The creation of a United Nations Youth Office represents a chance to pilot a new model of leadership in the UN — one that at its core is power-sharing and not power-concentrating. The precedent it sets will have lasting effects on the continuing work to foster youth leadership across the UN system, so it’s important to get this right, especially as the selection committee soon finalizes the candidate for assistant secretary-general of youth affairs.
The youth office, or UNYO, approved through General Assembly Resolution 76/306 in 2022, builds on the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, whose foundational work, despite political and financial obstacles, has raised the expectations of young people. With an initial budget of $2.31 million a year, the new youth office will be structured as a stand-alone entity with 16 posts, including the assistant secretary-general, recommended to be under age 35.
Many discussions have been held about the office’s focus and mandate. Its baseline funding from the UN general budget and its stand-alone nature provides the UNYO with greater recognition in the institution and among member states than the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, whose work is being folded into the new Youth Office. This formal recognition from member states has many advantages and risks.
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