ECOSOC Youth Forum, New York, 2-3 June 2015

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will be holding a Youth Forum in New York from 2-3 June.  As of now, the programme is still being finalized, but the Forum will consist of Panel discussions on various themes related to Post-2015 with the participation of young people and various stakeholders, including Ministers of Youth and Sports. 

The primary participants will be Ministers of Youth and Sports, youth delegates, representatives from the Children and Youth Major Group, youth representatives from Member States, including from National Youth Councils, representatives of regional youth organizations and  youth-led and youth focused organizations and networks, including those in consultative status with ECOSOC. Virtual participation will also be possible through video-link.  The meeting will be available through webcast and participants will be able to pose questions via social media including Facebook and Twitter.

The meeting will open with formal statements by the President of ECOSOC, the Secretary-General and a representative of a youth-led organization.  The Forum will feature five working sessions on “Promoting Youth Employment – Creating Decent Jobs for a More Sustainable Future”, “Moving to the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Remaining Gaps”, “Advancing progress in Africa beyond 2015”, “Youth: The Future They Want Beyond 2015”, and “The ”Road Map”: Youth and the 2015 Development Summit”.  

Youth representatives will also have an opportunity to listen to and engage in an interactive discussion among themselves and with Member States. The outcome of the working sessions will be reported back to the Plenary at the end of the meeting. Representatives of youth-led organizations will also be invited to participate in small group meetings (classroom sessions) organized around the working sessions, “Youth: The Future They Want Beyond 2015”, and “The “Road Map”: Youth and the 2015 Development Summit”, to be held on 3 June. These classroom sessions will help facilitate active participation of young people in the discussions. The outcome of the classroom sessions will be reported back to the plenary.

The outcome will be a “consensus” paper on how youth should be included in the post-2015 development agenda which will form part of a summary of the Forum to be transmitted to the Council’s high-level segment in July 2014.

For further information see attached background note and flyer.