Sudanese activist Mayada Adel calls on world leaders to involve youth in decision-making

19 September 2023 (UN) – Mayada Adel, Sudanese doctor, fashion designer and women's rights activist Mayada Adel, has urged world leaders to give a voice to young people of all walks of life in policymaking and decisions that affect their future and that of the world.

In her speech to the SDG Summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Mayada Adel asked world leaders what they have done to include young people in decision-making, stressing that people under the age of 30 remain "excluded and marginalized."

The Sudanese activist – one of 17 young leaders selected by the UN working to advance the SDGs – said she came to the summit as a youth representative and to remind world leaders of the many promises they made and to keep them "accountable for their actions and inaction".

She stressed that real transformative change will only happen when making excuses and creating barriers for young people to participate in leadership stop, "but not symbolically, but through partnership and genuine solidarity between generations."

Mayada Adel said millions of young people around the world are left behind, with one in five deprived of education, employment or training. She added that mental health issues were a major concern for young people, while millions did not have access to social protection.

If world leaders do not live up to their commitments to reduce emissions and reverse the damage caused by climate change, they will put "the lives and future of our entire generation and those who come after us at risk," the Sudanese activist said.

"We, the world's youth, call on you, as world leaders, to deliver on your commitments to peace and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and we stand ready to work with you as a full partner to achieve this."