Winner of the 6th Youth Forum on SDG Implementation

The 6th Youth Forum on SDG Implementation is a part of the Regional Symposium on “Effective Governance and Digital Transformation for Accelerating Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Addressing Global Challenges”, which was carried out by Project Office on Governance (UNPOG) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) of the Government of the Republic of Korea. This event was conducted on 22-24 November 2022 at Songdo Convensia, Incheon, Korea.

Prior to this main event, the committee of UNPOG formed a competition for youth on SDG implementation in form of an online setting as a platform for young people to engage in a dialogue on concrete governance actions to recover from climate change, share experiences and identify solutions to support youth in surmounting the devastating impact of climate change in their economic, social, health and education lives and bolstering their resilience to future shocks, as well as allow young people to contribute to the review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs and to shaping policy recommendations. Bringing a theme of “Leveraging Public Governance to Promote Youth Participation for Climate Action and Building Resilience”, the youth forum was participated by various international youth participants from different backgrounds.

In this forum, a representative from KIFC named Pandu Andhika, together with Ari Bima Putra and Arifah Hidayati who are members of the “Wanatani Team” participated. They promoted an enhancement of the Agroforestry system called “Agroforestry+: Integrating food-energy-environment nexus for sustainable ecosystem and society resilience”. As a well-known practice by combining agriculture and forestry in order to achieve SDGs, the team promoted an enhancement of agroforestry by empowering inclusive participation, especially youth and women, and also encouraging the community as the main actor to develop a bioenergy practice at the household level to support a shift to renewable energy.

Among all of the participants, the Wanatani Team achieved the Ministerial Award from the Ministry of Interior and Safety (MOIS) of the Republic of Korea, as the 1st Winner of the competition. As the winner, the Wanatani team was invited as speakers to present about Leveraging Public Governance and Digital Transformation to Promote Youth Participation for Climate Action and Building Resilience at the Youth Session of Regional Symposium in Korea. The Youth Session is held in order to empower youth for accelerating SDG implementation, as well as promote youth as leaders, innovators, and change-makers. At the end of the Symposium, the Wanatani team received a Ministerial Award given by Mr. Chang-seob Han as Vice Minister on behalf of the Minister of the Interior and Safety, Republic of Korea.

KIFC is pleased that many young people are involved and play an active role in addressing climate change issues, particularly in the forestry sector. We are aware that youth participation is crucial and needs to be facilitated due to their capability as our future leaders.