International Youth Day 2024 - Resident Coordinator, Gita Sabharwal's Speech

Youth representatives, UNAI and participants

Selamat Pagi.

It is my pleasure to welcome you all on International Youth Day on behalf of the United Nations family in Indonesia. 
I would like to thank the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of Indonesia for their contributions to this year’s event.
Your expertise is instrumental to empowering youth in country, including girls and women, and we are keen to deepen our partnerships with you.

Let me stress how delighted I am to see all the young people today whether they are here in person or joining us online.
We are counting on you to leverage your creativity, innovative mind-sets, youthful drive and can-do spirit to accelerate progress on the SDGs.
As you may know, SDG progress in Indonesia has been much more robust than the global average with 62% of indicators on track.
However, this does not mean our work is done. Far from it. We have to ensure that we will meet all the SDG goals by 2030.

I am optimistic because Indonesia boasts a vast untapped pool of youth with over 48% of the population under 30 years. 
The youth demographic dividend will be a dominant feature of Indonesia for the next two decades and we need to make the most of it. 
In years to come, young people’s contributions as thought leaders and innovators will be critical to the country’s green and just transformation. 

Amongst your biggest assets are your ability to think outside the box and harness the benefits of new digital technologies like AI. 
That is why the theme of this year’s International Youth Day is “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development.” 
Digital technologies have become as essential as natural resources for transformative changes and your savviness with these technologies can maximize their transformative potentials.

I have seen examples of this first-hand through my meetings with young innovators. 
One youth-led initiative, in partnership with the private sector, has designed a community-based system for solar energy generation in a province of Papua. Rather than link remote, isolated villages to the grid at great expense, the solution will enable villagers to generate their own electricity 24 by 7 at five times cheaper than conventional methods. This model can be scaled up and spread to other remote areas.
Another innovation, led by a young person, envisions turning waste into energy in NTT, the third poorest province. This too is a replicable model.
These innovators have stressed to me the importance of the private sector in providing avenues for young people to leverage their talents and insights. 

At the UN we recognize how important young people like you are in turning Indonesia into a prosperous, equitable and sustainable nation.
You are custodians of the future and the decisions made today will impact your future whether on addressing climate change, advancing digitalization, empowering girls, preserving biodiversity and achieving other SDGs. 
Young people are also leading investors in the capital market of Indonesia. Your risk-taking ability has helped define this as the land of startups and unicorns. 
The UN stands alongside the Government and the private sector to support young people nationwide to create pathways for advancing SDGs, amplify your voices, and engagement with a wide set of stakeholders.
The 26 UN agencies working in Indonesia through our Joint Traineeship Programme, coupled with advocacy, supports fair and quality entry-level job opportunities for young people within the UN system. We are committed to this and want to scale this up moving forward.

Today we are proud to provide you with a forum to brainstorm, discuss and share your ideas towards youth-driven solutions to SDG challenges.
I am looking forward to all your insights and suggestions.
Happy International Youth Day once again! 

Terima kasih.