Building Government Institutional Capacity to Mainstream Gender Equality

UNITAR Youth Ambassador Asia Pacific Programme
UNITAR

Launched in 2021, the UNITAR Youth Ambassador Asia Pacific Programme aims to empower high school students in Hong Kong, various cities in China, and other Asia-Pacific countries to help our world build back better, greener, and stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Over eight weeks, UNITAR Youth Ambassadors Asia Pacific learn from local and international experts about the most pressing issues affecting global recovery. They discuss youth-led leadership, the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), digital transformation and innovation, youth employment, youth entrepreneurship for sustainable development, and social and climate justice. 

I enjoyed listening to the stories and experiences of leaders from a myriad of backgrounds and professions, who greatly inspired me and gave me better insight into how to start my own social enterprise project and how to solve potential challenges that I would face." —Youth Ambassador Asia Pacific participant 

UNITAR has long been committed to inspiring youth as a force for sustainable development. Since 2010, UNITAR – through its Hiroshima Office – has been running the Hiroshima Young Ambassador Programme for high school students in the Japanese city of peace.  

The Asia Pacific programme scales up the Hiroshima programme, through a partnership with ITS Education Asia, to reach young people from a wider region. UNITAR plans to further expand the programme in 2025 with other youth-focused organizations. 

Programme Snapshot

Approximately 30 youth from the Asia Pacific region join the programme yearly to gain an understanding of systems thinking, problem framing, ideation and solutions framework. The youth then develop SDG-based enterprises. 

Programme Aims 
  1. Empower youth leadership for sustainable development: Equip young people with critical skills such as leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship to empower them to advance the SDGs in their communities and beyond.
  2. Foster awareness and knowledge of global issues: Strengthen participants’ understanding of global challenges such as climate change, social inequity and economic sustainability, while connecting them with international frameworks like the UN 2030 Agenda.
  3. Promote innovation and capstone project development: Guide participants through the process of developing impactful, sustainable and innovative projects that address key SDG-related issues, culminating in professional presentations to a global audience.
  4. Build a global network for collaboration and knowledge-sharing: Create a platform for participants to engage with peers, academics and international experts, fostering a community that supports long-term collaboration, mentorship and the exchange of ideas. 
Quote from Sena Chang
UNITAR
Quote from Agnes Chiu
UNITAR
Quote from Guiane Paul Pena
UNITAR
Outcomes 

Since 2021 UNITAR’s Youth Ambassadors have created and piloted over 100 projects focused on supporting the Asia Pacific region. 

A status survey sent to all cohorts in 2024 found that more than half of these projects were sustained for a year or more. With these cohorts: 

  • 92% continued implementing their project for 6 months
  • 52% of participants sustained and continued their project for a year or more
  • 95% of participants surveyed intend to shape their careers around the project created in the UNITAR Youth Ambassador Programme 

News

Meet Our Alumni

Programme Partners

Throughout UNITAR’s Youth Ambassador Asia Pacific Programme various private sectors from a variety of focus areas have contributed in various capacities: 

  • Amundi
  • Astra Zeneca
  • BNP Paribas
  • Cyberport
  • Microsoft
  • SAP
  • University of Tokyo 

Downloads

File
Project Flyer 2024333.94 KB

Contact us

For more information, please contact us at hiroshima@unitar.org 

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