The Arab Youth Sustainable Development Network, represented by its President Eng. Tariq Hassan, participated in the Leaders of Change 20 Summit under the presidency of the G20 in India. This summit was organized as part of the C20 and Y20 group.
This global event has and continues to bring together visionary leaders, change-makers, and young people from more than 25 countries to lead positive change and address pressing global challenges from August 15 to 20, with more than 200 sessions and discussions.
The head of the network, Eng. Tariq Hassan, stressed the need to strengthen the fourth goal, which is quality of education, and the need to add curricula related to climate change and train educational staff on them and reflect them to our students so that there is complete awareness about climate issues, as well as climate justice.
Mr. Hassan also stated, “Our participation is part of our goals in the Arab Youth Sustainable Development Network (AYSDN) by activating the role of youth and ensuring their participation in international forums, enhancing their status and maximizing their impact to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
He added that this is neither the beginning nor the end of the conversation; Discussions like this must continue so that we continue to inspire each other, support each other, and partner with each other so that we can achieve what we all aim to do: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, promote lifelong learning opportunities for all and leave no one behind.” Involving young people in the decision-making and policy-making process and building strategic partnerships with them is the main way to achieve Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is worth noting that the discussion sessions touched on many topics, the most prominent of which were: inclusive education, climate education, mental health, well-being and education, financing education and its obstacles, digital division of education and employability, youth participation in policy-making at the global level, youth cooperation and the initiatives they lead.
As for the outcomes, there was consensus on many points, including: that young people know what is required, clarify it, and work on it in every possible way, and when we talk about good education, and say that it is for all, this must be translated simply by improving the quality of education for all, including everyone.
Education funding should not be limited only to those with high grades; Financing education is a right for everyone, and it should be for everyone.
Caring for our mental health and well-being begins at school, and should be a priority there.
We have to be smart and smart about where we spend our resources and how we can use those resources to overcome the digital divide and educational barriers.
Finally, climate education is no longer an option, but rather a necessity and must be given a high priority.