The Youth Council of Dubai Municipality has organized the inaugural edition of Youth Council’s Forum in collaboration with its strategic partners. The forum, held under the theme ‘Together for Sustainability’, aimed at discussing and assessing the vital role of the youth in climate action. It highlighted solutions that encourage the youth to make efforts in contributing to environmental preservation, in keeping with the UAE’s plans to host the COP 28 summit.
This forum involved all youth councils affiliated with various partners of Dubai Municipality, operating across both public and private sectors. The Dubai Youth Council, ENOC Youth Council, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) Youth Council, Dubai Culture Youth Council, and the Youth Council of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Legislation Committee, are the councils involving the youth, along with the Youth Council of Dubai Municipality.
The forum is a key component of Dubai Municipality’s commitment to adhering to Dubai’s and the UAE’s ambition of achieving sustainable economic development in all sectors. Its key objective is to empower and elevate youth engagement in climate-related endeavors that align with the objectives of the ‘Year of Sustainability’ dedicated to the year 2023, and the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
The sessions covered a wide range of interactive discussions on the rising effects of climate change on the environment and public health. Furthermore, the session focused on the UAE’s local and global endeavors to bolster climate action, promote worldwide energy transition initiatives, and integrate circular economy standards, sustainability practices, and requirements.
The key role of the youth in boosting climate action was discussed during the sessions, with discussions on the expected nature of their future involvement in advancing climate neutrality, significant challenges they encounter, and key strategies and solutions to mitigate these risks. The goal is to fortify the youth’s leadership position in fostering sustainability across all sectors, acknowledging them as a catalyst for growth and a key factor of societal transformation, economic advancement, and innovation in diverse domains.
The panel discussions encompassed a range of subjects, such as educating a generation well-versed in sustainability. It aimed at inspiring the youth to participate in the national sustainability agenda and encourage contribution of the youth councils to attain sustainable national development objectives. It further aims to assess central issues facing today’s youth and implement innovative initiatives to devise optimum solutions that can address these challenges and enhance sustainability in environmental, legislative, and technological avenues.
Youth councils are regarded as representative entities for young individuals, with a primary goal of empowering and bolstering their involvement in the country’s social, economic, cultural, and developmental initiatives. These councils serve to express the youth’s thoughts and ambitions in these domains, further promoting engagement in devising innovative solutions to diverse challenges. As a result, it empowers them to take part in decision-making and contributes to the achieving sustainable development goals.