Panelists during an event on global unemployment among the youth population, on the sidelines of the ECOSOC Youth Forum on April 15. Credit: ECOSOC
By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 16 2025 – This year, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum’s theme is “Youth at the Forefront: Leveraging Science and Social Inclusion for Sustainable Development”, bringing together government representatives, young leaders and policymakers among other relevant stakeholders, to deliberate over youth involvement in the ongoing efforts to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
On the sidelines of the forum, on April 15, Generation Unlimited, in collaboration with several United Nations (UN) agencies including the UN Youth Office, UNICEF and UNESCO, hosted an event: “What works to amplify the rights and voices of youth in education and employment?”. This event featured testimonies from policymakers, young leaders and global experts, with the objective of finding ways to promote economic empowerment and quality education for young people.
A major theme of discussion during this event was the second principle of the SDGs, known as “leaving no one behind”. Through this principle, the UN seeks to eliminate structural barriers, such as gaps in funding and inequalities, that prevent young people from all walks of life from having equal opportunities for success.
According to figures from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), approximately 251 million young people are currently not in school, the majority of which are in developing countries. Roughly 20 percent of global youth does not receive formal employment education training, with 2 out of 3 being young women and girls.
“Education is the key driver of prosperous, inclusive and peaceful societies. Yet, quality education risks being the privilege of a few, if we do not take serious measures to give every child across the globe the same chance to learn and thrive,” said Audrey Azzoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO.
It is imperative that young people are given access to programs that develop their skills in the workforce. However, millions of people around the world have found themselves unable to find employment due to contrasting demands from labor markets.
“What we see around the world is a mismatch between what young people are skilled at and what private sectors and employers need. The International Labour Organization estimates that 2 out of every 3 young workers in lower middle income countries have qualifications that are not aligned with their jobs. That in turn, leads to lower retention, lower productivity, and a lack of fulfillment in their work,” said Urmila Sarkar, the founder and lead of programmes at Generation Unlimited.
Young people who experience mismatches in the labour market face a host of economic and professional struggles, including reduced pay, higher rates of turnover, fewer employment options, and difficulty in career development. These impacts can be seen on a larger scale, as social inequalities are exacerbated and local economies can suffer from stunted growth.
Sarkar states that there are many different solutions to skills mismatches in global economies, the most crucial of which is creating “stronger partnerships between education and local industries to reduce this skills mismatch and promote employability”. Simple program changes, such as including private sector input into job training curriculums, can make a significant difference. Additionally, introducing programs such as work-based learning, mentorships, and apprenticeships, could give young people in developing countries the tools to be self-sufficient and competent workers.
Another important topic of discussion in the forum was the structural inequalities that target young women and girls. One such factor is the lack of menstrual healthcare in developing countries, which not only poses a significant risk to the lives of millions of women and girls globally, but also creates numerous obstacles for them in the workforce.
Soumya Dabriwal, the co-founder of Project Baala, an organization that seeks to improve conditions in menstrual health and hygiene in India, spoke on the numerous hurdles that women and girls face in developing, low-income countries. “33 percent of women in India actually miss work due to their periods. Menstrual health and hygiene can seem like a health issue but it has huge repercussions on economic and educational opportunities for young women and girls,” said Dabriwal.
According to UN Women, millions of females around the world face barriers in education and employment, as well as a restriction of their rights and freedom, due to “period poverty”, also known as the inability to access menstrual health and hygiene products and educational services. Across the world, menstrual health products are classified as luxury goods and are taxed, pushing them outside of the acceptable price range for millions of women and girls.
A study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) found that only 1 in 10 women across 12 countries didn’t have access to adequate water and sanitation services (WASH) after their last period. In Bangladesh and Egypt, only 32 percent and 66 percent of girls respectively were aware of periods before their first menstruation. Social stigmas and the pervasive lack of education surrounding menstruation has made it difficult for millions of women and girls to have freedom, dignity, and equal opportunities.
“Menstrual health and hygiene management, when available to all, can help dismantle barriers and support adolescent girls to become healthy, educated, and empowered women. Yet, until recently, little attention has been paid to defining, monitoring, and investing in menstrual health,” said Kelly Ann Naylor, UNICEF Director of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) and Climate, Environment, Energy, and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED).
Dabriwal informed the panel of the measures taken by Project Baala to empower young women and girls and achieve progress in terms of economic and social development. “We need to build solutions that can stay…We work on creating agency rather than impacting beneficiaries. All the work that we do is about how we can take all the knowledge that we’ve gained and transfer it to the community. We take individuals and they go through our curriculums and they are trained to become reproductive health and rights advocates for their communities,” she said.
Dabriwal also stated that there must be efficient collaboration between stakeholders, policymakers, and young leaders to yield acceptable progress. “All of our models are about creating self-sufficiency rather than dependency on us or any other agency for that matter…We try to build so much evidence on what’s working and its intersectionalities and put it out there. Once you have data backing your solutions, you can find the right stakeholders and the right rules to actually help you scale the work that you are doing,” she added.
Additionally, social media, digital technology and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has made it necessary for all workers to have knowledge in these fields in order to develop their professional careers. However, access to education surrounding these fields is critically limited in the Global South, effectively shutting these young workers out of the workforce in these regions.
“I’ve seen firsthand how digital education can be a game-changer, not just in terms of large access, but in reshaping what it means to be prepared for the future. In many underserved communities, such as my home country Haiti, I work in traditional educational systems and I’ve seen the struggles they (students and teachers) are facing…For many marginalized youth,the barrier isn’t just about access but inclusion,” said Lentz Civil, the founder of Harts Haiti Inc. and a member of the UNESCO SDG4 Youth & Student Network.
Millions of young people around the world lack access to critical tools that will shape their future in a rapidly digitizing world. It is imperative for communities in developing, low-income countries to receive the adequate tools that will prepare them for success.
“For example, we are piloting programs in Haiti that will bring digital tools to underserved schools and train young people, not just on how to use technology, but how to create with it, question it, and lead with it. These communities (in our programs) are already showing progress, but what we truly need is global commitment…with AI, which is a powerful tool but can be really destructive if we don’t have the morals on how to properly use it. On one hand, access alone is not enough. What we do with the access matters even more. Digital education must also be about building agency,” added Civil.
IPS UN Bureau Report
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