Global Development Initiative Prioritises Youth Development

By Dr Chow Yee Peng.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) embody the common aspirations of people around the world for a better and more sustainable future by 2030. The Global Development Initiative (GDI) was subsequently proposed by China in 2021 to accelerate the realisation of the 2030 Agenda.

In order to achieve the SDGs, the world needs the concerted efforts of all generations, including the youth. At the same time, one of the main guiding principles of the 2030 Agenda is the assurance that “no one will be left behind”. The universal nature of the 2030 Agenda entails that all generations, including the youth, should be considered across all goals and targets.

According to the United Nations, there are approximately 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in the world today, accounting for 16 per cent of the global population. The number of young people is projected to grow by 7 per cent to around 1.3 billion by 2030. Youth are undeniably an important positive force advancing the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Hence, it is imperative to engage these young people and create conducive conditions for them to unleash their full potential in order to achieve the SDGs.

If these young potentials are properly tapped, they could contribute or even lead the strive towards important causes such as social justice, equitable education, climate action and green development.Hence, more opportunities and resources should be channelled to this group of young individuals to enable them to fulfil their potential and engage in global sustainable development.

Although significant strides have been made towards advancing youth engagement and development, these young people encounter numerous obstacles and threats, such as structural injustice, rising poverty and hunger, unemployment and poor job quality, climate change and digital divides. Recent statistics reveal that nearly one in four young people between the ages of 15 and 24 worldwide are neither in employment, training or education, and young women are more than twice as likely as young men to be facing this problem.

As part of the effort towards advancing youth development to achieve the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations launched its first-ever youth strategy - Youth 2030 - in September 2018, which serves as a primary guide to integrating youth development into global development. In this context, China has also initiated numerous initiatives to promote youth development. For example, the All-China Youth Federation hosts the World Youth Development Forum to create a platform for dialogues among international organisations, governments, young leaders and youth organisations to advocate for prioritising youth development and promoting the joint implementation of the 2030 Agenda and GDI.

Besides, China has jointly initiated the Action Plan for Global Youth Development to promote youth development and their participation in global development. Recently, the Beijing International Youth Innovation and Development Forum was held on April 28 this year to lend support towards the development of international young talents, promote the shared utilisation of global innovative resources and provide intellectual and talent support for the high-quality development of Beijing.

China attaches great importance to youth development and supports young talents in various fields including scientific and technological innovation as well as entrepreneurship. For instance, according to the 2024 Global Youth Science and Technology Innovation Development Report, the average age of China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) research and development team, aerospace engineering team, Fuxing high-speed rail design and development team and Beidou satellite core team is below 40 years old.

As a supporter of the joint implementation of the 2030 Agenda and GDI, Malaysia plays a vital role in providing continuous support for efforts to drive global development towards a more inclusive and sustainable world, including promoting youth development.

The Malaysian government has introduced the National SDG Roadmaps, where various initiatives were undertaken to improve the youth’s productivity level such as implementing the Belia Bestari, Outreach Usahawanand Smart Partnership Usahawan Belia programmes to enhance the capabilities and skills of youth in doing business as well as launching the MySkills Foundation to assist underprivileged youths.

Aside from this, the Malaysian government has set up the Professional Training and Education for Growing Entrepreneurs (Protege) to enable more graduates to receive industrial training and enhance their employability.

Additionally, China and Malaysia have established numerous collaborative efforts to promote youth development in both countries.

For example, the China-Malaysia Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competitions were held with the aim to promote innovation and entrepreneurship among university students of both countries. Meanwhile, the inaugural China-MalaysiaYouth Exchange Forum was held on January 28 this year to foster cultural understanding and strengthen the friendly cooperation between the youth of both countries.

Young people are tomorrow’s leaders. They are the torchbearers of the 2030 Agenda to address the mounting issues confronting modern society such as human rights, peace and security, food security, poverty reduction, climate change and digital divide.

These young potentials hold the key to creating a diverse, inclusive and sustainable future for all and therefore the attainment of the 2030 Agenda necessitates strong and inclusive partnerships between young people and all stakeholders so that the positive role of youth as partners in promoting sustainable development and a more equal society is recognised. Accordingly, the GDI should continue to promote and prioritise youth development and intergenerational partnerships in its effort to support the realisation of the 2030 Agenda.

Dr Chow Yee Peng is an Assistant Professor at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

The SEARCH Scholar Series is a social responsibility programme jointly organised by the Southeast Asia Research Centre for Humanities (SEARCH) and Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT), in conjunction with the 10-year anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative.