Youth Forum: UN chief calls for ‘tangible improvements’ in the face of injustice, poor governance

If the world really wants to step back from the brink, it had better “walk the walk” towards a more sustainable future for all, young speakers said on Tuesday, as thousands of their counterparts from across the world gathered, in person and online, for the opening of the annual Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum at UN Headquarters in New York.

Youth activism has been “pushing the world forward,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told Day 1 of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)’s annual Youth Forum on Tuesday.

The world must do more to stop the dramatic decline in ocean health, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Sunday, urging young people gathered in Carcavelos, Portugal, for a UN Youth and Innovation Forum to step up because his generation’s leaders had moved far too slow.