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The wheel of development of any country lies on the shoulder of how productive and creative the youthful populations are.

Youths occupy a strategic position in the country, they are the engine room for growth and development, and social re-engineering. Because they provide the labour force for production of goods and service to take effect. And also, are the critical masses of people, whose action and inaction can develop or destroy the hegemonies/fabrics of their society.

Youths play an important role in nation-building. They have the power to help a country develop and move towards progress. As they occupy a formidable and vital segment of the population of any country. For any nation or country to attain a reputable social, economic and political growth, it has to be aware of the vital position of the youths and treat them accordingly.

The positioning of youth in society has a bearing on their leadership potential and their possible role in peacebuilding. Without recognizing youths as political actors, their trajectories in peacebuilding would likely be ignored, wasted and at best, under-utilized.

The success of youth leadership in promoting peace and unity as a tool for development will largely depend on whether or not the wider socio-economic, cultural and political barriers that young people face in their quest of becoming an active agent of positive change, peacebuilding and reconciliation are addressed.

Ensuring equal rights and the full engagement and participation for all persons with disabilities is a cornerstone of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Yet, despite all available frameworks, young persons with disabilities remain one of the most excluded communities with little to no representation at national, regional, and international levels particularly in the Global South. Further, marginalization of young persons with disabilities is compounded as young persons with disabilities find it challenging for their perspectives to be considered and included due to the lack of leadership opportunities and the intersectional discrimination based on their disability and their youth identity.

Young persons with disabilities are capable and have the potential to be key agents in driving progress for both the youth and disability rights agendas if given more systematic and organized support and opportunity, and if the existing barriers to leadership and participation of young persons with disabilities are overcome.

Attaining systemic change will require the involvement of young persons with disabilities as equal partners in all stages of the policy and programming process — from design to implementation to monitoring and evaluation.

Inclusivity in infrastructure is quickly becoming a key consideration for many governments of both developed and developing nations. Many countries are looking for ways to ensure that every member of society has the chance to benefit from economic growth. As part of this, they are examining the role that infrastructure has in achieving that goal.

Infrastructure can play an important role in tackling youth issues, such as unemployment, skills development and training. Benefits generated by inclusive infrastructure development include reduced inequalities and disparities, which provide the stability to not only boost but also sustain economic growth and social equity in the long-term.

Youth engagement as key stakeholders in the driving of infrastructure development that enhances positive outcomes in social inclusivity and ensures no individual, community, or social group is left behind or prevented from benefiting from improved infrastructure, is therefore a necessity.

Globally, the shift to a greener economy that could generate 15 to 60 million additional jobs over the next two decades and lift tens of millions of workers out of poverty, also offers opportunities for young people.

Green economy jobs contribute to reducing energy, raw materials and water consumption, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing or completely avoiding all forms of waste and pollution, and protecting and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity. They can be practiced either in the 3 sectors called “eco-activities”, or in peripheral activities, or even in other sectors.

Green or sustainable entrepreneurship is a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs to make a difference and build a future that suits them. It is an opportunity to contribute to “changing” the progress of the economic world, by offering innovative products or services that help people adopt a more ecological and sustainable lifestyle.

A new economic momentum is essential to meet the global environmental challenges. By investing in a youth-led green or circular economy, young entrepreneurs often achieve the double ambition of having social and environmental impact.

The purpose of green entrepreneurship is to support local development and create sustainable jobs. It promotes local products and job creation at the local level by promoting regional skills and know-how.

Young people play a vital role in humanitarian action and development around the world. They represent the majority of our nearly 15 million strong volunteer base, delivering lifesaving and life-changing work within their communities every single day.

Youth are agents of change with the power to address global humanitarian challenges relevant to their local communities. This makes meaningful youth engagement and the strengthening of young people’s capacities to be effective humanitarian actors essential to delivering effective and principled humanitarian assistance.

Creativity is the untapped and innate human resource, whose potential economies have yet to harness. It can contribute to prosperity, to cultural exchange and social justice.

The creative economy includes several subsectors that offer the potential for wealth and job creation, when accompanied by appropriate policies and strategies. These include industries related to advertising, arts, architecture, crafts, design, film and audio-visual media, as well as the agribusiness sector for textiles, fashion design, leather, furniture, (slow) food and even community-based tourism-related services.

The current global geo-economic shifts offer a crucial source of national competitiveness to generate new jobs and empowerment opportunities for communities to transform their creative sectors and industrial landscapes with innovation, as well as respond to new opportunities, utilizing creativity, rich cultural heritage and diverse knowledge to create competitive goods and services.

Creative youth entrepreneurship should be seen as a central part of mainstream economic development strategy that can transform creativity and human capital into opportunities for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The goal of a viable digital economy is to empower young people with digital entrepreneurship skills, tools and enabling environment to increase their employment opportunities, competitiveness and resilience to economic crises and shocks, and consequently, to reduce inequality, ensure inclusive, innovative and sustainable economic growth, and job creation.

Promoting youth empowerment through digital economy will require action to:

1. Enhance digital entrepreneurship environment and digital skills of young entrepreneurs;
2. Strengthen institutional capacities for developing digital economy and digital entrepreneurship policies with a focus on youth employment;
3. Unlock finance solutions to improve youth’s financial inclusion and opportunities for nurturing digital entrepreneurship projects and startups.

Young people represent both current and future employees, investors, and consumers, creating an important opportunity for business. Ultimately, enterprises need skilled human capital to grow and thrive, and the supply of youth talent is critical for business to compete and grow in a competitive and rapidly changing environment.

Today’s youth is well-educated and represents the labour force of tomorrow. However, youth unemployment remains a pressing economic, social and political issue affecting peace, stability, security and the development path of almost every country.

World Bank and ILO statistics tell us that globally, 75 million young people are registered unemployed, 620 million are not in training or seeking work and 600 million will enter the job market in the next decade with only 200 million jobs awaiting them.

Creating quality jobs for young women and men entering the labour market is thus a critical component in the path towards wealthier economies, fairer societies and stronger democracies. Improving employment opportunities for young people requires a broad and concerted effort from all stakeholders.

It is through employment that young people can realize their aspirations, improve their living conditions and fulfil their responsibilities, not only as productive agents but also as citizens. The opportunities that are being created for young people today lay the foundations for what economies will be able to achieve tomorrow.

Besides being a source of natural beauty, our oceans sustain the livelihoods and wellbeing of more than 3 billion people globally and serve as a crucial asset in mitigating raising effects of climate change. 80% of global trade is carried by sea and more than 350 million jobs worldwide are linked to fisheries, with ocean ecosystems also contributing significantly to activities such as carbon sequestration, coastal protection and waste disposal.

A Sustainable blue economy seeks to drive economic growth and social inclusion while at the same time preserving marine and coastal areas from exploitation and environmental degradation.

Promoting active youth participation is key to creating the change required to ignite social, economic and environmental innovation required to drive sustainable development at local, national and global levels. And also rethink the way we interact with the sea to harness its potential while maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Realizing the full potential of the blue economy and reshaping the ocean economy to achieve prosperity for all will require including youth in coastal decision making, and the support their skills development through trainings and mentorships to create suitable employment opportunities for the present and future generations.