UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Six youth leaders from different countries were at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York Wednesday to share their ambitious visions of a future where international cooperation is prioritized and everyone's voice is heard.
Their discussion with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres marked the official launch of dialogues being held worldwide this year to honor the UN's 75th anniversary.
Guterres said that "Youth in the Driving Seat," the initial high-profile UN75 dialogue, will set the tone for the coming global conversations on how the organization can work harder to create a better future for all.
"We want to change, we want to be better, (and) we want to respond to your aspirations, to your concerns," said the UN chief.
"We want you to have the opportunity to play the role that youth must play in the modern world in which we live, and especially in the world we are trying to build," he noted.
For recent graduate Jahan Rifai from Jordan, a better world means that the more than 71 million people who have been uprooted by war or persecution will be able to return home.
"I would also like to see the resolution of the conflicts of today as well as of yesterday that have continued on with no seeming end in sight," she added.
As an activist for social inclusion, Natalia Herbst from Argentina said that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have already provided a roadmap for a more just future, but only if everyone gets on board.
"The ongoing resistance from many power holders to adhere to a very basic fact-based consensus, which is relevant to climate change and to reproductive rights, is becoming very challenging to fulfil the SDG agenda by 2030, which would be a very promising step towards a better 2045," she noted.
Gender equality, eradication of poverty, climate action, cybercrime, hate speech, proper use of artificial intelligence and many other topics were touched upon during the discussion.
On Oct. 24, 2019, the UN announced the decision to hold the "biggest-ever global conversation on the world's future" on its 75th anniversary.
In January, the UN started holding dialogues around the world and across borders, sectors and generations to reach the global public, to listen to their hopes and fears, and to learn from their experiences.
The secretary-general will present the opinions, ideas and solutions generated through the various UN75 dialogues globally and an online survey initiative, at a high-level summit for world leaders in September.
