achieved since July 2017 AND LOTS MORE! A letter from the United Nations Secretary General's Envoy on Youth Dear Friends, This first year and a half, has been truly magnificent! It’s been filled with challenges, but also with opportunities and support from those who believe in the power of young people - both within and outside the United Nations. In July 2017, I became the youngest member of the United Nations Senior Management Team. And one of the most memorable moments I lived in my life, was when I first met the Secretary-General as his Envoy on Youth. In that meeting, the Secretary-General asked me to "misbehave", to be the trigger of change in the United Nations System and beyond. I want to thank the Secretary-General, António Guterres, for placing his trust in me and in my small but powerful office for leading this ambitious task. This particular moment, inspired the greatest achievements of 2018. Launching Youth 2030, the first-ever United Nations Youth Strategy, brought to me unmeasurable emotion. The challenges of bringing together vastly different interests under a common roof are immense, but the importance and relevance young people should have in today’s world are even greater! Today we are facing a critical time in history, with the world seeing the largest generation of young people ever – 1.8 billion. Most them live in developing countries where they tend to make up a large proportion of the population. In the least developed countries, the numbers will only continue to grow. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a problem. It’s rather a solution to the majority of the issues we face globally. Young people are change- makers, innovators and leaders. They have broken barriers, changed systems, brought peace, fought against climate change, and saved lives. Too often, they do this with little or no resources and no access to decision-making tables. Imagine what they could do, if they were fully empowered and given a seat at the table! Please take this report, not as a celebration of what my office and I have done for young people, but as yet another small step to support young people in realizing their full potential and go even beyond. We still have a lot to do! In hope and gratitude, Youthfully, Jayathma Wickramanayake United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth 1 THE UNITED NATIONS YOUTH STRATEGY Youth 2030 strives to achieve a world in which the human rights of every young person are realized; that ensures every young person is empowered to achieve their full potential; and that recognizes young people’s agency, resilience and their positive contributions as agents of change. Its aim is to scale up global, regional and national actions to meet young people’s needs, realize their rights and tap their possibilities as agents of change. The strategy is ambitious. It will guide the United Nations' system in stepping up support for the empowerment of young people, while ensuring that the Organization’s work fully benefits from their insights and ideas. Investment in four areas will consolidate the position of the United Nations as a global leader in engaging with youth. It will become a pioneer of knowledge, a dynamic source of innovation, a catalyst for solutions and a champion of accountability. The strategy’s thematic priority areas reflect: 1. Engagement, Participation and Advocacy - Amplify youth voices for the promotion of a peaceful, just and The official launch of Youth2030: The United Nations sustainable world Youth Strategy, took place on Monday, 24th September 2. Informed and Healthy Foundations 2018 at a High-Level Event at the United Nations in New - Support young people’s greater access to quality education and health services York. 3. Economic Empowerment through Decent Work - Support young people’s greater access to decent work and It was one of the three high-level events of the Secretary- productive employment General and was joined by inspiring Young People, Heads 4. Youth and Human Rights – Protect of State and Government, leaders from the Private Sector and promote the rights of young people and support their civic and political and Civil Society, as well as Global Influencers. engagement #Youth2030 gathered 3 million social media posts and 11 5. Peace and Resilience Building – Support young people as catalysts for million engagements. Peace and Security & Humanitarian Action Youth 2030, the first-ever United Nations Youth Strategy, In 2019, as its chair, the Envoy on Youth was presented by the United Nations Secretary-General will convene a High-Level Steering António Guterres. Speakers also included H.E. Paul committee to guide and review the implementation of the youth strategy. Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, H.E. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, Microsoft President, Bill Smith, YouTuber's Superwoman, Lilly Singh, the K-Pop band BTS, and other special guests. 2 O U R R E A C H S I N C E J U L Y 2 0 1 7 . 35 COUNTRY Website MISSIONS MORE THAN 10 571,266 GROUPS OF 304,550 VIEWS STUDENTS VISITS VISITED US AT THE UNITED www.un.org/youthenvoy NATIONS 7 FACEBOOK LIVES Facebook MORE THAN INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S K .5 127,800 LIKES DAY 2018 1 S EW WITH UN WOMEN VI MORE THAN +27.6% 130,400 FANS ECOSOC YOUTH FORUM 69 9 S WITH UN SOCIAL MEDIA EW +29%! VI facebook.com/UNYouthEnvoy GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION 2 79 SUMMIT WITH 4, S EW Twitter UN ENVIRONMENT VI 14,200 TWEETS GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION 91 ,1 S MORE THAN SUMMIT WITH 1 W 15,100 IE 74,000 RETWEETS THE UN FOUNDATION V FOLLOWERS 29,100 73RD UNITED NATIONS 44 ,7 S + 102%!! LIKES GENERAL ASSEMBLY 8 W WITH UN SOCIAL MEDIA IE @UNYouthEnvoy V 2 YOUNG HUMANITARIAN 25 WORKERS IN COX'S BAZAAR 5, S EW WITH UNHCR VI 561 MORE THAN POSTS 2018 HIGH-LEVEL 5K 3. S 24,000 POLITICAL FORUM W WITH SDG MEDIA ZONE IE FOLLOWERS V @unyouthenvoy missions and engagements in 2017 11-14 August | IRAQ 15-18 August | INDIA 4-7 October | COLOMBIA W W AT E W CH 14-17 October | RUSSIA IL T L S HIS M OO SP OR N U AC 10-13 November | ITALY E IN PD E FO AT RM E W 15-17 November | GENEVA A TI ITH ON 19-11 November | SPAIN 4-10 December | FIJI 15-18 December | SOMALIA 4 missions and engagements in 2018 1-14 February | NIGERIA, SENEGAL, GHANA, 9-10 July | WASHINGTON D. C. GAMBIA and SOUTH AFRICA 31 July- 2 August | CHINA 20-22 March | KENYA 6-9 August | BANGLADESH 13-14 April | MEXICO 13-14 September | SAN FRANCISCO 16-17 April | UNITED KINGDOM 20-21 October | THE NETHERLANDS 19-20 April | BULGARIA W 24-26 October | PERU W AT 26-27 April | FINLAND E CH WI TH LL S IS 2-3 November | EGYPT M OO SP 15-16 May | SWITZERLAND OR N U AC E I PD E NFO AT 12-13 November | SAUDI ARABIA 22-23 May | ITALY RM E W AT ITH ION 3-5 December | DENMARK 2-4 June | FRANCE 6-7 December | POLAND 6-7 June | BELGIUM 8-11 December | MOROCCO 11-13 June | UZBEKISTAN 5 Our partners HIGHLIGHTS AT THE UNITED NATIONS AICN HNEIWE YVOERKM - E20N17TS 19 July | NEW YORK | Co-organized the High-Level Side Event on Youth and the SDGs at the High-Level Political Forum 02 August | NEW YORK| Spoke at the opening of the DPI NGO Intergenerational Dialogue on Sustainable Development 13 September | NEW YORK | Participated in the global jury to select United Nations Environment Programme Young Champions of the Earth 15 September | NEW YORK | Participated in the Peace bell ceremony and delivered remarks on the role of youth, at the observance of the International Peace day 17 September | NEW YORK | Met with the SDG advocates 17 September | NEW YORK | Spoke at the opening panel of the Social Good Summit 18 September | NEW YORK | Delivered remarks at the Youth power and SDG 5 event on Youth lead Accountability 18 September | NEW YORK | Participated and delivered remarks at the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit 18 September | NEW YORK | UNGA 72 participated in a conversation on young people and the Global Compacts by the International Peace Institute 19 September | NEW YORK | Organized Young Leaders meet World Leaders Breakfast 19 September | NEW YORK | UNGA 72 participated in the SDG Media Zone 19 September | NEW YORK | Delivered the Key Note address on Education at the European Union Event to Celebrate the 30thAnniversary of the Erasmus Programme 19 September | NEW YORK | Participated in the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards dinner 20 September | NEW YORK | Delivered the Closing Keynote at the High-Level event on Financing the Future: Education for all 20 September | NEW YORK | Delivered Remarks at the EU-UN Gender Initiative “Spotlight” launch 28 September | NEW YORK | Joined the Deputy Secretary General and Young UN to high light the role and issues of younger staff working for the United Nations 07 November | NEW YORK | Briefed the Board of the UN Foundation on the work of the Youth Envoy 08 November | NEW YORK | Briefed the Chief Executives Board of the United Nations on advancing the youth agenda within the UN system 6 Our partners HIGHLIGHTS AT THE UNITED NATIONS IN ACNEHWI EYOVRKE - M20E18.N.