UN Winter Youth Summit addresses topics that disappoint attendees

“You are the tomorrow, today!” Moderator Ravi declared at a rallying session during the 2016 United Nations Winter Youth Summit, in praise of the UN’s recently released SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs).

“While we cannot always build our future for our youth, we can build our youth for the future!”The hall thundered as approximately 500 youth from around the world stood to chant in unison with the prompter: “We can end gender inequality!”

When the shouting had died down, Clarissa Traub, Franciscan University Student and youth delegate, looked at me skeptically.

She said, “That’s good, but…what about world hunger?”

After two days of the UN Winter Youth Summit not one word had been uttered about the listed UN goal to end world hunger, she said.

The UN Winter Youth Summit is a recent attempt on the part of policy makers to incorporate youth, defined as young adults ages 15 – 30 by the United Nations, into public policymaking. During the two-day conference, approximately 20 Non-governmental Organization leaders and UN employees presented their vision for youth involvement in public policy and what they themselves are doing to meet the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

One such presentation was by Mike Kelleher, Lead International Affairs Officer at World Bank. Kelleher presented on a sugar-saline solution his company had pioneered and distributed to developing nations.The solution is intended for use in emergency situations, such as stabilizing the blood-sugar of a malnourished baby until it can be treated by medical professionals, Kelleher said, in pursuit of the Global Goals

.The Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs) are a set of benchmarks that when accomplished will, according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Website,improve the world.These goals are to have no poverty, no hunger, good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, renewable energy, good jobs and economic growth, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities,responsible consumption, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace and justice, and partnership for the accomplishment of these goals by 2030.

However, very few of these presentations were on any goal other than gender inequality.Traub said the UN conference had repeatedly declared the UN’s commitment to ending gender divides and inequalities, but never mentioned their plans for solving world hunger, which is listed under their Sustainable Development Goals. She said it was odd that most of the presentations had been on gender inequality when other grave issues were also listed under the global goals, such as poverty and sanitation.

Her colleague, Paige Heinen, also a Franciscan University student and youth delegate,shared Traub’s concern for the lack of substance during the Summit.

“Repeated over and over was the idea that the youth are an enormous force with incredible ability to be harnessed,” Heinen said.“There are over 1.8 billion young people in the world, and the United Nations is clearly striving to engage us, but more importantly, they said they wanted to empower us.”

Which is good, she said. But after leaving the conference, Heinen said she struggled to remember any definitive instructions or plans for actually moving to solve the issues listed in the global goals.

They both said they were grateful for the experience but agreed that after traveling 14 hours overnight both ways to sit at the feet of some very influential men and women it would have been nice to receive a little more actual qualification in the area of humanitarian aid.

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