The new top youth official at the UN talks about what’s in it for young people
UNITED NATIONS — Dr. Felipe Paullier is quick to say that he doesn’t speak for the roughly 2 billion tweens, teens and young adults in the world. But as the United Nations’ first Assistant Secretary-General for Youth, he is tasked with advocating for young people and their concerns to be included in the organization’s work – a goal shared by young activists who do not always feel heard by the international community. Paullier, a pediatrician and former director general of Uruguay’s National Youth Institute, took up his post in December. He sat down with The Associated Press on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week to talk about his role, the new “ Pact for the future”, what it means for young people – and whether their elders really mean it when it comes to getting them involved.
Here are excerpts from the interview, edited for length and clarity.
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AP: Given the topic, let’s start with this: How old are you?
PAULLIER: I’m 33. When I started, I was 32. I’m getting old.
AP: Your role is very new.
PAULLIER: You know, the UN has been an organization that has championed the youth agenda for decades. But in terms of really putting it on a global level and as a priority, I think this is a bit more recent. …My role is not about representing youth voices – because young people are too diverse to be represented by one person. But at the same time, I think the office is a testament to the recognition of young people at a global level. I think that’s our role.
AP: What have the recent UN Summit of the Future and the “Pact for the Future” added to the picture?
PAULLIER: I think there are two concrete results from this summit. Now it is always about turning these commitments into action. But one is about governments committing to putting in place youth engagement mechanisms at national level. And I think this is a very important and crucial point. And the second is, at the global level, this idea of a process to reach common principles on meaningful youth participation. Because this is a relatively new concept. Ten to fifteen years ago, young people were simply seen as beneficiaries of policy. And now I think that during the summit, the creation of the agency, a lot of things are changing that show that institutions and decision makers are saying, “Okay, we have to work with them as partners.”
AP: At a lead-up event for the summit, a young activist said very candidly that it’s not just a matter of being invited to attend events or to speak – it’s a matter of actually being heard and seeing something come out of it. How do you encourage young people to take the UN at its word that it wants to engage them in a meaningful way?
PAULLIER: You know, I think this is a challenge for any traditional institution. And I say “traditional” because our institutions are located in a different world. It is true that the world has changed dramatically in the last ten to fifteen years. Technology has given people a lot of power, and this is transforming accountability systems, the way people can organize themselves, express themselves and mobilize. That is something very positive. But at the same time, institutions must join these transformations. So I think the summit is essentially a recognition that this needs to be transformed.
As an office, our role is to push for change. And let’s not just see this in the negative way of thinking. I am inclined to believe that these commitments from governments are evidence that they are willing to make real progress in this direction.
AP: Do you feel that the goals of young people who want this change are realistic?
PAULLIER: Completely.
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See more of AP’s coverage of the UN General Assembly at https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations