Back after a few days of work at the United Nations for the Réseau des carrefours jeunesse-emploi du Québec, it is with a knot in my stomach but a vibrant heart that I take up my pen.
In 2015, a bold new global agenda based on 17 global goals to eradicate poverty by 2030 and pursue a sustainable future was unanimously adopted by the 193 member states of the United Nations, including Canada.
However, according to the latest report from the United Nations (UN) published a few days ago, half of the 17 sustainable development goals show minimal progress, while more than a third are at a standstill or, worse, going backwards.
With only six years left to achieve them, progress is clearly insufficient. Indeed, only 17% of the objectives are currently on track.
Major obstacles
The report notes that an additional 23 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty and 100 million more are suffering from hunger, while the number of civilian deaths in armed conflicts has soared.
This year was also the warmest on record, with global temperatures close to the critical threshold of 1.5°C.
This is not just a distant reality. In Quebec, too, young people are worried: 76% find the future frightening and nearly half think that humanity is doomed. It is sometimes easier for them to imagine the end of the world than a bright future. How can we build the future when those who embody it no longer believe in it?
Younger generations see the many perils that weigh on our future. We are already feeling the effects of climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the multiplication of conflicts on the planet, the explosion of mental health challenges, school and civic dropouts and unemployment.
That’s for the knotted stomach.
Young people as agents of change
Now, for the vibrant heart, the UN calls to put young people at the heart of change. Despite the challenges, we must not abandon our promise to end poverty, protect the planet and leave no one behind.
Empowering, developing and mobilizing young people can help build a better world. We must ensure that they are not only heard but also understood, that they have the means they need to get involved and that they truly lead efforts and processes, not just approve of them. Young people and the organizations that support them, such as youth employment centers, must be full partners in public policies.
We must be determined to take the bold and transformative steps that are urgently needed to set us on a sustainable path and to leave no young person behind in this collective quest.
We must act, all of us, everywhere, to ensure that young people have the means to fully develop their potential, to act as agents of change and to ensure that economic, social and technological progress takes place in harmony.
I believe that if just 10% of the talk we hear was put into action, we would truly be on our way to transforming the world.
So, are you ready to start a real change?