Resident Coordinator's remarks at the SDGs Youth Panel meeting with UN Deputy Secretary-General

Good afternoon everyone, and thank you for joining us today.

We are delighted to have UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammad here with us at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok.

Let me begin by welcoming you, Madame Deputy Secretary-General – it is lovely to have you back in Bangkok after more than 2 years and our apologies for not taking you to one of the communities that the young people are engaged in.

This afternoon is a great opportunity for young people in Thailand to be inspired by your experiences and insights, especially about youth leadership working with the UN.

We are joined today by 12 young changemakers, all of whom are UN partners in their own right, leading projects in their communities and nationwide on plastics, climate, food systems and inclusion.

Time is short, so I’ll let the panellists introduce themselves. Let me just say that each brings their own expertise and experiences, including engagement with the Government and the private sector at multiple levels.

Madame Deputy Secretary-General, we also have young scholars joining today’s discussion virtually from 4 universities, including Chiangmai, Chulalongkorn, Mae Fah Luang and NIDA.

We appreciate all of your participation from across the country.

Recent polling shows that many young people in Thailand, rate climate change as a top concern. They also rank highly investments in education, skills training, job creation and human rights.

Madame Deputy Secretary-General, you have said “The UN needs young people”. We very much appreciate hearing from you today on how we can make this a reality in Thailand and forge much stronger partnerships with and led by youth.

Without further ado, let me hand the floor over to our panellists.

Thank you.