“We have unlocked the door to our common future”, stated United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guerres at the United Nations Summit of the Future Action Days. He went on, “Now it's our common responsibility to walk through it. That demands not just agreement, but action.” 

The United Nations hosted the Summit of the Future Action Days on September 20th and 21st, 2024 at the United Nations Headquarters and General Assembly in New York City. The Action Days consisted of panels and events that were youth-led, in an effort to ensure youth voice was considered ahead of the actual Summit of the Future itself. The ultimate goal was to renew commitments to multilateralism and sustainable development, ensuring that global challenges are tackled collaboratively.

“Ten years ago, a day like today would have been unimaginable: a day on the official programme of the United Nations dedicated to youth”, declared Felipe Paullier, the first-ever Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs. “A day when this house recognizes that any agenda…has the youth agenda as a cross-cutting element of it.”

Of utmost importance at the Action Days was the discussion of how youth play a role in the Pact for the Future. The Pact for the Future, which was set to be adopted days after the Action Days, is a collaborative framework that unites nations and organizations in their commitments to a brighter future for next generations. With 56 pledges across 5 themes, it aims to address pressing global challenges like climate change and social inequality through collective action and shared goals. Encompassed in the Pact for the Future is the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations. The Global Digital Compact is a UN initiative that will set the foundation of shared principles and guidelines for how digital technologies should be governed globally. The Declaration on Future Generations is a framework to ensure the needs of future generations are considered in decision-making. 

Youth voice was at the center of the United Nations on these days. According to Areej, a teenage activist from Yemen, “What we do now will shape their world, whether that world is defined by conflict, poverty and fear, or by hope, security and opportunity,” she said. “We must ask ourselves: are we ready to take action so that every child can flourish?”

Throughout the summit, youth engaged directly with policymakers in workshops and panel discussions, allowing for meaningful exchanges about how to address urgent global issues. This focus on youth representation highlighted their important role in shaping future policies.

Overall, the summit showed that young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow but are actively involved in creating solutions today. Their voices are crucial for making sure that future actions reflect the needs and aspirations of all generations.

After all, Secretary-General Guterres noted, “there is a growing interest and the creation of some mechanisms to listen to young people”, however added, “there is a lot yet to be done.”

The day after the Action Days, September 22nd, the Pact for the Future was adopted by member nations, signaling a bright future for current and future generations.