20 August 2021, Hiroshima, Japan – On Saturday, 18 September 2021, UNITAR, in collaboration with ITS Education Asia and KIDsforSDGs, will host a free public webinar to celebrate the launch of the UNITAR Youth Ambassador Asia Programme on 25 September 2021.

The public is invited to join.

Please register at https://unitar-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Th6RW6FgTD-K4S6vYLXkiA.

The seminar will comprise of panel discussions:

• Panel 1: Accelerating Youth Changemaking through the United Nations SDGs
• Panel 2: Scaling Student Agency: Asia’s Best-In-Class Case Studies
• Panel 3: Defining Youth Ambassadorship: Building Next-Generation Global Citizens
• Youth Panel: Accelerating Grassroots Innovation to advance the UN SDGs
• Youth Action Showcase: Advancing STEMxSDG Framework to Achieve Community Inclusion

From ending extreme poverty to protecting our oceans, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an ambitious road map to a sustainable future. To make this future a reality by 2030, we need a generation of young leaders who are meaningfully engaged with the SDGs and are working to achieve them. This panel addresses how a multi-stakeholder approach can activate youth leaders and changemakers to develop and drive innovative solutions that uses new technologies and business models to deliver on their sustainability objectives.

Speakers:

• Mr. Nitin Kapoor, Chairman and General Director, AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets
• Ms. Kristy Wong, Associated Director - ESG, Amundi
• Mr. Olivier Brechard, COO, Learning Planet

Moderator: Ms. Erina Zhang

Youth Foreword by: Ms. Michelle Li

When students are agents in their learning, they are more likely to have “learned how to learn” – an invaluable skill they can use throughout their lives. Student agency is rooted in the principle that students have the ability and the will to positively influence their own lives and the world around them. This panel discusses how stakeholders engaged with advancing student agency can empower students to set goals, reflect, and act responsibly to effect change. The panel will refer to best-in-class case studies from academic institutions across Asia.

Speakers:

• Mr. Stewart Redden (Learning and Teaching Advisor, English Schools Foundation)
• Ms. Viola Lam (Founder, Find Solutions)
• Dr. Martial Jaume (Sustainable Development Coordinator, FIS Hong Kong and Co-Founding Director, Ocean3C)

Moderator: Ms. Tanya Khanduri

Foreword provided by: Mr. Pallawish Kumar, Youth Advocate, Youth Voices for Climate Action

What makes an impactful and successful youth ambassador in the post-pandemic world? Students need to deepen their understanding of current global issues and solutions such as UN commitments and the SDGs. They also need the mindsets and skills to work internationally in the future. This panel focuses on a modern approach to teach youth how to discern the linkages among the world, one’s nation, one’s community, and oneself. Youth should be encouraged to think critically and to respond proactively to global poverty and injustice, so they may truly represent the Asian youth voice on the global stage.

Speakers:

• Mr. Eugene Ho, Head of CSR - East Asia and Pacific, SAP
• Mr. David Choa, Head of Greater China Equities, BNP Paribas Asset Management
• Mr. Ezra Yego, Lead of Global Networks, UN SDSN Youth
• Ms. Jean Chan, Consultant, Asian Charity Services and Seasoned Philanthropist and Advisor 

Moderator: Ms. Annika Chu

Foreword provided by: Ms. Fithriyyah Iskandar, Youth Advocate, Youth Voices for Climate Action

Consensus building and collective action are needed to convert the ideas and innovations of knowledge-rich but economically poor individuals and communities into viable means of income and to address social needs and conserve the environment. Unless we build on the resources in which poor people are rich, the development process will not be dignified. A mutually respectful learning culture will lead to an inclusive future for all. This panel addresses how youth can design, create, and scale up a coherent and holistic ecosystem for sustenance and sustainability.

Speakers:

• Mr. John Zekun Zhang (Hong Kong)
• Mr. Daniel Wu (China)
• Ms. Hanako Sakanoue (Japan)
• Ms. Riya Mehta (Canada)
• Ms. Stella Ren (USA)

Moderator: Mr. Matthew Oh (USA)

Foreword (Teen Voice): Ms. Josette Chung (Hong Kong)

Youth, especially teenagers, are at the forefront of thought and action leadership in the real world, and they are embracing a STEMxSDG approach towards creating impact, innovation and inclusion. The future of SDG Action has to be undertaken with a multi-stakeholder, inter-generational and cross-cultural lens, and designed to achieve a specific purpose such as community inclusion. This showcase highlights a real-life case study of how over 100 teenagers are co-designing, co-curating and co-executing SDG Action.

• 14:00  Opening
• 14:25  The Systems Work of Social Change: Schwab Foundation, World Economic Forum
• 14:45  Panel 1: Accelerating Youth Changemaking through the UN SDGs
• 15:30  Panel 2: Scaling Student Agency: Asia’s Best-In-Class Case Studies
• 16:15  Panel 3: Defining Youth Ambassadorship: Building Next-Generation Global Citizens
• 17:00  Youth Panel: Accelerating Grassroots Innovation to advance the UN SDGs
• 17:35  Youth Project Showcase – Advancing STEMxSDG Framework to Achieve Community Inclusion
• 17:50  Closing