Today we are excited to announce the 53 Global Schools Ambassadors, who represent the Global Schools Program - an initiative to integrate UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  in school setting - and will coordinate local efforts to empower schools and teachers to educate children on the SDGs and why it matters to them.

“The Indonesian government has shown a consistency in legitimizing the SDG agenda into the country’s national development planning and issuing Presidential regulation No.59 year of 2017. [The] support from BAPPENAS and SDSN [of the] Happiness Festival shows our government values [the notion that] the growth of a nation is linked to increased human happiness and wellbeing, not just growing the economy.

I knew nothing about tropical agriculture. Truly, nothing. I come from a land where everything needs to be irrigated. To see things just growing, on trees, in the ground, because the moisture in the air allowed for it, was undeniably beautiful. I also knew nothing about coffee. Myths were busted in my head daily. 

In Neyba village, I realized that to improve the life of small producers, we need to improve not only the cultivation or the agricultural technology, but also respond to the gender and age inequalities with an inclusion process that allows women and young people to work and grow in a sustainable way.

As part of a shared vision to empower youth to take action on the SDGs, SDSN Youth has partnered with Youth Opportunities.

‘Young people are the leaders of tomorrow’. And yet… why can’t they be leaders for today? At the UN SDG Action Campaign Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development, Project Leader (Networks) Yi Jun shared about some of SDSN Youth’s upcoming initiatives, and how they focus on empowering young people to take action on the SDGs today. In this article, he reflects on why students are a key constituency in the fight for sustainable development.

These young urban leaders are the inaugural Local Pathways Fellows, a network of young thought leaders, urban planners, researchers and innovators from over 50 cities to advance local dialogue, collaboration and problem-solving around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to make cities “smart, fair and sustainable”.

New York, April 13, 2018 - SDSN Youth celebrates the launch of the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security and recognizes the importance of youth as agents of change in the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security.

During this edition of the campaign, more than 150 events were organized in 38 countries and more than 10,000 people were involved. Through the promotion of the events on our online platforms, we were able to generate more than 28k social media impressions.

At the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in February 2017, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network - Youth Initiative (SDSN Youth) was pleased to host an event to demonstrate how can young urban leaders implement and localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their cities through the Local Pathways Fellowship (LPF).

“If you know who you are and you know your place, then you know what your contribution is”. These words, from Tita Larasati of the Bandung Creative City Forum, were one of the many powerful insights that stayed with me after a week in Malaysia for the World Urban Forum 9. I had the opportunity to attend this event as a Local Pathways fellow, part of UN SDSN Youth delegation, to showcase our projects during two sessions in Kuala Lumpur.

We, the people of South Asia, have grown up with the mesmerizing story of Kuala Lumpur. How a city like ours has transformed itself into an example of urban development, combining heritage, culture, and modernity. Kuala Lumpur as a host city for the World Urban Forum 9 (WUF9) is the true depiction of the significance of its success.

I have talked with hundreds of young people across the world over the last year about the SDGs and sustainable development. Sometimes, I have 30 seconds or 30 minutes to sell a message. That message is always grounded in a ‘thoughtful stewardship’ of our world, in which I encourage critical, aspirational thinking and agency. A simple starting point is where one might be in 2030, and what kind of world do they want to be in.