A 2017 UBC international relations graduate, Morrell Andrews is co-representing Canada at the Youth 20 Dialogue in Berlin from June 1 to 8, which serves as the “official youth forum of the G20 summit.”
Along with 70 other delegates who represent 23 countries from around the world and experts from the relevant fields, she will be discussing global issues, writing policy briefs and constructing a final communiqué to be presented at the G20 Summit in July.
To better understand the priorities of Canadian youth, Andrews and Loïc Bisson, the second Canadian delegate, have undertaken a consultation process prior to the summit. Currently they have received just under 100 responses from across Canada, but Andrews still hopes to obtain more responses.
“[Thus far], the three main topics that most people are really concerned about are employment, climate and environment, [as well as] the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” she said.
She also noted the importance of addressing the causes of displacement due to its major influence on current events, such as the Syrian refugee crisis.
Personally, Andrews focuses on the UN 2030 Agenda and the SDGs because they encompass a diversity of critical topics. Within the 17 goals of the SDGs alone, issues from innovation and sustainability to inequality and security are touched upon.
Given the challenges of reaching the SDGs, she further highlighted the role of youth in advocating for a commitment to these goals.
“We only have 13 years left to do it and it’s very ambitious, and in the current political climate I think there is some hesitancy to actually do it,” said Andrews. “But one of the things I think is really important for youth to have a strong unified voice on is these agendas....They’re not easy to implement, but we don’t really have any other choice, especially on the front of energy and environment.”
Overall, Andrews reiterated the importance of having youth-inclusive dialogues and summits due to their ability to generate ideas and innovative solutions for global issues.
“In the end, the youth are the guarantors of the future, and if you leave them out of the conversation now you’re just taking away from a lot of progress and ideas that could have been heard and a lot of innovation and different perspectives,” she said.