LAHORE: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres underscored the significance of the participation of youths in the 21st Century at the global stage.
Addressing a students’ gathering titled “Role of the Youth in UN of the 21st Century” at a private university on Tuesday in Lahore, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised on having dialogues between institutions, and importantly, that the curriculum needs to be changed to address future challenges.
The UN chief asserted that decisions were needed to be taken concerning the adverse effects of climate change, and youths were required to obtain awareness about the new technology.
“My generation has failed in many aspects but has failed essentially in three basic questions that will determine the future unless we are able to change course and I don’t believe we will be able to change course if the youth has not much stronger intervention in the way we build our future,” he said.
“We failed in climate change, we failed in making globalisation work for all and we are failing in making that new technologies will inevitably be a force for good because we are opening too much space for new technologies to be a threat for the way our societies live,” he added.
“Globalisation has not been working for all, many people were left behind and we have seen an increase in the levels of inequality and […] this is today a threat to social cohesion of our societies, and it is something that is one of the factors of this squirt that we feel all over the world and that is expressed in [forms] of demonstrations […] which are shaking the basis of political systems in so many countries,” he maintained.
UNSG Antonio expressed regret over inequality at the global stage while presenting an example of possession of veto powers by only five members of the UN Security Council.
He affirmed that bringing equality between individuals and countries “is not an easy process” and takes a long time.
