GYLD at the UN Day

On October 24th, 2022, the UN Compound in Beijing was filled with young people. It held the “Dialogue on Youth Solidarity and Engagement to Accelerate the SDGs” to mark the 77th UN Day.

The UN China Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee delivered opening remarks, noting that UN day is to commemorate the signing of the UN Charter and the establishment of the United Nations. The UN China Compound hosted the dialogue in this special day to build a platform for young people and to engage them in the implementation of the SDGs, showing the latest achievements of each UN China entity in their works of youth development and engagement.

Mabel Miao, Secretary-General of CCG and founder of the Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) gave a closing remark about CCG’s commitment in promoting UN-based international order and its role as the only Chinese think tank that is granted the special consultative status by the ECOSOC. Jointly initiated by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS), the GYLD program aims to provide a global public goods for the international society, to build a platform for young people from diverse backgrounds to exchange and foster meaningful friendships, and to promote a more inclusive, diverse, and open youth engagement in achieving the SDGs. Closing her remarks, she invited all guests to attend the second GYLD Annual Forum to be held in December.

Guests visiting GYLD booth

The GYLD booth received heated attention from guests of the UN Dialogue and young foreign representatives eager to learn about the prospect of this program. Staff and secretaries of the program had productive conversations with the group, laying out past events of the programs such as GYLD China Tour, GYLD WiseDemo Campaign, and GYLD Meet-up. They highlighted top ten proposals for WiseDemo Campaign this year that provide innovative solutions to the challenges towards achieving the SDGs, which received wide applause from visitors of the booth and initiated potential partnerships.

UN China representatives visiting the GYLD booth, including Justine Coulson, Representative, United Nations Population Fund(UNDP), Chair, UN Thematic Group on Youth; Sanaullah Panezai, Chief Education, UNICEF China among many others

The Dialogue on Youth Solidarity and Engagement also saw guests from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) giving remarks, and hosted flash presentations and discussions participated by global young leaders. The Dialogue is attended by representatives and coordinators in UNFPA, UNICEF and other UN China entities, relevant NGOs engaging in youth development, renowned universities, representatives and students from international schools.