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SDSN Youth’s 2024 in Review: Celebrating a Year of Progress

By Raquel Armendariz, Program Associate for Networks and Youth, and Alua Samat, Communications and Events Intern, SDSN

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Youth program was active throughout 2024, driving efforts to empower youth, promote education, and advocate for sustainable development.

2024 Local Pathways Fellowship

SDSN Youth kicked off the year by calling for applications for the 7th Cohort of the Local Pathways Fellowship (LPF). In March, after receiving 1740 applications, we selected and launched the Cohort, which consisted of 103 young professionals from 51 countries and 85 cities.

The program provided the Fellows with training, mentorship, and education on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 (Sustainable Cities) to drive meaningful change and global and local sustainable urban development. In addition, to commemorate World Cities Day in October, we hosted an event highlighting the work of young urban advocates from LPF and associated organizations and presenting recommendations to continue pursuing and building sustainable cities worldwide.

At the end of 2024, the Local Pathways Fellowship called for applications for their 8th cohort. The selected Fellows will be announced in 2025.

Growing Youth Networks

While our LPF program was underway, our Global Youth Networks were continuing their efforts to localize the SDGs in their respective countries and regions. The activities and initiatives of our 17 national and regional networks — which represent over 40 countries — reached over 5,000 young people in 2024. In addition, we launched new youth networks in Southeast Asia, Bolivia, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin, and Bulgaria. The official launch of SDSN Youth Bulgaria took place during SDSN Bulgaria’s first annual conference, which brought together sustainable development experts, policymakers, and SDSN representatives to showcase the country’s dedication to the SDGs.

In April 2024, SDSN Youth also participated in the Networks Managers Workshop by the SDSN Networks Program. There, over 65 Network Managers gathered online and in-person for insightful discussions on member engagement, fostering clear communication, advancing regional collaboration, and building partnerships. The 2024 Networks in Action Report also featured the work of some of our youth networks, including the Climate Actors Accelerators Program in Nigeria, the 2030 Resonancia Festival in Mexico, the biannual General Assembly in South Korea, and the Youth Solutions Report in the Mediterranean.

New Partnerships & Initiatives

Moreover, throughout 202, SDSN Youth collaborated and worked with renowned organizations worldwide to advance their mission. In March 2024, for example, SDSN Youth collaborated with Yunus Thailand on the Waste Fiction Competition, through which adolescents and young people between the ages of 12 and 35 years old submitted school essays about a zero-waste future.

We also kicked off our collaboration with Bridging Gaps, a non-profit organization that provides microloans to entrepreneurs from the Global South to establish their businesses. Together, we hosted two capacity-building sessions, first on the power of storytelling in fundraising and second on mastering the art of partnerships for local action and global change. The initiative taught young people the importance of pairing storytelling with data, identifying the correct partners to collaborate, and fostering lasting social change through storytelling, and more.

Additionally, the Local Pathways Fellowship partnered with the Institute of Humane Education (IHE) in September to cultivate a global network of young urban leaders, empowering them to craft and implement innovative ideas and solutions that contribute to the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda.

In September, SDSN Youth also launched an Intergenerational Dialogue series, aimed at promoting intergenerational exchange on key topics and major events. The first session, “Bridging Generations: Reflecting on the Summit of the Future,” focused on key insights ahead of the Summit of the Future. The second session, “Youth Voices at the Forefront of the Climate Crisis,” was held following the Conference of the Parties (COP) 29.

Global Events

In addition, SDSN Youth attended and participated in several international, national, and regional events, joining key conversations and engaging with stakeholders worldwide. In May, SDSN Youth participated in the UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day Conference and the 9th International Youth Conference. The following month, SDSN Youth took part in the Global Sustainable Development Congress and the Paving the Way to the Pact of the Future Conference. The latter, organized by SDSN Portugal, brought together a distinguished group of speakers and participants to discuss and shape the future of sustainable development on the path to the UN Summit of the Future.

In September, we participated in the Global Town Hall 2024 by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. In addition, SDSN Youth attended several events surrounding the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), including those organized by the SDSN Secretariat. SDSN Youth presented at the SDSN’s Leadership Council, led a session at the High-Level Pre-Summit of the Future Conference, and hosted an event with the Consortium on Sustainable Urbanization (CSU) where LPF members presented their work.

In the last quarter of 2024, SDSN Youth participated in the 2024 SDG Summit by SDSN Canada and the World Food Forum by the FAO Brussels Office. Additionally, and SDSN Youth Mediterranean took part in the “Youth4Climate & Universities for the Future: Sparking Solutions for Climate Action” by SDSN Italy. Lastly, at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, SDSN Youth participated in two events organized by SDSN Korea and ZERO - Association for the Sustainability of the Earth System.

As Maria Cortes Puch, Vice President of Networks at SDSN, confirms: “In 2024, SDSN Youth continued mobilizing and empowering young people across the globe to build a sustainable future. With more than 100 fellows trained, more than 5,000 youth reached through the activities of the youth networks, and hundreds more engaged through various initiatives, SDSN Youth strengthened its impact by fostering leadership, driving innovation, and preparing the next generation to be the changemakers our world so urgently needs. I continue to learn from and be inspired by the young leaders that are relentlessly showing us that a better world is possible!”

SDSN Youth is grateful for all the many volunteers who supported these partnerships, projects, and initiatives in 2024. We look forward to continuing to build a world where every young person feels empowered to make a change in their community and build a prosperous and sustainable world.

For more information on SDSN Youth, please visit https://www.sdsnyouth.org/. Follow SDSN Youth on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram for regular updates on our events and initiatives.

For inquiries, please contact [email protected].