Oman Observer
NEW YORK: State Council member Rayya Salim Said al Mantheri, as part of her participation in the 8th World Youth Forum organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in New York, took part on Monday in the Interactive Roundtable on ‘Youth 2030: Working with and for Young People’ that was attended by ministers, experts and youth organisation representatives. She highlighted the importance of engaging young people in different development projects as a great asset, who can make a change for the better when they get adequate and appropriate opportunities. Consequently, young people should be seen as key partners in planning, implementation and evaluation of sustainable development goals, and not as mere listeners.
Rayya stressed that parliaments in general and young parliamentarians in particular have a pivotal role in achieving sustainable development goals for the year 2030. Young people should be inspired to achieve these promising goals. At the inauguration of the forum, opening remarks were made by Inga Rhonda King, President of ECOSOC (The Economic and Social Council). María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the General Assembly, presented the inaugural statement of the forum, emphasising the organisation’s interest in the enhanced role of the youth in achieving sustainable development goals. Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, made the opening statement.
The forum concluded on Tuesday by discussing several topics related to youth empowerment.
The conference is a platform for young leaders from around the world to engage in a dialogue among themselves and with United Nations member states and to share ideas for advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and the Paris Climate Agreement.
It has brought youth leaders from around the world to the United Nations headquarters in New York and given them an opportunity to engage with government representatives, youth delegates, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in civil society and the private sector.
Rayya Salim Said al Mantheri represents the Arab Group at the Youth Parliamentarians Forum of the Inter-Parliamentary Union of Parliamentarians.