Youth led innovation is important for Guyana's transformation.

ECOSOC is the UN’s foremost platform for listening to the voices of the world’s 1.8 billion young people. At the event, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was time for world leaders to “move beyond platitudes” about young people and commit to delivering a better future for them all.

Addressing Youth Forum delegates, the UN’s Youth Envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake, said that the world’s 1.8 billion youth face issues “that no other generation has encountered,” including the climate crisis, conflicts, and systems of inequality that threaten young people's lives and futures.

Acknowledging these challenges, the Secretary-General stated that world leaders should “not be surprised that both online and in the streets, young people have been expressing their impatience with the pace of change… and their frustration with injustice and poor governance.” He added that that “tangible improvements” are urgently required in education, employment, environmental protection, and digital connectivity in particular.

The annual International Youth Day observance on 12 August is “an opportunity to celebrate and mainstream young people’s voices, actions and initiatives, as well as their meaningful, universal and equitable engagement.” But if we are we are serious about our own legacy, we must accelerate our work to bestow on young people a future worthy of their talents.

This is why the UN is implementing a global Youth Strategy that aims to significantly strengthen our capacity to engage young people and benefit from their views, insights, and ideas. It is also the reason why the UN is putting young people at the centre of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and at the core of the global recovery from COVID-19.

Listening to young people in Guyana 

Young people in Guyana constitute more than two thirds of the population but significant numbers are already at risk of being left behind. The youth unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2021 was recorded at 31.4%, and more young women are unemployed (41.9%), compared to young men (23.7%). The proportion of youth (both young men and women) not in employment, education or training was 35.9%. Among young women, the rate is 45.6%.

Last year, to commemorate 75 years since the creation of the United Nations, the Secretary-General led a global conversation about “the future we want, the United Nations we need”. Youth from Guyana joined more than one million people worldwide who voiced their aspirations in focus group conversations and in online surveys.

We heard young people in Guyana express their desire for a more inclusive, equitable, and harmonious society. They want to do motivating work and are interested in the development and uptake of emerging technologies. They are worried by levels of crime and gender-based violence that threatens the safety and wellbeing of girls and women and even boys. They are passionate about eliminating racism and all forms of discrimination against persons living with disabilities and other marginalized groups. They affirmed their expectation for quality health, education, and social services.

The UN wishes to collaborate with the Government, private sector and civil society to support and work with girls, boys and young women and men to realize the Guyana they want.

‘Not just for young people, but with them’

Right now, governments around the world are preparing for two landmark events that will have major implications for our shared future and the lives of children: COP26 (the global climate conference) and the Global Food Systems Summit. Both demonstrate that we should be thinking not just about how to create a future fit for young people, but how to build a future with them, actively drawing on their talents and insights.

In fact, the theme of this year’s International Youth Day is all about how youth innovation for human and planetary health could help transform food systems. And in Guyana, today, we get a glimpse of how young people, the Government, and the UN, can work together to kick-start this transformation.

First, the importance of developing new types of food system (domestically, regionally, internationally) is already well-recognised in Guyana. Under H.E. President Irfaan Ali’s stewardship, Guyana is playing a leading role within CARICOM on agriculture and food security policy, while revitalization of Guyana’s domestic agriculture and aquaculture industries is a national priority.

Meanwhile, we know that young people are highly receptive to the use of new technologies in food production and attuned to the necessity for climate-smart production. In Guyana, we have seen how young entrepreneurs are already amongst those adopting new farming techniques such as vertical farming (hydroponics, aeroponics), organic production, and regenerative practices.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is already helping young people start their own businesses in food production, processing, agro-tourism, agricultural supplies, marketing, and other associated fields. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) supports economic enterprises in rural and indigenous communities under the Hinterland Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Development Project. The World Food Programme (WFP) is active in the Caribbean and offers assistance to enhance food security.

Taken together, these components offer insights of glimpse of how governments, young Guyanese women and men, and the UN can work together to address the issues with today’s food systems. The potential of such cooperation is high, and its urgency beyond question.

The UN’s commitment to youth in Guyana: our new cooperation partnership

Food systems is just one example of how the UN is putting youth at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, has taken a multi-sectoral approach to protecting children’s rights, through early childhood interventions, education and by supporting the introduction of the Juvenile Justice Act and helping with the creation of Children’s Courts. UNFPA promotes reproductive health and addresses adolescent pregnancies. UNAIDS works on prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS involving some of the most vulnerable population groups. PAHO/WHO supports Guyana’s health systems and services and has been active in addressing mental health issues that affect young people as well. UNDP supports young people in accessing ICT hubs and exploring innovation through digital means. UNESCO’s #iRespectU campaign aims to promote the meaningful participation and inclusion of young people in decision-making, with a particular focus on human rights and diversity. IOM and UNHCR  work with government services and communities to enable migrants and refugees to be included in Guyana’s society and economy.

In 2021, as we emerge from a global pandemic, and confront the magnitude of the climate emergency, there are no more important stakeholders in our future than our young people. The UN will spare no effort in protecting them, and in soliciting their energy, ambition, and talent to create a better world for us all.