On October 7th 2024, GIZ Eschborn received a group of Chinese young diplomats and nine representatives of the Youth Leaders’ Community for Global Development (YLGD) from China. An exchange session titled After the Summit of the Future: Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development, was facilitated between the Chinese delegation and young GIZ colleagues across different departments who shared their views on sustainable development and the future of international development cooperation.
Established by the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), the YLGD brings together outstanding Chinese and international young people, with the aim to foster communication among the youths around the world, and to promote youth empowerment to implement the 2030 Agenda.
Moderated by Marcus Lange, the Head of Asia I Division in GIZ, young colleagues from GIZ and China had interactive and open discussions on four leading questions.
- What is the most influential event for global sustainability in the next 20 years?
- What are the biggest global challenges to the young generation?
- What are the chances the younger generation brings to fostering sustainable development?
- What is the future of international development cooperation under young leadership?
Different ideas were generated through moderated group discussions.
Multiple crises were mentioned as the biggest challenges for the future generation, including climate change, natural disasters, poverty, as well as regional conflicts, and the rise of extremisms.
To address these challenges, the young generations need to foster common understandings of the core values for the humankind, including the importance of multilateralism and globalization, the necessity for a transition towards greener economy, equal access to education, job opportunities and technologies for the young people, and increasing the representation of different ethnic groups, genders, and developing countries.
International cooperation platforms, including the YLGD and the exchange session as such, could play an important role in forming these common understandings, for both public and private sectors, and among different cultural groups.
In 2023, CIDCA and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on a Three-Year Action Plan to strengthen exchange and cooperation on international development cooperation. The Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development was delegated by BMZ to implement the Action Plan on behalf of the German side.