There is no denying the pivotal role that young blood plays in developing societies. Youngsters tend to adapt to their surroundings quickly as compared to adults. The things that are difficult for adults to adjust into, the youth may adapt to fairly swiftly. They are more prone to accept changes and new ideas.
At the United Nations General Assembly, more than 100 world leaders come together to discuss and think about making the world a much better place than it already is. In a discussion so crucial, the participation of every generation is substantial.
While several world leaders gather here to put forward their ideas and solutions to solve critical problems and burning issues at UNGA, this year was different since it saw the youth ACTUALLY be present at the Assembly to put forward THEIR views. On top of it, BTS, an influential music band extended a speech at the SDG opening ceremony too!
On September 14, BTS was appointed as Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture by South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Blue House. Furthermore, for the same purpose, members were rendered diplomatic passports too. On September 21, they gave their speech alongside various nation’s leaders and addressed the youth who went through and lost some very precious years to the pandemic. All the members gave individual speeches at the event, delivering words of encouragement to the young minds striving hard to adapt to the unusual circumstances created by the pandemic.
RM, leader of the band, started his speech just like the one in 2018 when they had associated UNICEF with the campaign ‘LOVE MYSELF.’ This time not only did they speak in Korean but also participated and expressed their views, unlike the last time when only RM had interacted with the audience.
The band in September had posted on their Twitter handle about the #YouthToday campaign where they asked teenagers or 20-somethings all around the globe about how they have been feeling over the past two years. Jungkook (main vocalist, youngest in the band) shared how downhearted and saddened he felt for the teenagers who missed some extremely important moments in their college/school life owing to the virus outbreak. Jimin (vocalist), on the other hand, conveyed how upon reading those messages by people all over under the #youthtoday campaign made him feel hopeful towards a better future. J-Hope (dance leader and rapper) encouraged people to get inoculated so they could meet their families and friends. The highlight of the moment was when Jin (vocalist) motivated people to change their view of teenagers as the ‘Welcome Generation’ rather than ‘Lost Generation.’
A big change in the UNGA this year was that youth actually lent their ears to learn about the issues on the global plate. This year’s event really had youngsters feeling that they are involved in such important discussions. The SDG opening moment was live-streamed throughout the world by millions of people, most of whom were teenagers. This may seem normal but when analysed from a bigger perspective, such encouragement and positive influence from people of their own age group leads to greater synergy and unity against all issues. Hoping to see more such fruitful representations across several big events and projects around the world!