On Thursday, June 2, 2022, the UN Foundation organized an intergenerational roundtable on a Common Agenda for Future Generations, co-hosted by the governments of Kenya and Sweden, and supported by the Unlock the Future coalition, the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Foundations for Tomorrow, and the Stockholm+50 Youth Task Force.
We brought together young activists, former and current decision-makers, cutting edge researchers, and entrepreneurs to discuss how to advance an international agenda for the people of the future, starting with the 10.9 billion people who are predicted to be born by the end of this century.
Aishwarya Machani, UN Foundation Next Generation Fellow and Member of the Stockholm+50 Youth Task Force; Bianca Goebel, Foundations for Tomorrow; and Makanalani Gomes, co-chair of the Indigenous Youth Caucus presented co-chair of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, Stefan Löfven, with a Contract for Our Future.
This Contract was drafted through consultation with over 150 young people from around the world and puts forward:
Chido Mpemba, the recently appointed Youth Envoy to the African Union, and Sophie Howe, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, and Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth shared their diverse perspectives on what they are doing, and what other leaders can join them in doing today for the people of tomorrow.
On behalf of 16 Member States, H.E. Keriako Tobiko, Kenyan Minister of Environment and Forestry, and H.E. Annika Strandhäll, Swedish Minister for Climate and the Environment, presented a joint ministerial statement on a Common Agenda for Future Generations. In it, they committed to: Preserve the needs and interests of future generations, Promote the meaningful participation of young people, Safeguard life on earth and increase efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda, and Help forge a new global consensus on what our future should look like. The joint ministerial statement was supported by honorable representatives from: Albania, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Zambia.
