Press releases

19 Mar 2020

Belarusian youth to present their vision of future at 75th UNGA session in September

An archive photo

MINSK, 19 March (BelTA) – The youth campaign “Towards The Future We Want” has kicked off in Belarus. The campaign will feature open discussions for university and school students to share their ideas about how to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The position of the Belarusian youth will be presented at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2020, BelTA learned from the press center of the Belarusian Education Ministry.

The open discussions “The future we want: our ideas and actions” in the Education Ministry will be the centerpiece of the campaign. “During the discussions, the youth will share their vision of the future. University and school students will exchange experience in popularizing the Sustainable Development Goals and values and implementing youth initiatives related to the accelerators identified in the roadmap to achieve the SDGs in the country. The position of the Belarusian youth, that will be outlined as a result of the discussions, will be presented at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2020,” the press center said.

Moreover, the campaign provides for holding the youth media festival “Voices of the youth for sustainable development”, the series of youth initiatives “Leave no one out”, and the online project “Sustainable Development Goals: Think and Act”.

Taking part in the discussions will be students of Maksim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University (BSPU), regional universities, students from schools that offer a pedagogical specialization, representatives of resource centers of the Education for Sustainable Development association, and SDG Youth Ambassadors.

The opening meeting of the organizers and participants of the campaign was held in the BSPU on 18 March. The Education Ministry, the UN Office in Belarus, and the BSPU signed a plan of joint events. After that, UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki delivered an open lecture that touched upon modern global problems, threats and challenges. The lecture was broadcast online and Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki got more than 40 questions from listeners from the regions, to which she gave detailed answers.

In 2020, the United Nations Organization will celebrate its 75th anniversary. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres launched the biggest global conversation in the history of the organization under the title “UN75 2020 and Beyond: Shaping our Future Together” (UN75). The initiative aims to spark the discussion about the role of comprehensive cooperation in shaping a better future involving as many people as possible, first of all, the youth.

Belarus has joined the international campaign UN75, reaffirming its commitment to the sustainable development concept and its readiness to contribute to the UN anniversary celebrations as one of the countries who stood at the origins of the UN. In order to coordinate their joint efforts, in February the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Office in Belarus signed a plan of joint events to mark the UN 75th anniversary.

In order to coordinate work with the youth within the framework of the UN75 campaign, the Belarusian Education Ministry and the UN Office in Belarus drew up a plan of joint events on the campaign “Towards The Future We Want”. Its implementation will be coordinated by the BSPU.