ESOSOC Youth Forum Kicks Off at the UN Headquarters

Document Type

Date

Abr 14, 2026

Body

H.E Amb. Mohamed Fathi Edrees, Permanent Observer of the African Union (AU) to the United Nations (UN), and representatives from the African Group of Permanent Representatives of African States to the UN, participated at the opening of the Economic and Social Council Youth Forum (ECOSOC) Youth Forum on April 14 – 16 , 2026 under the theme “Innovate, Unite and Transform: Youth Shaping the Road to 2030” , at the UN headquarters in New Yor, USA.

Keynote speakers at the event focused on the “Transformative, equitable, innovative, and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for a sustainable future for all.” The Forum serves as a global platform for young people to engage with Member States, the UN system, and other partners by sharing ideas and showcasing innovations and solutions to accelerate progress on the SDGs.

For over a decade, the ECOSOC Youth Forum has been the UN’s largest annual gathering of young people, aimed at strengthening their role in policy- and decision-making. The 2026 ECOSOC Youth Forum further highlights the transformative power of youth collaboration and innovation, reaffirming that young people are essential partners in shaping a sustainable and inclusive future.

The ECOSOC Youth Forum brought together young people including youths from Africa, Member States, the UN system, and other partners to exchange ideas, showcase innovative solutions, and strengthen youth engagement in accelerating progress on the SDGs.

Convened by the president of ECOSOC and organized by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in close collaboration with the UN Youth Office, the United Nations Inter Agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD) among other stakeholders, the objective of the Forum includes:

Provide a global platform for young people to engage in dialogue with Member States and UN entities on transformative and innovative actions to realize sustainable development.
Create spaces for youth to share knowledge, skills, and experiences that contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
Highlight youth-led innovations that demonstrate coordinated and inclusive action for sustainable progress.
Facilitate preliminary discussions to inform preparations for the 2027 SDG Summit and the 2027 United Nations Habitat Assembly.

The three-day event features plenary sessions as well as interactive thematic and regional breakout sessions to facilitate deeper discussions on advancing the 2030 Agenda, implementing the Pact for the Future and contributing to different intergovernmental processes such as the UN Water Conference 2026, the World Urban Forum 2026 (WUF13), the SDG Summit 2027 and the HABITAT Assembly 2027.

Media Contact:

Ms Esther Azaa Tankou, Head of Media and Information Division, Information and Communication Directorate, AUC and Communication Advisor to the African Union (AU) Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations (UN). Tel: +1 347 812 71 95, Email: yamboue@africanunion.org

Press Release

Press release

Images

References

Department Tags

AUC

Agenda 2063

Flagship Projects

Integrated High Speed Train Network

Connecting African capitals and commercial centers through a High-Speed Train Network; facilitating the movement of goods, factor services and people as well as reducing transport costs and relieving congestion of current and future systems through increased rail connectivity.

African Commodities Strategy

Transforming Africa from a raw materials supplier by enabling countries to add value, extract higher rents from commodities, integrate into global value chains promote diversification anchored in value addition and local content development.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

The African Passport & Free Movement of People

Removing restrictions on Africans’ ability to travel, work and live within their own continent by transforming restrictive laws and promoting visa free travel to enhance movement of all African citizens in all African countries.

Silencing the Guns by 2020

Ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence, violent conflicts and preventing genocide in the continent by 2020.

The Grand Inga Dam Project

Generating an estimated 43,200MW of power to support current regional power pools and their combined service to transform Africa from traditional to modern sources of energy and ensure access to clean and affordable electricity.

Single African Air-Transport Market

Promoting intra-regional connectivity between the capital cities of Africa by creating a single unified air transport market in Africa, as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration and growth agenda.

African Economic Forum

Multi-stakeholder meeting bringing together the Africa’s policy makers, private sector, academia and civil society to reflect on accelerating Africa’s socio- economic development and transformation by harnessing its vast resources.

African Financial Institutions

Accelerating integration and economic development through the establishment of organisations which will play a pivotal role in the mobilization of resources and management of the African financial sector.

The Pan African e-Network

Transforming Africa into an e-Society by implementing policies and strategies that lead to transformative e-applications and services in Africa such as broad band terrestrial infrastructure, cyber security and revolutionary bio and nanotechnology industries.

Africa Outer Space Strategy

Strengthening Africa’s use of outer space to bolster development in critical sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, remote sensing, climate forecast, banking and finance, defense and security.

African Virtual & e-University

Using ICT based programmes to increase access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa by reaching large numbers of students and professionals in multiple sites simultaneously.

Cyber Security

Incorporating emerging technologies in Africa’s development plans and ensuring these technologies are used for the benefit of African individuals, institutions and nation states by ensuring data protection and safety online.

Great African Museum

Preserving and promoting African cultural heritage by creating awareness of Africa’s vast, dynamic and diverse cultural artefacts and Africa’s continuing influence on world cultures in art, music, language, science, and so on.

Encyclopaedia Africana

Provide an authoritative resource on the authentic history of Africa and African life.

NOW

Images

References

Agenda 2063

Key Resources