Community 

At the UNGA79 session, Anil Wasif engaged in a discussion focused on the transformative potential of the Pact for the Future in addressing global challenges such as climate change, wars, inequality, and the erosion of human rights. Anil emphasized the importance of youth empowerment, stating, “The first thing you have to do in all of your organizations is to ensure that young people get maximum visibility and their inputs are considered seriously.” He discussed how BacharLorai aligns its work with the SDGs and the Pact for the Future, noting, “You will notice that, by design, our organization is an advocate for the Pact of the Future.”

Anil highlighted the need for decentralized decision-making, explaining, “What this is actually doing is it’s decentralizing power from my office, allowing each of our nine program managers to deliver their projects with their ideas and their vision.” He also shared how the organization strives for transparency, stating, “I actually think releasing your financial statements, making information accessible to young people, actually gets them to see the bigger picture.”

Other speakers highlighted the role of youth engagement and local governance in driving global change, particularly emphasizing the importance of cities and mayors in tackling challenges such as migration, inequality, and climate change. The session emphasized the need for economic and social rights, and called for financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank to integrate human rights into their frameworks to meet the SDGs. Additionally, civil society’s role in unpacking and implementing the Pact for the Future was emphasized, with a focus on creating meaningful spaces for youth to contribute their expertise and leadership to global governance.

The session concluded with a call for sustained, practical efforts to ensure that the Pact for the Future achieves its goals, recognizing the importance of inclusive, human rights-based approaches to global challenges. Anil closed with a powerful message about the role of youth in achieving the SDGs, saying, “We believe decentralizing power and giving power to the youth to do the things that they want will actually help us fill a clearing gap of reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.”