Fourth World Youth Forum receives int’l acclaim

President of Malta George Vella commended the forum, which he described as “a wonderful example of the global response to the crises facing humanity through a comprehensive and varied dialogue”.

Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez hailed the forum, calling on world leaders, saying: “We invite you to work to defend young people and the lives of these generations. Without that, we will not build the present and the future.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, described the event as a “huge opportunity to nurture many ideas and create a safer and healthier future”, stressing the need for governments to work on building young people to play a pivotal role in their societies.

Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, said the WYF is working to spread peace and harmony among young people from different countries. She thanked Egypt for its invitation to participate, saying in her speech that a large part of its mission is to make nations closer to the youth and vice versa.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis also praised the forum, saying: “The World Youth Forum has become an important component of the global youth movement because it gives young people an important path to participate as a young generation.”

He added that those young people are facing the dire consequences of the pandemic and that youth are the future, saying that countries are fully aware of the active role that youth play in shaping the development of the societies and in responding to current challenges.

Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Magalio affirmed his support for the WYF to be a sustainable platform for listening to all visions and for youth to engage in politics and make the world better.

He added that the past three editions of the forum dealt with issues of concern to the world and how to engage the world’s young people to face them.