By Kabuye Ronald
Youth across East Africa on Thursday convened to discuss the sweeping United Nations reforms currently underway, marking a renewed effort by the global body to strengthen its effectiveness after more than eight years of review. The discussions cantered on how young people can meaningfully influence, engage with, and benefit from the evolving UN system.
In Uganda, the youth dialogue took place at Ministers Village Hotel in Ntinda under the stewardship of the United Nations Association of Uganda (UNAU). Young leaders from Uganda were joined virtually and in person by their counterparts from Kenya and Tanzania, forming a regional platform to reflect on priority areas of the reforms. Key among these were the role of youth and future generations, data, and the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in global governance.
Linda Asaba, UNAU’s Programs Manager and Project Coordinator for the Accelerate SDGs Implementation Project in Uganda, emphasized that the moment calls for a shift in how young people engage with global processes.
“It’s high time youth move from being beneficiaries to decision-makers,” Asaba said. “This meeting was about capacity building and making meaningful contributions to Agenda 2030 and other global agendas.”
Asaba noted that the UN reforms come at a critical milestone: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have reached the 10-year mark, the UN recently celebrated 80 years, and only five years remain before the world evaluates whether the SDGs have been achieved. Yet, according to global assessments, the world is only 15% on track.
“Africa and Uganda are among the youngest regions globally. How can we utilize this 70% youth population to make meaningful contributions toward attaining the SDGs in the remaining five years?” she asked. “For example, the UN has established a UN Youth Office, do young people know about it? How can they use it? Do they engage in youth briefings that accompany every UN activity? Many UN agencies are relocating to Nairobi, moving even closer to us. How are we going to tap into these opportunities, engage, make connections, and grow networks in the next five years?”
Participants echoed the urgency of youth involvement. Alvin Mutebi, who sits on the Advisory Panel of the Royal Danish Embassy Youth Sounding Board, argued that Africa must be at the center of UN reforms.
“The current narratives and global challenges from climate change to poverty, hunger, peace, and conflict disproportionately affect Africa,” Mutebi said. “There is no way to have meaningful reforms without bringing Africa to the table, and you must also consider the people who make up the majority on the continent: young people, who are 70% of the population.”
He stressed that the UN must prioritize this demographic moving forward.
“The 70% youth population is what the UN should look at as it creates an environment where everyone can flourish,” he added. “That’s why we are here taking stock and engaging as a region, since this dialogue brings together the United Nations Associations of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. This regional perspective is what we hope to take to the global stage.”
Mutebi concluded that youth must not only reflect but actively contribute to shaping the frameworks that will govern global conversations under the UN.
“We are saying it’s time to sit, reflect, take stock, and think about the future and to see what contribution we are making to global conversations and the frameworks that guide them,” he said.
The East African youth consultations are expected to continue in the coming months, contributing to a broader continental and global youth voice in the unfolding UN reform process.
