Promoting Decent Jobs for Youth in Asia and the Pacific

The side event is being organised under the aegis of Decent Jobs for Youth at the 6^th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development. It is co-organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government of Bangladesh to introduce the Initiative, facilitate a multi-stakeholder dialogue about what works for youth employment in Asia and the Pacific, and identify opportunities for joint action to advance youth employment related Sustainable Development Goals.

28 Mar 2019 Bangkok, United Nations Conference Centre

Concept note

Scope of interactions

The side event will leverage the Forum’s focus on “empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality” to engage participants in conversations about solutions to the youth employment challenge.

The interactions will cover the scope of:

Exploring the pressing challenges affecting youth employment.
Ensuring gender equality in the promotion of decent jobs for young people.
How youth living in rural areas can access decent jobs.
Developing youth skills and the role of the private sector in supporting the expansion of apprenticeship in Asia-Pacific.
Advancing youth employment related SDGs in the region.
Promoting partnerships and south-south cooperation for scaling action and impact.

Audience

The side event will invite about 150 participants from member States, United Nations entities, youth and civil society organizations, social partners, academia, and private sector representatives to interact about boosting decent jobs for youth in Asia and the Pacific. The objective of the side event is to foster collaboration to scale up action and impact on youth employment under the aegis of Decent Jobs for Youth.

Programmes

Day1

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 12:00 pm To 13:15 pm

12:00 pm12:15 pm
The Global Initiative

Meeting room G, 1st floor, UNCC, Bangkok

To scale up action and impact on youth employment, the United Nations initiated the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, the overarching and inclusive alliance of partners taking action at country and regional level, sharing knowledge and leveraging resources for more and better jobs for youth under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This session will introduce the Initiative showcasing actions implemented across the region aiming at reducing the number of youth not in employment, education, or training.

Session organizer(s)

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Government of Bangladesh

International Labour Organization (ILO)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Speakers

12:15 pm13:15 pm
Working together in Asia and the Pacific

Meeting room G, 1st floor, UNCC, Bangkok

Overview

Labour markets are undergoing major structural changes including the onward march of technology and automation, the impacts of climate change, demographic changes, the evolving nature of employment relations and growing inequality. Today, over 63 million young people are unemployed across the globe, and 141 million youth are working, yet living in poverty. Youth unemployment in Asia and the Pacific is expected to reach 27 million youth in 2019, at a time when millions of new jobseekers are entering the labour market. Supporting youth’s transition to employment is therefore key to bring about an inclusive, sustainable and human-centred world of work. This calls for a collective action to be able to scale up action and impact in boosting decent employment whiles working with and for young people.

Session organizer(s)