The youth representative of Australia ended his statement by imploring the delegates to help young people around the world create a brighter and more united world. “Help us to ensure the branches of youth flourish,” he said.
Most of today’s speakers addressed their progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations at what was noted was the approximate halfway point between the year of their adoption, and the year for achieving their implementation, in 2015.
Comparing the state of world progress towards the Millennium Development Goals to half-time at a soccer match, the Danish youth representative said that a commentator watching the “game” would say that the players needed to work harder to win, because in this tough match, the strongest players had remained seated on the bench.
Several countries noted the importance of meaningful employment for all job seekers, and also the central role reducing unemployment had on other indicators of social development such as poverty. Indonesia’s representative said that in addition to promoting employment opportunities for all, States should also promote equal rights and opportunities for migrant workers. Educating the labour force to respect the rights of this vulnerable group of workers was also important.
The representative of Thailand commented that more than just employment was needed; emphasis on education and entrepreneurship went hand in hand with increased labour