The Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) along with the regional co-convenors, YouthLead and YPEER Asia-Pacific and other regional youth networks, will be organizing the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) Youth Forum 2022 from 19-21 March 2022. The Forum will be held in a hybrid format (virtual and in-person in Bangkok) ahead of the APFSD People's Forum and the APFSD Intergovernmental Fora. The Forum will take into account the different and particular impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across the identified Sustainable Development Goals, and forge meaningful and inclusive youth engagement in the follow-up, review and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The APFSD Youth Forum 2022 will have a series of plenary, panel discussions and dialogue sessions on the theme of "Building back better from COVID-19 while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific with young people at the forefront of SDG Action". Youth perspectives, key findings and recommendations from each session will be developed into the “APFSD Youth Call to Action 2022” to be shared and presented at the APFSD, ECOSOC Youth Forum and HLPF.
Objectives:
- Ensure young people voices, their realities and perspectives are meaningfully included, transforming and implementing the regional agenda on sustainable development with specific reference to the intergovernmental APFSD, ECOSOC Youth Forum, and HLPF 2022 processes;
- Sustain the dedicated youth convening space of “APFSD Youth Forum” and discuss SDG implementation with a focus on “Building back better from COVID-19 while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific with young people at the forefront of SDG Action”;
- Assess the progress, gaps and challenges in the implementation of SDGs slated for in-depth review including SDG 4, 5, 14, 15 and 17 from a youth lens and address structural and systemic barriers to youth inclusion in sustainable development;
- Contribute to the voluntary national review process from a youth perspective; and
- Develop the Youth Call to Action at the regional, sub-regional and national levels to inform the intergovernmental APFSD, ECOSOC sessions and ECOSOC Youth Forum and HLPF in 2022.
To participate in the APFSD Youth Forum, apply here: bit.ly/YouthForum2022
Deadline to submit an application is 15 February 2022.
