On February 17, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) New York Office hosted Dr. Felipe Paullier, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, for an exchange with interns and students on “Youth Participation in Multilateralism: Opportunities and Challenges.”
Youth are increasingly recognized as important actors to advocate for, participate in, and raise new issues in global governance. To that end, the United Nations (UN) has fostered greater youth participation through the recently adopted Pact for the Future and recently established UN Youth Office, as well as platforms like the ECOSOC Youth Forum.
Despite these initiatives, there remains much work to be done to ensure youth’s meaningful and effective engagement. The discussion highlighted:
- The challenges of disrupting an intergovernmental system to advance the youth agenda. Strategies and initiatives require both an understanding of the limits and boundaries of this highly structured system and the creativity to carve out space for youth engagement.
- The diversity of the youth constituency and need to engage with the full range of actors within this stakeholder group. Engaging solely with youth delegations and ECOSOC-registered civil society organizations is not sufficient.
- The value of youth stakeholders’ fresh perspectives on global governance and multilateral issues. The views and experiences of youth might be less entrenched in the UN system, but this is not an inherent shortcoming. New approaches and an openness to new technology, such as AI, can help improve existing structures and processes—and should be better leveraged.
- The importance of making UN internships more inclusive. Internships remain a critical stepping stone for young professionals seeking careers in the UN system. A positive and formative experience depends on better guidance and resources for interns.