On 14 July 2026, Lars Westra, the European Union Youth Delegate to the United Nations, delivered an intervention at the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development side event on “Powering participation: Youth2030 and the Pact of the Future”, calling for young people to be treated as equal partners in decision-making and implementation. Speaking on behalf of the EU, Westra stressed that all topics are youth topics and that youth participation must go beyond consultation to include direct involvement in policy design and on-the-ground action.
Westra highlighted several EU mechanisms for youth engagement, including annual youth policy dialogues with all European Commissioners, a Youth Sounding Board within the European Commission that works on external action, and 50 local Youth Sounding Boards in EU Delegations worldwide to ensure grassroots youth perspectives inform EU policy. He also announced the launch this week of the AU EU Youth Cluster, an open network for young people from Europe and Africa to collaborate and engage directly with UN discussions.
Acknowledging that no process is perfect, Westra noted that decision-makers may find youth participation and criticism challenging, but urged them to transform Q&A sessions into open conversations and give young people time to prepare and align priorities. He described his mandate as Youth Delegate, where he and his co-delegate have met youth globally in both formal settings and informal spaces such as pizza parties and digital gatherings, creating safe spaces for those afraid to speak up.
Westra concluded by urging UN Member States not to fear youth or see them as a threat to the status quo, but as an opportunity to turn ambitions on paper into real achievements. He called for continued engagement in formal and informal settings, and stressed that the Post-2030 Agenda can only succeed if young people champion it on the ground.