SDG Lab at SDG Summit 2023: "Manifesting new sustainability values: from aspirational envisioning to practical policy-making"

More than 10 billion people are expected to call this planet home by 2100. The challenges that lie ahead, ranging from climate change and resource depletion to geopolitical tensions and social inequalities, paint a daunting picture. Yet, within these multifaceted challenges, lie the seeds of opportunity as well. We should move away from short-term and fragmented policies that often disproportionally affect those that do not have a say in formulating them, namely young people and future generations. In line with the UN Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda, young people and future generations should not only be considered as tomorrow’s receivers of today’s world but must be given concrete resources and opportunities to be the designers of such a world.

With seven years to go to make progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, how can we rethink and redesign our current socio-economic systems to reflect what younger generations truly value and prioritize, while anticipating the impact current policies and activities have on future generations? And how can we translate such priorities into actual policymaking, through intergenerational and multisectoral debate?

With these key questions in mind, the UN SDG Lab is hosting the workshop “Manifesting new sustainability values: from aspirational envisioning to practical policy-making” on September 16^th as official side-event of the SDG Summit Weekend. The workshop is meant to create a constructive safe space for young people to reflect on such values, and to collectively identify concrete ways to incorporate them into effective policy making with the support of Member States, UN colleagues and other key stakeholders.

The workshop will take place at UN Headquarters, CR7, from 12.15-13.45 EDT.