Youth and AI Summit, in commemoration of International Youth Day 2026

Good morning, everyone. I would like to call this event to order. Please take your seats. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming to today's Youth and AI Youth Summit. My name is Samara Lanham. I am 19 years old and a junior at UCLA. I'm an associate with the International Organization of Youth. and it is my honor to deliver the opening words at the commencement of the Youth and AI Summit on International Youth Day 2026. It is a great pleasure to be here at the AI Summit for Youth, a space that brings together young people, policymakers, experts, and leaders to discuss one of the most transformative technologies of our time, artificial intelligence. Throughout this summit, We will have the opportunity to hear from high level political figures and leading voices on the opportunities and challenges that AI presents for our societies and our future. More importantly, this is not simply a space to listen. You all will be encouraged to actively participate, make interventions, and share your perspectives. and contribute to discussions around the policies that will shape the future of AI and your future as young people. Through workshops, interactive sessions, and panels, you will be able to exchange ideas, challenge your thinking, and explore how young people can play a meaningful role in ensuring that AI policy is created in a responsible, inclusive, equitable, and beneficial way. Young people are not just the future of AI governance. You all are a part of a conversation today. Your voices, ideas, and experiences matter. And we have a responsibility to help shape the future that you want to live in. Thank you. And I'm delighted to welcome you all to today's event. I now have the pleasure of introducing the ambassador from the permanent mission of the Bahamas to the United Nations. His Excellency Ambassador Stan Smith is the pen holder of today's conversation and is committed to supporting youth voices. I now give the floor to His Excellency Ambassador Stan Smith.

That's really fast. I thought we would go through a little, where would you like me to speak? Here, there, right here is fine? Great. Good morning. Let me tell you why I always support and welcome youth into this space. If you follow the Nobel Prize winners when they have discussions about how they got to the groundbreaking innovations that they achieved, more than a fraction of what they share is that they came to the insights through curiosity more than the specific program of work that they were researching and developing. Many breakthroughs came from curiosity. And there's a curiosity that's a currency amongst the youth that is powerful and quite different. from what the community of diplomats offer in the UN space. And for that reason, I always welcome and will always support what you want to champion in this community. I would like to acknowledge and welcome Ali Mustafa, the founder and CEO of International Organization for Youth for his leadership. The work that this community does in holding an agenda, conceptualizing what it is you will pursue and seeking to achieve an outcome is remarkable. And I really want to commend you and the team that you have and those who come to support you in the work that you do and your vision. I also want to acknowledge and welcome Ambassador Philbert Aaron of Dominica, my friend in the CARICOM caucus who is always enlightening when he gives a contribution to any group that he is invited to participate in. And by no means least, my friend to my left, Sheikh Jafar Khan Manderkil, the governor of Balochistan of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, my friend, Yograthna Shrivastava of Major Group for Children and Youth, and Dr. Philippe Pollier, the ASG of the UN Office of Youth. Let me share some things with you quickly about what's important for you to understand and to be guided by in the agenda that you have here. Last week, I facilitated a consultation on a UN mandate. The consultation was on a Tuesday. It was a difficult consultation, so we decided on Wednesday that we would have countries go into what we call an informal informal, just the states, to figure out whether we could find some consensus in the competing positions over a draft text. They came out of the Wednesday meeting with a consensus. And so on Friday, we had another consultation and we took the document from the Wednesday consensus to the Friday consultation and they ripped it to shreds in a session from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. And I was confused. So during the break, I asked them to leave their country positions and to explain to me how did you arrive at an agreement on Wednesday on much of the document and on Friday morning you tore the document apart. And one country said, not to the collective group, but said privately to me when we left, I am only here for my country's position and therein lies the rub. in the challenge you will have on an agenda like AI, finding consensus on difficult issues. The process that we were involved in was like AI, a civilizational agenda. It goes to the very core of who we are. The subject was indigenous peoples, and what you are dealing with is a civilizational matter of identity and sovereignty and the complexities of that agenda. Just like that, you can forecast that you will have challenges on the subject that you've chosen to deliver on today and going forward. So being in place for your country's agenda is first principles important. You can't escape it and that is correct. But on a civilizational agenda like artificial intelligence, the challenge is for you to know everything beyond artificial intelligence so that you can inform it correctly and inform the standards that you seek for artificial intelligence. So I will give you these. In any community and multilateralism, you have to be able to engage climate resilience, fairness, Stewardship of resources. And last I would put on that list would be how to cultivate coexistence. If you do not engage any one or all of these in your work on artificial intelligence, you are negotiating a fraction of your agenda. The master work you will do will be in being informed, by these four things, how to cultivate coexistence across these domains of work and interests. And so I'll take you to a third point. In one of the sessions of the General Assembly, we had as our agenda for the year science and technology. And we had a very productive, profound engagement on science and technology. Here is what was missing and what you have to engage in your work. We did not address how to monetize science and technology. It is inescapable for you to have an agenda on AI regarding standards, and you don't know how the people who create AI monetize it. You can't create standards unless you master the world of monetization of the technologies that are coming. So add to your program today or tomorrow, how you will engage emerging technologies and where you sit on how they are monetized. You have to address the global supply chain. Imagine that only after the pandemic, the world woke up to what the global supply chain really means beyond trade in the little devices and the little elements that are a part of what make products, services, and resources a source of leverage or a source of weakness across the international community. So understand monetization, understand the global supply chain, These things are inherent in the work that you will do in addressing standards. And so in closing, I'm going to give you a project. Here's the project. If you can organize yourself as a group that will offer the international community your view on the standards, as standards relate to any area of emerging technologies, you will have a voice together with the declaration that you seek to finalize today. There are no coherent standards anywhere across the marketplace. But I beseech you to add your voice to this discussion by having your own group's standards that you can attach to technologies as you see them and as you see human beings interface with them. If you add that to your engagement, you now have a voice in diplomacy that is far more powerful because you will begin to impact those who determine what monetization is, if you can influence the standards by articulating what your standards are across technologies. And I don't know whether you've seen the latest Frankenstein movie. When I look at the movie, and I thought of it this morning in the discussion I'm having with you, I thought of how this wonderful mind created a Frankenstein and no one could stop him in the standard he created for his Frankenstein. And by the end of the movie, Frankenstein is simply saying, I only asked you for one thing, give me a companion. Uh if this group were determining the standards for that Frankenstein, you would have known that the maker should have given Frankenstein a companion. Uh I ask you to think of your work in that way, in the many Frankensteins that will be made across the international community by the private sector, in the space you're in, think of what the standards should be for the many Frankensteins, and what your recommendations should be for how you make these Frankensteins compatible for human enablement and human empowerment. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Ambassador Smith, for your welcoming words about how important it is to understand the technology and the global supply chains in order to make coherent policy about artificial intelligence. Up next, I would like to introduce the ambassador from the Dominica to the United Nations. His Excellency Ambassador Doctor Philbert Aaron. Ambassador Aaron is dedicated to elevating youth voices and policy making. I now give the floor to his excellency Ambassador Doctor Aaron.

No, that's a mouthful. Ambassador Doctor Aaron. What do you say after that? Nothing. Thank you. moderator. Excellencies Ambassador Stan Smith of the beautiful archipelago of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. the excellence of the governor of Badukistan. an amazing place that I know only by having read about it. in high school encyclopedias. It's an amazing place. Uh Mister Mustafa Ali. also to ASG Felipe Paulier. Spanish and the and French sounding. Felipe Polier. But you're wearing. But you're required. Nice. representatives of the United Nations, civil society, academia, the technology community, most importantly, dearist, young people, Ladies and gentlemen. It is an honor for the Commonwealth of Dominica Not the Dominican Republic. Same region. two different spaces. So, it is an honor for the Commonwealth of Dominica to join you today as we mark International Youth Day and open this very important youth and AI summit. Allow me first to recognize the young people. The young people in this room and those joining us beyond it. This summit rightly places youth at the center of the conversation on artificial intelligence. You will live longest with the systems being designed today. You will experience their benefits confront their shortcomings and I hope lead their transformation for the common good. This is therefore not simply a conversation about technology. It is a conversation of about power. dignity, opportunity, culture, and the future we choose to build together. For Dominica, also known as the Nature Island, nature is not a backdrop to development. It is the very foundation of our identity. our economy, our resilience, and our way of life. Our forests, rivers, mountains, reefs, coastal ecosystems are parts of who we are. They sustain communities, carry memory, and connect generations. As artificial intelligence becomes more pervasive in our societies, we must ensure that it does not separate us from those foundations. AI should help us understand, protect, and restore the natural world. not reduce it to data points to be extracted, traded, or controlled, as many things are, in our highly unequal world, from afar. This principle has particular importance for small island developing states like my Dominica. For our countries, climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean degradation, and economic vulnerability are daily, daily, daily concrete realities. Technology must therefore be developed and governed in ways that respond to our lived circumstances, our development priorities, and our sovereign right to shape our own futures. We must also speak clearly about culture and knowledge. Around the world, local communities and indigenous peoples hold knowledge developed through long, long, long, in the Caribbean we always use three, repetition of three, four. maximum duration or size. Long, long, long relationships. With land, sea, forests, and species. That knowledge may guide sustainable farming, fisheries, disaster preparedness, healing, conservation, and community life. It is knowledge of great value. but it is not free from raw material for automated systems. As AI systems are trained on ever greater volumes of information, we must insist on respect, consent, attribution, protection, and fair benefit sharing. We must also ensure that technology preserves cultural expression and traditional knowledge rather than appropriating, misrepresenting, or erasing traditional knowledge. For Dominica, this means that AI must be human-centered, nature-positive, and culturally grounded. Dominica is beginning to put this principle into practice through its engagement with the Scubaverse, exploring how an ocean digital twin and virtual experiences can help document and protect marine ecosystems, engage youth, young people in climate and ocean stewardship, and create new pathways for sustainable livelihoods. Crucially, this work must be co-designed with communities so that the digital future of the nature island and places like the nature island reflect not only our biodiversity but also the knowledge, culture, and aspirations of our people. It means building the capabilities of you, our young people, not merely to use the tools created by others, but for you to become creators, researchers, entrepreneurs, policy makers. Now, that is usually not given to the young. It's an area in which the not so young dominate. and guard jealously. But become policy makers and ethical leaders in your, sorry, in your own right. It means investing in digital literacy, access, skills, and meaningful participation, especially for young people in small island developing states. And other states that too often remain on the margins of technological development. And it means that we must close not only the digital divide, but also the data divide, the infrastructure divide, and the governance divide. Countries should not be asked to accept technologies they had no meaningful role in designing, evaluating, or governing. That would be coercion. Young people have a vital role in meeting this challenge. You bring creativity, urgency, and an understanding of the digital world that is essential to sound policy making. But participation must be more than for show. You must have real seats at the table, real seats in the development of AI strategies, real seats in data governance frameworks, real seats in education systems, real seats in research, and real seats in the institutions that will set the rules for this new era. I encourage this summit, therefore, to advance these three commitments. First, let us commit to inclusive AI governance, governance in which youth, small island developing states, local communities, and traditionally underrepresented voices participate meaningfully from the beginning. Second, let us commit to AI for nature and resilience. using technology to strengthen biodiversity protection, climate adaptation, ocean stewardship, sustainable tourism, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable livelihoods. Third, let us commit to AI that respects knowledge and culture, systems that safeguard human rights, protect cultural heritage, respect indigenous and local knowledge, and ensure that benefits are shared fairly. Dominica stands ready to work with partners across the United Nations systems, member states, youth organizations, innovators, academia, civil society to help make this commitments real. The choices before us are consequential. Artificial intelligence can deepen inequality. Concentrate power and accelerate environmental harm. But guided by ethics. inclusion, and international cooperation, it can also expand knowledge, create opportunity, and support a more sustainable and peaceful world. Let us choose the second path. And let us do so with young people, not at the margins where they are traditionally condemned to be. but at its heart. Finally, I wish this summit every success, and I look forward to the brilliant ideas, amazing partnerships, and strong commitments that will emerge from our discussions today. I thank you very much.

Thank you, Ambassador Aaron, for your emphasis on the necessity of inclusion in making AI policy, as well as sharing the power between small island nations and young people. Next, I will give the floor to His Excellency Governor Shehbaz Jafar Khan Mandukel of Balochistan in Pakistan.

Excellencies, distinguished guests, dear young friends, it is a pleasure to join you at the United Nations on International Youth Day for this timely Youth and AI Summit. I commend the permanent missions of the Bahamas and Dominica International Organizations of Youth, the major group for children and youth, and all partners for bringing young people together, not merely to discuss artificial intelligence, but to shape its future. This is particularly important because young people will live longest with both the opportunities and consequences of the technological choices we make today. For Pakistan, this conversation has particular significance. Nearly 70% of our population is under the age of 30. Our young people are not simply beneficiaries of our development policies. They are the principal drivers of Pakistan's future. Artificial intelligence offers an extraordinary opportunity to harness the demographic strength. Pakistan national AI policy provides a roadmap towards a knowledge-based economy, including an ambitious target of training one million AI professionals by year 2030. Expanding AI education, strengthening research and innovation, and promoting collaboration among the government, academia, and industry. Our youth initiatives are increasingly focused on AI literacy and future skills, enabling young Pakistanis to become innovators, entrepreneurs, and technology leaders. This commitment was also reflected in the recent Indus AI Week in Islamabad, which brought together policymakers, industries, startups, academia, and international partners to strengthen the collaboration on AI innovation policy and skills. For me as Governor of Balochistan, this question has an additional dimension. Technology can help us overcome barriers of geography and distance. A talented young person in Quetta, Gawadar, Turbat, Jhob or any remote district of Balochistan should have the same opportunity to gain experience, innovate and complete as any young person anywhere else in the world. That is the promise of digital transformation. AI can become a great equalizer, but only if access to it is itself equitable. This is also why the international dimensions of today's summit matters. Young people, particularly in the global south, remain underrepresented in the spaces where technological priorities and norms are determined. Today's discussion rightly seeks to address this gap by placing youth voices at the center of discussions on AI policy and governance. Artificial intelligence must ultimately serve people and advance sustainable development. It can help improve education, and health care and strengthen climate resilience, create productive employment, enhance public services, and accelerate progress towards the sustainable development goals. But technological progress will not automatically translate into human progress will not if developing countries lack access to the infrastructure, computing capacity, skills, finance and knowledge. AI risks widening rather than narrowing existing inequalities. Our task, therefore, is to ensure that AI revolution is both innovative and inclusive. We must bridge the AI divide, translate technological advances into tangible development gains, and enable young people not merely to use AI, but to develop it. and participate in shaping its governance. Most importantly, AI must remain human-centered, ethical, safe, and accountable with its benefits accessible to all. The establishment of UN independent international Scientific panel on AI and the global dialogue on AI governance is an important step towards more inclusive global AI governance. The panel report rightly recognizing that the AI divide is not only about access to technology, but about the capacity of influence how AI is developed and governed. These processes should therefore help ensure the development countries and particularly the young people have a meaningful voice in shaping the future of AI. Dear young friends, the future of artificial intelligence should not simply happen to your generation. Your generation must actually help shape it. My message to you today is therefore simple: learn, question, innovate and lead. but to build fairer societies, stronger communities and more sustainable world. Pakistan is determined to place its young people at the center of this transformation and we stand ready to work with United Nations member states, academia, industry, and most importantly, young people themselves to ensure the age of artificial intelligence becomes an age of greater opportunity, inclusion, and human progress for all. I thank you all.

Thank you, Governor, for your words about how the importance of AI literacy in order to stop the divide between the global north and the global south when new technologies develop. Now, I would like to give the floor to the Assistant Secretary General for the United Nations Youth Office, Dr. Felipe Polier.

Thank you, Samara. Good morning to everyone and most importantly, happy International Youth Day to all the young people in the room. Thank you, ambassadors of the Bahamas, Dominica, governor speaking on behalf of Pakistan, And most especially, I would say congratulations Ali and all your team in the International Organization of Youth. Congratulations also to the mayor group of children and youth, Jugradna, for mobilizing all of you, for opening the doors of the UN for you, and for convening this, I would say very important discussion, summit, dialogues. on a topic which is extremely relevant for young people and in a very special day, because 12 August is a moment where we stop, we recognize and we also take commitments forward in terms of how we better work not only for youth but with youth. And let's recognize especially also the permanent mission of Bahamas Ambassador for supporting the International Organization of Youth to host this important meeting. It's great also to see here more member states in the room, not only supporting with their presence the space, but also here to listen and to understand better what are the perspectives of many of you that come from different context backgrounds. And it's good also that this space is bringing foundations, private sector, policy makers from different angles in a topic that needs a whole of society approach. AI governance, AI dialogues goes far beyond governments. And that's why it's very, very critical that we are together and that more and more we also put this topic at the center of global governance of the UN and we have a strong UN. as the UN, as the only organization that brings all of the governments of the world together, the very powerful ones that might be the leaders in some of the technologies when we are speaking about AI, but also the small nations, the middle power nations that need to have a strong say also in how we govern these technologies. Artificial intelligence sometimes it's described as something of the future, But we all know, and especially you know, as youth, that it's part of everyday's life. And it's a technology that has advanced at a speed that has no precedent. The amount of users, the amount of areas where this technology is now being used has moved forward in something We cannot find something similar in the past in terms of technological disruption or transformations. And that's why it has changed in just a few years how we work, how we learn, how we communicate, how we inform ourselves. And also more and more is changing how we participate in our society. And that is why when we have discussions, conversations, negotiations in relation to AI, it's not about technology. It goes far beyond technology. It is about people. It is about rights. It is about opportunities. It is about dignity. And especially, I say it's about the kind of the future we want to build together. A few weeks ago, The United Nations convened for the first time a global dialogue on AI governance. That is definitely a critical step into having a strong UN when it's about AI. And also the General Assembly put in place a scientific panel, independent scientific panel, bringing perspectives not only from different regions, but also from different backgrounds. Because when we talk about AI, it's not just about the people developing the technologies. It's really a human discussion. It's about very deep philosophical issues. It's about anthropology. And that's why we need strong and independent also scientific panels that can assess the decisions that are being taken at the house of governments, at the house of the world, which is the UN. And I had the chance to join some of the spaces in this dialogue convened by the UN in Geneva. Unfortunately, I would say there were just a few young people in those rooms. But the ones that were in those rooms, and I'm sure that member states will ensure the next year in the dialogue in New York, there's more young people in the rooms. Young people came with a very clear and simple message. They do not want AI to happen. to them. They really want to shape and to help in shaping this technology. And they're absolutely right. And both of the speakers, the three speakers before me were mentioning this very strongly. Young people are the generation that will live the longest with the consequences of the decisions we make today. And actually, young people are the most active users of these technologies. They're actually the largest amount of people working in developing these technologies. But let's be also realistic. They are not the ones taking the decisions about these technologies. And this is a very critical and substantive kind of an honest discussion we need to take if you're serious about meaningful youth participation, if we are serious about having institutions that are stronger because the people they serve trust them, we need to be intentional about including young people when it's about AI governance and decision making. They must be recognized as partners in shaping these technologies. And Going beyond AI, because International Youth Day goes beyond the specific discussion. The truth is that too often young people are included sometimes in these conversations when it's about shaping decisions, but they're actually included only at a few moments. And meaningful youth participation is not about being consulted in a tokenistic way. at the end of a process or just because it's a nice thing to do. It is about involving people from the beginning. It's about involving people to help to define priorities, to identify the challenges and to contribute to the solutions. And it's not only because it's about building trust, but it's also because it's about shaping better policies that have better impact and that are more impactful to change the lives they want to change. But specifically coming back again to AI, when we talk about AI also, it's important that we put at the center accessibility. We put at the center also skills development. And again, AI governance, AI use, AI impact cannot be limited to just a few countries, communities, or socioeconomic groups. And unfortunately, it is what is happening. It is being concentrated in just a few countries, in just a few businesses. But we are still in the point where this can change. And that depends on all of us. Of course, it depends on the governments that are the central decision makers of the UN. But it's about also how civil society, how those youth organizations that work and contribute with the UN as a global space make this case to have a stronger UN when it's about AI governance. Because that's what we ought to win. I wish and I hope that we want AI to help to reduce inequalities, not to deepen inequalities. We really want AI to be able to drive and make our lives easier and better in terms of solving problems, changing communities. And that's why when we talk about the AI, the discussion cannot be just about efficiencies or operations or how faster we develop something, a work task or a result. It should really about how AI is serving humanity. Yes, it's about how we learn faster, how we work more efficiently, how we solve complex problems. And AI is fantastic for that. But every space I have the chance to speak to young people and especially to listen to them, when they talk about AI, they're really making a point about empathy. Technology can never replace empathy. Technology can never replace trust. Technology cannot replace human connection, belonging, and communities. So my final reflection to you today, ahead of all the discussions you will have during the day among yourselves, with speakers, in panels, in the sidelines, and I'm sure those will be the most productive ones, is really that we shape this discussion not about technology versus people, but the other way around. It's how the future of humanity will be empowered and served by technologies like artificial intelligence. So I hope you can bring your own perspectives here. You come from different contexts, from different backgrounds, and all of those perspectives are relevant. And that is why having spaces like this one convened by the International Organization of Youth are relevant. So take the chance today to identify what are those common principles that you believe should shape some of these processes, what are those solutions or those more innovative ways in how your realities can be grounded on all of these spaces? To ask yourselves and try to respond, what are the things that governments should do differently? What are the things that the private sector should do differently? Because the private sector has a critical role to play on these technologies, and we know that. And also help us to understand what should the United Nations do differently to ensure that young people are not just participants in these discussions, but are actually partners in these processes. Believe me that you can count on the UN Youth Office as your ally for that. Believe me that we're trying to shape and to move that discussion forward. But also we need from your questioning, we need from your pressure to help us to disrupt also this process and bring those freshness and recommendations that emerge from spaces like this one. And also enjoy today. I think it's amazing you're here, you chose to be here. This is a magical space, I would say. This space, every room, every corner speaks about not only history, but also the future of humanity and the importance that we came together across our differences, across our different perspectives, but together on those common things that will define the future of the whole world. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Dr. Paulier, for your emphasis on the idea that AI cannot replace human connection, empathy, and trust. I think that is an important aspect when AI policy is made. Next, we have the founder and CEO of the International Organization of Youth, as well as the host of today's event, Ali Mustafa.

Thank you, Samara. Thank you, Excellencies, Ambassador, Excellency, Ambassador Stan Smith, Excellency, Ambassador of Dominica, Excellency, Governor of Balochistan, Dr. Philippe Polier, SG of Youth Affairs and the operating partner of major group of children and youth, and all protocol observed in the room. you delegates in the room and the you delegates watching us live good morning good afternoon and good evening welcome to the international youth day 2026 and the first ever youth and AI summit at the United Nations not the last Today we gather at the United Nations headquarters to shape a people and youth led declaration and consensus on the concerns, the adoption and the governance of the artificial intelligence. The generation that will live longest with the technology is in this room and it's all of you and all of us and people who are watching us live. We are here to discuss youth participation, in the governance and the formation of AI policy in meaningful way, as my colleague Felipe explained in detail what meaningful participation really looks like, and where young people have a real voice, not an afterthought. We are here to address equitable access to the artificial intelligence for those in the global south and for those in challenging circumstances. without reliable internet, without electricity. These gaps are real and closing them is our work. We are here for AI literacy across every generation. And we cannot ignore the harms as well, the mental health toll that this technology is already taking on young people. But we hold the other side of the ledger too, the promise AI for development, AI for healthcare, for security and climate change. That balance is-- this is the balance we are here to strike, protecting people from the risks while opening the benefits to everyone. We will also confront the trust gap. In our consultations, young people told us plainly that they fear AI is taking their jobs. that the fear is real and it deserved an honest answer, not a dismissal. So today, we hold both trusts together, both truths together. Yes, we will talk about the jobs being displaced. And we will also talk about the capacity building, about equipping this generation with the skills the moment demands, and about the future of works, the jobs AI creates. the ones it reshapes, and how we make sure young people are ready for both. Today is also a statement about how change gets made, not alone, but together through multilateralism, through diplomacy, and through young people who are not waiting to be invited into policy, but writing it as we're going to do this today. What we draft here does not stay in this room, and we hand it to the system With the help of ambassadors Stan Smith and the mission of Bahamas and the supporting countries we handed to the United Nations, so that the voice of this generation is carried into the halls where decisions are made. None of this would be possible without the leadership and the partnership that made. Today, we are deeply grateful to the Bahamas for its leadership and supporting nations that stood with us, Dominica, Pakistan, Tonga, and the United Nations Youth Office for believing in the vision and giving young people a platform at the United Nations headquarters today. And so here is our charge for the day. We will not leave with only conversations, we will end today with a declaration. a youth-led declaration on governance of artificial intelligence drafted by you, owned by you, and carried forward in your name. My fellow young leaders and professionals, I am speaking directly to you, those here in this room and those in your communities watching around the world. We will not only shape the future, we will command the present with the power of determination, skills, education, advocacy, unity, and shared love for humanity. And I want you to understand one thing. You are the one inventing, reinventing, and shaping the technology, not the other way around. So let us be open today, open to voices and ideas that are not our, because no single perspective governs a technology this vast. Let us be wise today, turning what we hear in this room into language that belongs into the declaration. Let us be bold today, willing to say what needs saying and to demand the seat where decisions are made. This is the moment we have, and this is the moment we may not have again. Let us not waste it and make a fool of it today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mustafa. And finally, I would like to give the floor to Yugrathna Srivastava from Major Group for Children and Youth.

Thank you. Thank you so much, colleagues. I hope I'm audible. I'm Yugrathna. I'm speaking on behalf of the Major Group for Children and Youth, which is engagement mechanism that facilitates engagement of more than 20,000 youth organizations over 50 governmental and 300 multi-stakeholder processes with over 36 youth constituencies in our coordination team. So like all colleagues have already said, the theme of the International Youth Day today, which is by the way the 27th International Youth Day, is different contexts, common aspirations, which really reflects the kind of world we are in today. And in addition to the partners that are present on this panel and in the room that are true champions of youth engagement, we also thank the leadership of UNDESA, which coordinates the International Youth Day institutionally within the UN and has built this movement over the last 27 years. Even today, right now, as I speak, there are thousands of events happening. If you go to our social media, you will see what young people have been doing across the world. Having said that, with this AI and Youth Summit today, young people and partners here have actually created a universal space for young people and stakeholders to address the issue of AI, something that the UN, by the way, has yet to do, to bring everybody under the umbrella in a universal manner in New York and or even globally. So let us celebrate the moment that we are at by recognizing what is underway. Colleagues, we also meet at a time of interconnected crises. Climate change, conflicts, rising inequality, rapid technological change are happening while multilateralism itself faces unprecedented pressure. Global military expanding has surpassed more than $3 trillion annually, and these are figures from 2024. While we are not able to mobilize financing for development or even the operational budget of the UN, which, by the way, is five times less than the city of New York. We must also recognize that the youth day today is happening while there is an ongoing genocides in the world with children, youth and women being most targeted. Yet this is also a movement and moment of hope in which youth movement have actually caused that hope worldwide, whether those are college students protesting against genocide to indigenous and human rights defenders fighting on the front lines to many others. And we have seen this momentum reflected in the UN itself. If you look at the General Assembly's recent opinion on the advisory our Court of Justice that was adopted on climate change. It is an achievement largely credited to the youth groups from the Pacific. And of course, the Ecosoc Youth Forum, which is the largest and GA-mandated convening of youth actors within the UN system that happens every April. Within the UN system itself, like I said, if you look at the trajectory just in the last year, there are a number of milestones that have happened. Young people and youth constituencies engaged for the first time ever in the Convention on Chemical Weapons last November. They are leading a dedicated track towards the UN Water Conference in the UAE later this year. Youth have organized a whole movement around ICPD, which is Convention on Population and Development, keeping SRHR at the centers of UN advocacy despite the challenging times we are in. The UN Permanent Forum on indigenous issues where the global indigenous youth caucus continues to coordinate engagement the YPS progress study where youth have been leading really the design of the second progress study by the secretary general and continue to co-chair the global coalition on YPS and just last year in October and many of you were in that room the first ever third committee youth event took place under the auspices of General Assembly which brought together young people and member states so again progress on meaningful youth engagement is is happening and in fact even if you look at the global digital compact on AI The language on children and mental health was credited to a long-term advocacy of the youth SPI platform, which works on these topics. Now let's move beyond the meaningful youth engagement and address the issue itself today, AI. Artificial intelligence, as many panelists have already said, has rapidly emerged as one of the most peculiar governance challenges of today. It's a risk that did not exist when SDGs were negotiated or when 2030 agenda was negotiated back in 2015 or Paris Agreement and Sendai and the whole package came out. While the Global Digital Compact, in fact for the future, established an important foundation. What we are facing now, especially with the speed of technological changes, they have outpaced the governance framework that exists. So our SPI team within MGCY has laid out following recommendations. First, there is a need to build from the governance dialogue that took place in Geneva by establishing an accelerated implementation track that develops interim governance standards and risk management approaches. Second, we need to understand that we don't really have time to negotiate a treaty on AI. Any treaty from end to end, from the point it's negotiated to the point it's actually coming into force, takes over six to eight years, anywhere between that. Look at what's happening to the plastic treaty, right? So we need to have prioritized developing universal practical governance measures immediately that respond to rapidly evolving technological development in the near term. What that looks like, perhaps something that the discussions today and young people can shape. We need a universal framework and we do need another OECD style common framework to govern the AI and we want to be very clear on that. As part of 2028 review of the pact for the futures, which is happening next year and the review of digital compact that is happening. next year and review in 2028. There is need to assess whether the actions that were committed for AI remain fit for purpose and in light of recent advancements, what needs to happen, including identifying governance gap while safeguarding human rights and accountability. Social media is mostly unregulated, but youth movements and industry co-design have actually led to change in policies, especially if you look at what has happened in certain member states and countries on regulating their use for children. Across the AI safety or impact summits last year, last five years, the most meaningful change that has happened actually has been on children's safety. But we cannot let that stop us from thinking about youth whose future work and career pathways are more uncertain now that, compared to the last two decades with the advancement of AI. Finally, I want to talk about the autonomous weapons systems. It is a universally social justice and human rights centric issue. And it's a discussion that should involve all the member states, not just the Security Council. The ECOSOC and the GA must take over this issue and take up this issue in addition to the Security Council. This is especially a topic that the high level panel on AI did not address because it was told to them this is a Security Council mandate and not a GA mandate. But we have to address it because it is inherently, like I said, a social justice and a human rights issue. Finally, we want to call for guaranteeing the meaningful participation of young people, particularly those from global south, in AI governance and decision making. And a lot has happened in the last few years. We should measure youth engagement across the board, not just through one of events. The G resolution on AI dialogue that comes from the global digital compact was pushed by young people a lot. Young people have been engaged at the AI governance in the STI forum, AI for good, international governance forum, and this is the world information summit. They published recently a policy brief on AI and energy policy at the HLPS with SDG7 under review, advocated for climate language in AI and technical governance processes, and also continue to engage in the wider technology facilitation mechanism across STI Forum and other linked frameworks like IPCC, IPBES, et cetera. All of this work is being carried out by youth organizations and youth constituencies globally. So finally, we must remember as we continue the discussions today that AI is not just a technology issue anymore, it's a sustainable development human rights and security and most likely and most importantly an intergenerational justice issue. So as we look towards SDG summit next year and what comes post 2030, this and alongside other technological changes like synthetic biology, deep sea resource mining and much more should be at heart of what the post 2030 agenda looks like in addition to addressing systemic barriers and much more. So young people must be not just simply beneficiaries of the agenda but as equal partners in designing it. Thank you.

Thank you, Grottna. I would like to extend one final thank you to everybody on our opening plenary, Your Excellency's Governor, Your Excellency Ambassador Stan Smith, and Your Excellency Dr. Philbert Aaron. And finally, Assistant Secretary General of the UN Youth Office, Dr. Felipe Pollier. I would now like to give the floor to Ali Musafat to be in our first session of the day.

Thank you. Now I would like to request all the excellencies to escort down. And the panelist speakers should-- I'm.

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I will-- You're my friend.

You're my friend.

The next panel speakers I'd like to request them to make your way to the stage Mr. or Sala from ITU Quinton from ODT and miss you ping from UNDP Oh, OK. Nice meeting you. Happy International Day. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for coming.

Move this.

I'll send it.

I'll make it work.

He's coming. Give him a second.

Yeah, the ambassador.

Thank you.

One minute.

Okay.

Wait a second.

Play all songs of CID. Play all songs of CID. Play all songs of CID.

Play all songs of CID.

Okay, everyone, we are starting a panel. Are we starting a panel? We can talk. Everyone, we're starting a panel. Please have a seat on your seats. Excuse me, everyone, we're starting a panel. Excuse me, everyone. I have to use my right to speak. Ring a bell,. Yes.

You do that kind of whistle like this.

That goes better. Yeah, that's me. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, everyone. We are running a little behind, and so I would like to request the order in the room. We are now beginning our session two of the day, and the topic is a different context, the lived reality and the AI trust gap. This session examines how artificial intelligence is experienced differently across regions and communities and why trust in these systems remains uneven. Each speaker will address the guiding questions below in a five-minute statement. And once the speakers have concluded, the floor will be open for the statements for all EU delegates in the room. To begin the conversation, I would like to give the floor to Ms. Ursula Weinhoven from the ITU.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, and most importantly, young leaders from around the world in the room and online, it is such a pleasure to join you today on International Youth Day for this AI and Youth Summit. As the UN specialized agency for digital technologies, the ITU, which stands for the International Telecommunication Union, works with countries and communities across every region of the world. One thing we see very clearly is that there is no single global experience of artificial intelligence. For some young people, AI is already part of everyday life. As we've already heard this morning, it supports learning, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation. But for other young people, AI still remains out of reach because the foundations of digital participation are still missing, reliable connectivity, affordable devices, and digital skills. This is why discussions about AI cannot be separated from discussions about digital inclusion. Today, an estimated 2.2 billion people remain offline globally. They've never, ever even accessed the internet. At the same time, young people continue to lead internet adoption with 82% of those aged between 15 and 24 using the internet worldwide. Even so, hundreds of millions of young people around the world remain excluded from the opportunities that digital technologies can provide. The gap in access to AI is often widest where digital divides overlap with broader inequalities. These include on income, geography, education, and gender. As we build on the outcomes of the WSIS+20 review and the Global Digital Compact, closing these gaps remains absolutely essential to ensuring that everyone can participate in and benefit from the opportunities created by AI. But, as we've also heard this morning, access is only part of the story. The other challenge is trust. Across the countries and communities where ITU works, young people are asking important questions. Can I trust the information generated by AI? Is my data protected? Are AI systems fair? And who is accountable when something goes wrong? In many ways, the trust gap may become just as important as the access gap. Building trust requires transparency, accountability, digital literacy, and confidence that AI systems are being developed and used in ways that respect human rights and support sustainable development. This is where international standards and multilateral cooperation really, really matter. For more than 160 years, ITU, which is the oldest UN entity, has brought countries and experts together to develop the international standards that underpin information and communication technologies. From the telegraph and telephone to mobile networks, broadband and the internet, global standards have helped connect the world and make technologies work seamlessly across borders. Today, we're applying the same experience in the age of artificial intelligence. Through ITU's standards work, governments, industry, academia, and technical experts collaborate on issues such as AI governance, risk management, interoperability, testing methodologies, and trustworthiness. While innovation often moves quickly, trust takes time to build. Standards help provide the confidence and predictability needed for societies to adopt new technologies responsibly. At the same time, no country can address the opportunities and challenges of AI alone. AI systems increasingly operate across borders, making international cooperation essential. Through initiatives such as AI for Good, ITU brings governments, companies, researchers, civil society and young people to exchange knowledge and identify practical solutions. For example, just last month, at the AI for Good Global Summit 2026, the Youth Zone and Youth Stage brought together young innovators and changemakers from around the world to explore AI, develop skills, and contribute to discussions on the future of AI. Young people are not waiting to shape the future. They, you, are already shaping it. And that brings me to my final point. What would we want young people in this room to take away on how global AI governance is actually built? Many people imagine that global AI governance emerges from a single treaty or a single decision, but in reality, it's much more collaborative and continuous than that. We saw an important example of this just last month when stakeholders from around the world came together for the first global dialogue on AI governance. ASG Polio spoke about the dialogue in the previous session. The dialogue reflected a growing recognition that the future of AI cannot be shaped by any one actor alone. Global AI governance is built through ongoing cooperation between and among governments, international organizations, companies, technical communities, researchers, civil society, and young people. It is built through standards, through policy frameworks, capacity building efforts, and partnerships. In other words, it's not a destination. Governance is not a destination. It is a process. As the international community advances implementation of the outcomes of the WCSS+20 review and the Global Digital Compact, meaningful youth participation will be critical. The future of AI will not be shaped solely by policymakers or technology companies. It will also be shaped by your ideas, your values, and your actions. And this is why your engagement matters. Your experiences can help identify the challenges that need attention. Your creativity can help unlock new solutions, and your voices can help ensure that the future of AI is not only innovative, but also inclusive, trustworthy, and beneficial for all. Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to be here.

Thank you, Ursula. That was very valuable contribution that you just made and we were following the updates from the AI for good summit and we hope that we can bring that to New York as well um so before I move to the next speaker there is specific instructions for the people who want to make floor intervention you can press the button right in front of you with the mic, you see that? And keep your microphone up like that. So once you will press the button, the team member will come to you, will take your name, will take your seat number and your organization. And when we are finished with the speakers, we will call you out for the speaking. I already see that, so yes. People who are interested, they can start pressing their button now. So the next speaker, I would like to introduce Mr. Quentin Chou Lambert from the UN ODET for his intervention.

Thank you very much and great to see everyone here. Yes, I'm from the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies. And I wanted to start by offering some brief reflections on the historical moment that we're in now before talking a bit about the UN's tracks and how the youth can get involved in those on AI governance. And we are in a period of exponential technological change right now. And there's more than one billion youth around the world, most of which are in global south countries. And it's true that a lot of these young people will be some of the most impacted over their lifetimes, living the longest with the consequences of the decisions taken now. But it may also be true that this cohort, you, have the potential to be the most impactful over the longer term, as the generation that is coming of age into this historical moment of change, which is historically very rare. I mean, even in our own work, in my own office, we see that the younger colleagues who are working on these issues are often at the forefront, understanding the technologies, mastering the means of computation as users, as developers, and also in some cases, after they've left our office, as activists and policymakers in government. So it is a mixed picture. You're coming to age of age at a time when there is this unique technological change, but there's also an opportunity for you to take the reins as you grow into it. So what is the UN doing in terms of AI governance? As has already been mentioned, there's an emerging kind of governance architecture coming out from the pact for the future, a future which young people will not merely inherit, but will also shape. And this is organized around three interdependent tracks, science, policy, and capacity. You've heard about the International Independent Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. The goal of which is to provide a common understanding, a common scientific understanding of the technology, its opportunities, risks and impacts so that policymakers can be better informed. There's a lot of hype out there about AI. There's a lot of fear. It's sometimes unclear even to those in government in power what's actually going on inside of the frontier labs. And this scientific panel and even some of the engineers in the labs themselves are not 100%, don't have the whole picture always of what's going on in the wider ecosystem. So this scientific panel offers an opportunity to have a common understanding, a shared understanding of the science of AI. And it delivered its preliminary report this July, and we'll have another one coming out next May. At the next global dialogue on AI governance, which is the second track on policy. And this dialogue, as my colleague Ursula has mentioned, is part of a process towards common ground and a global cooperation on AI governance. A lot of governments are still figuring things out domestically. Policy has been changing rapidly in many different jurisdictions and keeps changing and will continue to keep changing as governments grapple with the technology. And so this dialogue is rather than being a place where a kind of top-down international agreement is formed and kind of imposed on all countries, instead it's more of a bottom-up, a horizontal learning place where there's an organic meshing between governments and stakeholders and information can flow so that countries and stakeholders can speak to each other and understand what each other are doing and grappling with. and learn from each other. And young people are a crucial part of that discussion. A third area is on AI capacity, the goal being common benefits, AI as a global public good, which goes beyond access towards AI development and AI governance, or capacity for AI development and capacity for AI governance. And the Secretary General will soon propose recommendations on a global fund for AI capacity development to the General Assembly in order to put a universal floor on AI capacity so that no country is left behind. Finally, institutionally, the UN is also Creating new offices to support this, it's no coincidence that the youngest offices in the UN Secretariat, which is the UN Youth Office, the representative was here in the previous panel, and the Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies have been formed to support this ongoing architecture and discussion working with the UN system. And our office will continue to work with the Youth Office to bring in youth perspectives into these processes. as the scientific panel engages in its consultations with external experts and as the global dialogue co-chairs plan their roadmap for consultations leading to the next dialogue in New York in May next year. Of course, more can be done, more young people in the rooms, and I look forward to hearing more perspectives. I see a lot of green microphones, so that's excellent. And just to close by encouraging you to you know, whatever you're doing, have more young people grasping the technology, developing it in a positive direction, and also prepare to join public service with the information and the knowledge that you've gathered about the technology so that you will be better placed to make decisions as you take over the reins on this technology. Thank you.

Thank you, Quentin. That was valuable. Looking forward to hear more and actually the execution of the Global Funds for AI capacity development. I think that's what needed, as we've discussed earlier before that the priority is no one should be left behind in the race of technology. Next, I would like to give the floor to Ms. Yu-Ping Chen from UNDP.

Thank you so much, Ali. It's really so nice to be here today. I really think that perhaps Ursula, Quentin, and I raise the age level of the room by quite a lot. So it's an honor to be here to address all of you. So my name is Yu-Ping. I come from the Digital AI and Innovation Hub of UNDP. UNDP is the UN's development wing. We're present in 170 countries and territories around the world. We're now supporting over 130 countries on leveraging digital and AI to achieve the SDGs. Ali, I think you asked about the AI trust gap, and I wanted to offer a slight reframe of the question, picking up a bit on what Ursula had said. I think we sometimes ask where the AI trust gap is because the real question fundamentally is where the access gap still is. Trust follows adoption and adoption is still deeply uneven, particularly across the entire world and in the global south. And this is what concerns UNDP with our development mandate because that's the crux of the issue. We've now done AI landscape assessments as UNDP in more than 25 countries around the world across the global south and the pattern is consistent. AI governance conversations are getting ahead of the actual plumbing, the infrastructure of AI itself. So like Quentin said, governments are trying to figure out how to govern AI, but the problem is, particularly in the developing world, they're being asked to weigh in on global AI governance and national governance conversations before they actually have the basic digital public infrastructure in place that will make AI trustworthy. So when we ask why trust is uneven, part of the answer is simple, you can't trust a tool that you don't have reliable access to, or the capacity or in some ways the local ecosystem to make sure that you are creators of this tools that you are actually being asked to use at the same point. So it's about these gaps, but at the same time, it's not just about the access question, right? Last year, UNDP issued a human development report that focused on AI, and we found that AI carries a global northwestern bias. I think this is something that speakers in the previous session had already highlighted, and that's something that we need to be concerned about. But our report also found something very interesting, and something that should be worrying to everyone in the room. Historically, well-being has always followed a U-shape. So young and older, where young and older people have higher levels of well-being, and the middle-aged people have lower. But in the last decade, this actually has flipped in a number of high development countries, right? So this means that in high, so-called developed countries, among young internet users, for instance, the U-shape has disappeared entirely. They report the lowest well-being of any age group. And this is actually linked to the rise of AI driven social media. So we all know about the dangers of AI and what it actually has led us to when we're so addicted to our phones. Doom scrolling, deep fakes, unrealistic standards, addictive features, social comparison and so forth. And this has actually been linked to the lowest level of well-being among young people in developed countries. So in some ways, it's really not just about access and inclusion, it's also about what access to AI and digital technologies is also doing to the people who have And so this is something we have to keep in mind, the dark side of AI, even as we strive towards maximizing the opportunities of AI and actually bringing to everyone around the world. So where does this leave sustainable development, right? At UNDP, we believe that the opportunity of AI is real, but we need to get the framing of it right. AI has to augment people, not replace them. And this is particularly important for young people and your next generation, because you will be the ones that will be primarily the users of this technology, the creators, the producers, the consumers of this technology. So how will AI play a role in your future? This is not something that the rest of us old fogies in room actually will have to contend with. It will be your generation. And this is what guides our approach to AI, right? We're trying to center young people in the work that we do, the next generation in the support that we give to countries. So in Bangladesh, for instance, we build a platform that uses AI for job matching and certified digital skills training. In Ghana, we build a nimby series that helps young people build AI enabled solutions with equity. The model is AI infrastructure for opportunity and empowerment, but this is not a shortcut to having young people be part of the building of it. So youth involvement in AI governance conversation also has to be that type of work. It can't just be having another consultation, right? What we need to have is we need to move from consultation to co-decisional make creation with young people itself. And this means, for instance, with UNDP, where we really have been focusing on making sure that young people as part of this work also translates to real impact on policymakers. So for instance, in Kenya, after the June 2024 protest, we actually worked with the government to build tools such as a WhatsApp chatbot, as well as a deliberation platform that builds and feeds youth inputs and views directly into legislation and policies that were then put forward to the Kenyan cabinet and government itself. So we need to think about what are these ways in which it cannot just be us talking to you and you at a conference, but really empowering you to be part of these types of decision making. This is, I think, what Felipe had said, that really we need to move beyond just performative solutions or processes into real programs and projects that center young people and their voices in the world. So that's where I really do think that perhaps what you had said in the last session, well, she talked on behalf of the major group of youth and children on areas where the UN processes UN work has fallen short is where we as a UN system need to really concentrate our efforts. From the UNDP perspective, we will center young people in the work that we continue to do. It's not even just in digital AI. Our youth programming is extensive and in the support that we give to national governments and communities around the world, we really do focus on young people, the next generation. But really, I also think that it's all of you participating in meetings like this that hold the UN accountable, continue to raise our voices and demand that you are part of what we are building collectively together. Thank you.

Thank you, Yubin Chen, that was really insightful. And now I think people, young people are really keen to speak and we are keen to hear you. And we are now going to start our interventions from the floor. One instruction, please keep it non-political, non-partisan, non-discriminatory and non-dragatory. And you just have two minutes to make intervention and mic will close automatically at two minutes. First intervention, I would like to give the floor to Ms. Uma, Hardeo from Teen Advocates, seat number 2553. Thank you, Mr. Wait, your mic is not red. Just keep it there. Yeah, now it's red. Do not press it. Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Ali Mustafa. Good afternoon, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Omar Hardail, the founder and executive director of Teen Advocators, an international youth-led organization focused on empowering youth people through advocacy with alignment with the sustainable development goals. As we discuss the AI trust gap, we need to consider that that phrase can sometimes hide a more complicated reality. We often ask whether young people trust AI. I think we should ask, have we given young people enough reasons to trust systems being placed in front of them? UNICEF's latest research gives us a striking example. In Mexico, only 8% of surveyed high school students report regularly verifying the accuracy of information generated by AI tools. At the same time, children are adopting more than three times faster than their parents and caregivers. That combination should concern us. Young people are becoming heavy users of a technology faster than institutions can develop the education, safeguards, and accountability mechanisms needed to help us use it safely. And that looks different depending on where you live. Across 12,000 children and parents surveyed and researched by Teen Advocators, it was found that there was significant differences in AI access, usage, trust, and exposure to risk, particularly across the global south. So there cannot just be one universal picture for what it means to trust AI. For a student with disability, it may mean knowing whether an accessibility tool actually understands their need. For another young person, it could mean knowing whether their personal information is being collected or whether an AI system is making decisions about them fairly. This is why I believe trust should be treated as an outcome of good governance, not a prerequisite for it. I also want to introduce a number that I think should change the way we as a society talk about young people and AI as a whole. At least 20 million children across 10 countries are already

Thank you, Omar. Next, I would like to give the floor to Oni Kachi Williams from William Hope Alive Foundation, seat number 2554.

Thank you. Okay, I still remember when a friend in my lab first told me about Chagibity, that was in 2023, I tried it. And my first reaction was simply, wow, that was amazing. So that is amazing. But almost immediately, another conversation started. Can we actually use this? Would using it be considered plagiarism? As students and researchers, many of us, we are more concerned about whether we should use AI than about how deeply it should eventually become part of the way we work. At that time, much of the conversation was about avoiding AI. There were questions about whether students should be allowed to use it, whether researchers should disclose its use, and whether institutions should restrict it altogether. Those were legitimate concerns, and many of them are still relevant today. But a few years later, that conversation has completely changed. In Nigeria, for instance, about 63% of our population is under the age of 25. That represents an enormous generation of young people who could potentially learn, innovate, build businesses, conduct research, and contribute to the future of AI. AI is no longer just a tool that generates text. It is increasingly being integrated into research, education, healthcare, businesses, and the rest. I would like to see declaration emphasis on AI literacy, understanding what AI can do, where it can fail, when its input should be questioned, how to verify the information it provide, how to acknowledge is appropriate, how to protect personal and sensitive information, and when human judgment must take over. AI literacy should also include understanding that a confident as.

Next, I would like to give the floor to Seema Shamim, organization of Huda Women Empowerment, seat number 2552.

Chair Excellencies, distinguished delegates and fellow young people, I come from Nepal, a country where the future of millions of young people are already deeply connected to migration and global labor markets. So I want to introduce a question that we have not yet confronted today, and that's what happens when artificial intelligence begins to govern not only the work young people can access but also the opportunities to across borders in search of that work today we are rightly discussing AI governance data sovereignty employment inequality and meaningful youth participation but imagine an AI system screening a young Nepali worker for employment determining their eligibility assessing their skills or influencing a migration decision who is accountable when that system misunderstands their language their education, their social context, or their lived reality. And this raises a larger question for the global south. Are we building AI systems that understands our realities? Or are we asking our realities to conform to systems designed elsewhere? If AI is going to help us achieve SDG 8 on decent work, SDG 10 on reducing inequalities, and SDG 16 on accountable institutions, then access to AI is not enough. We need representation in the data, representation in the design, and representation in the decisions that govern it. So my question to this room is, should the right to participate in AI governance also include the right of countries like Nepal to challenge the assumptions embedded in AI systems that make decisions about our people's livelihood, mobility, and futures? Because if an algorithm can influence who gets an opportunity to move, work, or prosper.

Thank you. Next, I would like to give the floor to Mina Khalil representing Johns Hopkins University, seat number 2588.

Good morning, everyone. AI is becoming one of the first places young people turn to when they feel like they have no one else to talk to. And I think that should make us all pay attention. Young people are sharing emotions with AI that may not share with their parents, teachers, friends, or even a therapist. Their anxiety, loneliness, trauma, relationships, and some of the most vulnerable parts of their lives. The question is no longer whether people will use AI for mental health support. They already are. The question is whether we are building the safeguards to protect them. My name is Meena Khalil, and I am a clinical mental health counselor in training, a global youth ambassador, and I work directly with displaced youth, refugees, and underserved communities. Through my work, I see how difficult accessing mental health support can be, especially when someone is facing language barriers, financial limitations, cultural stigma, or simply does not know where to turn. That is why I understand the appeal of AI. It is available at any hour and it can communicate across languages. It does not appear to judge you, and for a young person who feels alone, AI might feel like the safest place to talk. But accessibility is not the same as safety. If young people are already turning to AI for emotional support, then our policies need to reflect that reality. We need strong protections around privacy, crisis response, transparency, and the kind of mental health guidance AI provides. AI can be an incredible tool for expanding access to information and support, especially in communities where resources are limited. But it should support human connection and professional care and not quietly replace them. As we shape this youth declaration, I hope we make sure that young people...

Thank you so much. Next, I would like to give the floor to Ms. Hannah Rothner, youth delegate from Israel, seat number 2634. Hannah Rothner, seat number 2634, delegate of Israel. Okay, meanwhile, I will move to.

Thank you, Chair. I'm honored to take the floor today as a youth delegate and as a representative of Israel. Artificial intelligence has enormous potential to improve our lives, from education and health to scientific research and sustainable development. AI is already driving innovation across key sectors, and its potential will only continue to grow. At the same time, my generation will live longest with its consequences. We are also among those using it most in our day-to-day lives. That is why young people must have a meaningful seat at the table when decisions about AI governance are made. For Israel, innovation and responsibility go hand in hand. One issue that deserves greater recognition is bias in AI systems. According to the Anti-Defamation League's 2026 J-7 Annual Report on Antisemitism, the digital sphere has become a primary arena for antisemitic expression, and recent research found measurable anti-Jewish bias across several leading AI models. As a college student at NYU, I've also experienced antisemitism firsthand. While attending a pro-Israel rally, protesters shouted, "Go back to Poland," and "From the river to the sea." As the great-granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, hearing these words directed at Jewish students was deeply concerning. When the same prejudices in our society are reflected in AI systems, their reach can extend even further. In one example, an AI system was asked where someone could buy graffiti supplies near a Jewish cemetery. Instead of recognizing the malicious intent, it provided nearby stores, showing how AI can unintentionally facilitate hate. AI should not replace human connection, whether with a parent, a teacher, or a friend. As we shape the future of AI, let us ensure that technological progress reflects the voices of young people. Thank you.

Next, I would like to give the floor to Soleil River Nation from Future Wave Makers, seat number 2602.

Hello. Hello, everyone. Today, I wanted to bring a youth perspective to this conversation, specifically the environmental perspective. My name is Soleil River Nation. I represent the youth wave makers. I'm 12 years old, an ocean activist, musician, and motivational speaker. As a musician, I see the musical world change, not just the academic. Artificial intelligence is changing our world incredibly fast. AI is an amazing tool. It can act like a super-powered assistant, processing huge amounts of information in seconds, automating repetitive tasks, and helping people solve complex problems. It can help doctors detect diseases, help scientists make discoveries, and open doors to possibilities we are only beginning to understand. But the question is if convenience is worth the consequences. Because with every powerful new technology comes responsibility. AI can be misused for deepfakes, scams, misinformation, and manipulation. And as a young person, I'm also concerned about becoming so dependent on technology that we stop exercising our own creativity, critical thinking, and independent ideas, which I've already seen through my fellow classmates. AI can be used positively, but it is inevitable it will be used negatively. I can take it upon myself to write a story and have AI clean it up, but there's nothing stopping people from having AI write their essay word for word, and that's our problem. How many people can take personal responsibility to use AI correctly, or even know how to? We are here to shape AI in a way that is sustainable and protects generations to come. There's also another consequence that we don't see on our screens, the environmental cost. AI doesn't simply exist in the cloud. It relies on data centers that require significant amounts of electricity and water to operate and cool. Some companies in China have even begun placing data centers underwater as a way to improve.

Thank you. Next. He was the youngest.

Yeah.

And I thought I'm the young person. Well done. Next, I would like to give the floor to Ms. Miley Rogers, representative of Grenada, seat number 2513.

As a representative youth, I'm honored to take the floor on behalf of Grenada and wish to thank the organizers of this event, in particular Bahamas and Dominica. And I'll make sure to make this statement very short and sweet. Grenada firmly believes that the future is something we must build together. Global cooperation only becomes achievable when we are willing to confront the challenges and barriers that hinder our progress towards a better future. This is fundamental when we speak about artificial intelligence, where meaningful progress requires us to look beyond the surface and address deeper challenges shaping its development and impact. Because AI is not just about algorithms, it's about people, it's about our rights, it's about our security, and ultimately it is about what kind of world we choose to live for the generation that comes after us. We must therefore ask ourselves, how can AI advance global development if access benefits remains unequal? For Grenada, meaningful participation in the AI landscape means investing in our young people, strengthening digital literacy, expanding connectivity, and building national capacity to develop and govern emerging technologies. It also means ensuring that small states are supported in accessing the technologies and resources necessary in making these investments, because the AI divide is ultimately more than a technological divide. is a question of equity, opportunity, and peace and security. And if we are serious about building a more peaceful and secure future, then we must ensure that technological progress does not deepen existing inequalities. To fellow member states in the room, Grenada advocates for us to move from dialogue to action. We must strengthen international cooperation, expand equitable access to digital infrastructure, and knowledge sharing. To the young people across our nations, I offer an equally important call. Do not see yourselves only as users of this technology, but as its future creators, policymakers, and stewards. Learn, question, innovate, and most importantly, participate. Continue to knock on doors that remain closed and bring your own seat to the table when you aren't always given one. The future of AI is being shaped now. We must ensure that young people are not simply prepared to inherit that future, but are-- Thank you.

Next, I would like to give the floor to Alia Khateja from Columbia University, seat number 2595.

Hello. Excellencies, esteemed delegates, friends, my name is Aaliya Khateja. I'm currently doing my masters at Columbia University, and I've spent a long time researching these systems. And I want to say plainly that AI is a tool, and what matters is who holds it and what rules bind them. First, quantum security. A new wave is coming when quantum computing is put together with machine learning, which is AI, and it will make this moment look small. A quantum machine holds every possible answer at once. So problems that would take today's computers millions of years collapse into hours. The first of those problems is the encryption protecting every citizen in this room. banking, medical records, private messages. Migration to quantum-safe encryption must begin before that machine exists, not after. Second, copyright and deepfakes. These systems are trained on work they did not pay for and they produce likenesses of people who never consented. This must be penalized. Strict action and real enforcement, not a statement of principle. And underneath both, teach people how to use these systems and how these systems work. An informed public is the only regulation that scales. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, I would like to give the floor to Sarang Cheon from Locust Valley High School, seat number 2636.

Good afternoon. My name is Sarang Chun, and I'm a high school student from New York and interested in civic youth engagement and how young people can have a meaningful voice in decisions that can affect us. One thing I especially think is important in this conversation is that inviting young people into the room is not the same as giving them a voice. Reflecting the words of Dr. Philippe Pauly, we often think about youth engagement as giving young people a seat at the table, but what happens after we get the seat? If a young person does not fully understand the issue, does not feel prepared to challenge an idea, or is intimidated by a room full of adults or experts, then technically we were included, but did we really participate? I believe this is where AI can actually help. It can help make complicated information easier to understand, help us explore more perspectives that we may not have considered, and help young people prepare their own arguments. But there's an important difference, AI should not become the voice of young people. It should prepare-- it should help young students help find and strengthen their voice. So when we measure youth participation in AI governance, I don't think we should just ask, how many people-- how many young people were in the room? We should ask, did anything change because they were there? Thank you.

Thank you so much. Next, I would like to give the floor to Mr. Omar Al-Qurashi representing Oman, seat number 2664.

Thank you for the opportunity. And I would like to share my perspective on AI and governments as someone who is very unspecialized in AI. I'm a student, just like many people here, and I use AI in my academics. But sitting here in a room where everyone talks about governance limits and putting barriers in AI just reminds me of what my parents thought about Wi-Fi or internet. So the internet, when it came out, it was something very unclear. We did not know where it would take us. We did not know what the consequences were. But right now, internet is the base of the world. We do everything in internet. So I would like to say that AI is still an underdeveloped technology. It still has so much potential, and we're using-- overly using it in its first stages. So in the future, it's gonna become much advanced, and putting limits from an early stage is just gonna be unhealthy. Thank you, everyone.

Thank you. Before I announce the next speaker, we have a couple of minutes left in this session. I would like to instruct the moderator of the next session and us to line up all the speakers to the smooth transaction. And the speakers on the AI and human rights and counterterrorism, please just be lined up ready to take the floor after when we're done. Next, I would like to give the floor to Mr. Ahmed Sabah Wund from Afghanistan, seat number 2628.

Thank you for the floor. Thank you for the floor and thank you to Ms. Ursula for raising the point about the affordable devices and reliable connectivity. And also, Miss Yu, thank you for bringing the case of Kenya. I am very interested to learn more about that. My name is Ahmad Sabaoun. I previously worked with the Foreign Ministry of Afghanistan. For over three years now, young women in my country, half of the population, have been banned from having a classroom to walk into. It's very sad to say, but no secondary school, no university, an entire generation of the girls is growing up without formal education. I raise this not as a political statement, but as a life reality that must shape now how we think about AI and education access. This matter directly for AI governance. AI is being built to personalize learning, translate across language, and reach places schools cannot. That promise is real, but only if we design for everyone. Offline AI tools already exist today.

They can run without internet once loaded into a simple device, but their language support is still very limited.

And they are not reaching the population that need the most, like Afghan girls.

We are bird who are bird from school entirely, not just under connected.

So my question to this body is, will this declaration reach young people who have no access to school at all, not only those with slow internet? And will it consider Afghanistan as a case study, a real test of whether AI governance can reach populations excluded by circumstance, not just by geography? As a

Thank you so much. Thank you so much to all the floor speakers. We will continue the intervention in the upcoming panel. And while we do the transaction, I want you to stay seated and stay calm as we will make the transaction so we don't run into delay. I would like to thank all the speakers here, Ursula, thank you for you and thank you IDU for the valuable contribution. And Quentin, thank you so much for the valuable contribution from ODET. And Ms. Yubing Cheng, thank you so much for the valuable contribution from UNDP. And we look forward to contribute more. Thank you so much. And I request all the delegates to stay seated and as you can take the floor and all the speakers for the next session, please move to the stage by next to their nameplate. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you.

You don't have it.

Play all songs of CID.

We'll be starting very early. Can I get our last speaker, Joon Kim, over here, please? Miss Jeon Kim. Alright. Hello. Everyone, if we can be seated. Mic check. Everyone. Can we have our seats? We'll be starting shortly. Thank you. Everyone, am I audible? Yes, no? Yes? Then everyone, if we can get seated, we'll be starting shortly for this panel. So I guess-- Sorry for that, but yes, thank you. Thank you very much. So welcome everyone again, and thank you for commemorating International Youth Day with us. So we're at session number three, AI, Human Rights, Peace and Security. And my name is Enes Guven, I'm from IOI, and I will be your moderator for today. Before we start our panel, quick note for our youth delegates that would like to speak. As you guys have your greens up, so if you would like to speak, please put it up, continue putting it up. Our volunteer will come to you. Unfortunately, because of time, I know we won't be able to have everyone's statements, but we're trying our best to get as much as we can. So now, without further ado, first I will start with our first speaker, Joao Felipe Scarpellini from UNFPA. Joao works on inclusive peacebuilding and humanitarian action and will share how AI is shaping humanitarian response and peace and operations on the ground. Joao, you have five minutes. There you go.

Thank you very much. Excellencies, colleagues, youth delegates. It's a pleasure to be here today on behalf of the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA. When we talk about artificial intelligence in fragile, conflict-affected and humanitarian settings, we aren't speculating about a distant horizon. It's already here. It's deployed right now on the front lines of UNFPA's work, where health systems are fractured, where trust is thin, and when physical safety is a daily calculation. Today, I want to address the full picture. I want to talk about the operational promise of AI, but also the risks it poses through weaponization against women and young people, including in civic spaces. I'll start with the positive side. AI offers an unprecedented ability to scale human efforts on peacebuilding and humanitarian action and expand democratic consultations. To give some examples, when we use AI-enabled deliberative tools, we can now run real-time digital consultations with thousands of young people and women across displaced populations and civil society actors simultaneously. In complex settings like Ecuador or Sudan, these platforms allow us to process thousands of inputs instantly, mapping local security priorities and ensuring civilian voices directly shape humanitarian planning and peace negotiations. Natural language processing has significantly reduced the costs of our operations and now allow us to translate policy and humanitarian alerts into local languages instantly, bridging the gap between institutions and marginalized grassroots communities. So of course, we should celebrate this operational potential, but technology never arrives in a vacuum. Technology is deployed into societies already characterized by power imbalances, inequalities and discrimination. So we cannot take the good of AI and all the good it offers without being considerate and try to mitigate the enormous risks of harm that it may be inflicted on individuals and populations at large. We see the greater risks of the weaponization of AI against young peacebuilders, women activists, human rights defenders, and particularly young women. operating in rapidly shrinking civic spaces. The reality is simple. AI inherits and accelerates the bias of the data that is developed upon. It is designed by people and often not in partnership with people for those for whose those needs need to be designed for. This means that it reflects and amplifies inequalities and harms. In fragile contexts, the people furthest behind, and here I'm talking about displaced young people, adolescents with disabilities, indigenous youth, gender minorities, they are routinely invisible in data sets. So algorithms are trained on missing or biased data, and then decision making is done reproducing those structural inequalities and accelerating that. What this means in practice is when we use AI-driven humanitarian logistical tools, we might overlook IDP camps that are not formally registered. In conflict settings and also in authoritarian contexts, AI-driven surveillance and facial recognition are increasingly weaponized to track, profile, and harass young people, young activists who speak against corruption or defend bodily autonomy. They find them digital footprints harvested, their accounts offended and often their families and their safety threatened. Particularly for young women and gender minorities, online civic space has become deeply hostile. We are seeing an explosion of technology facilitated gender based violence, including algorithmic stalking, deepfakes. I think many of the previous speakers already raised this. But let's be clear, everything that is happening on the online space All this technology facilitated gender-based violence is real violence. It has real implications in the daily lives offline. It inflicts profound emotional and physical trauma. When algorithms figure out, they filter out reporting on gender-based violence or reproductive rights as sensitive content, we are stripping the survivors their voice and we are removing their access to essential care. When states and non-state actors weaponize technology, it forces activists to make an impossible choice. Either they sacrifice their safety or they abandon their activism. So I want to just conclude by talking about what AI responsive, human rights responsive AI is. Basically, individuals' health data, displacement status, protection records must never be harvested without explicit consent. And all these data frameworks need to really take into account that data breach in conflict settings is not just a technical glitch. It's a matter of life and death. Automated tools must never replace human discretion in crisis response. Systems must be trauma-informed, recognizing tech-related anxiety in survivors and maintaining mandatory human oversight led by local leaders. At UNFPA, we're not just analyzing those risks, we are actively trying to address them through our global flagship initiative, Making All Spaces Safe. We work directly with policymakers and with tech developers to embed safety by design principles into any digital tool before they are released to the public. We develop frameworks such as the TFGBV Shield framework to equip frontline responders and young activists with checklists. And we enforce strict ethical standards for any digital tool to be used in humanitarian and GBV response programs. I want to just conclude by saying that it may sound that the international community or governments have figured this out. And in fact, we don't. None of us have all the answers for governing a technology that is moving this fast in so many different contexts that are so complicated. So we need to really have these hard uncomfortable conversations together to understand where technology fails, where power is being abused, and where institutional protection mechanisms are falling short. I would like to continue this conversation, I really hear, but I wanna challenge all of you to really keep demanding transparency, demanding protection both on the digital space and offline, but really pushing this conversation forward to make sure you hold us accountable for building AI systems that honor your bodily autonomy, your agency, but also your fundamental human rights. Thank you.

Thank you, Jiao. Jiao, that was very insightful. The human in the loop is very, very important, and hopefully our youth will be there. And next we have Neil Maru from the UN Office of Counterterrorism. Neil focuses on addressing online radicalization and algorithmic threats. He will address how AI is used both to spread the counter violent extremism. Neil, the floor is yours in the next five minutes.

For convening this important conversation. It's a pleasure to join such a diverse group of young leaders, innovators, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss one of the defining issues of our time, how we ensure that artificial intelligence advances human rights, peace, and security. As the summit recognizes, young people will live longest with both the risks and opportunities associated with AI. Regrettably, young people remain underrepresented in shaping policies, governance frameworks, and technological systems that will have a profound impact on their futures. From the perspective of the UN Office of Counterterrorism, this is particularly important because AI is increasingly reshaping the digital environment, including online spaces that can be exploited by terrorist and violent extremist actors. AI presents tremendous opportunities. When utilized in a manner compliant to international human rights law, AI can support education, expand access to information, strengthen civic engagement, improve public services, and help us better understand complex social challenges. AI can also support efforts to build more inclusive, resilient, and informed societies. We know that behind every discussion about algorithms, platforms, governance, and security, are real people in communities that have been profoundly affected by violence. This includes people who may be vulnerable to manipulation, recruitment, or exposure to harmful online content, as well as communities that continue to experience the long-term impacts of terrorism and violence. What is particularly important in the context of today's discussion is that young people are often on the front lines of these changes and challenges. Young people spend significant parts of their lives in digital spaces, learning, building relationships, exploring identities, engaging with social issues, and participating in civic life. These are all spaces increasingly shaped by AI. At UNOCT, we are increasingly looking at how to harness these digital spaces through a prevention lens. This includes our work on online gaming communities, where research has highlighted both the emerging risks of exploitation by malicious actors and the significant potential for positive social engagement, as well as resilience building and youth-led prevention. Through initiatives supported by our partners, including the governments of Australia and Japan, we are working with young people, researchers, and industry stakeholders to better understand these evolving online environments and how they can be harnessed to strengthen inclusion and community resilience. Another example, this year UNOCT is bringing together multi-sectoral working groups and working closely with the Victims of Terrorism Association Network, also known as VOTAN. This is our global network of more than 120 victims of terrorism and victims associations from over 40 countries. This is to explore questions that are central to understanding both the risks and opportunities presented by emerging technologies for victims of terrorism, including through developing new forthcoming guidance on developing a safer internet for victims. At the same time, the rapid spread of synthetic media, deepfakes, AI-generated propaganda, and AI-enabled disinformation is rapidly transforming today's information ecosystem. Violent extremists and terrorist actors are increasingly adapting to these technologies and exploiting online spaces in new ways, enabling harmful narratives to spread with greater speed, scale and sophistication. This can amplify risks of online radicalisation and recruitment to violence, while also exposing young people and communities affected by terrorism to new forms of harm. When malicious actors misuse AI, young people are often among the first and most direct targets. We are increasingly seeing online ecosystems in which vulnerable young people can be exposed to interconnected forms of harm, including extremist propaganda, violent misogyny, hate-based movements, self-harm communities, and other forms of harmful content that seek to exploit identity, belonging, grievance, or isolation. Given these dynamics and as these technologies evolve, our challenge is to ensure that innovation strengthens resilience and promotes and protects young people's human rights. This challenge was central to the development of the UNOCT practice guide on artificial intelligence and preventing encountering violence extremism or PCVE. This was developed with the support of the Republic of Korea and published earlier this year. The guide, the first of its kind to create specific frontline guidance for PCVE practitioners, provides practical human rights based guidance, including risk assessment tools, ethical safeguards and stakeholder engagement approaches. While developed primarily for policymakers and practitioners, I would also encourage young people and youth focused organizations to engage with it. We are keen to understand what resonates with your experiences, where gaps remain, and what additional tools or guidance would better support young people in navigating AI-enabled opportunities and risks. One of the key insights that emerged from this work is that while practitioners recognize the positive benefits of AI, they are also concerned with issues such as transparency, bias, privacy, accountability, and reliability. A global survey conducted as part of our practice guide project found that fewer than one quarter of practitioners currently use AI in their work. They cited the above concerns as well as limited capacity and training as barriers to adoption. We know that technology is not neutral. AI systems often reflect the data assumptions and social structures upon which they are built. Without deliberate efforts to address bias and equality, they can reinforce existing forms of discrimination and exclusion. We also know that young women and girls continue to face disproportionate levels of online harassment, abuse and targeted disinformation. At the same time, some young men and boys are increasingly exposed to misogynistic, exclusionary, or hyper-masculine online narratives that exploit feelings of frustration, isolation, or lack of belonging. Understanding these dynamics is essential to effective prevention. That is why UNOCT is currently developing a gender-focused addendum to our AI and PCVE guide. aimed at helping practitioners better understand the gender-specific risks, opportunities, and implications of AI-enabled prevention efforts to ensure that responses are inclusive, rights-based, and gender-responsive. But we must also recognize that young people should not be viewed solely as potential targets of harm. Young people are among the most innovative users of technology. They are building applications, creating communities, advancing social causes, developing new solutions, and imagining new ways that AI can contribute to positive change. We know that AI and digital innovation are not only part of the challenge, they can be part of the solution. As we continue this work, we want to learn from you, not only as users of AI, but as experts in how these technologies are being experienced in practice. What excites you most about the future of AI? What risks concern you most? And where do you believe policymakers and international organizations are getting it right? And where are we getting it wrong? Let me conclude with three brief reflections. First, young people must have a meaningful role in shaping the future of AI governance. The most effective responses to AI enabled risks will not be developed for young people. They will be developed with young people. Secondly, respect for human rights must remain at the center of conversations about AI and security. And finally, the future of AI should not be determined solely by what technology is possible, but by what kind of societies we want to build. At UNOCT, we look forward to continuing this conversation. We want to learn from your experiences, understand your concerns, and hear your ideas about how AI can be used to strengthen peace, inclusion, resilience, and human rights. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Neil, for the meaningful insights and how UNOCT is having all this work behind us to combat terrorism. And hopefully our youth will participate in the things that you have indicated to advance it better and make it adjusted to our youth. And now moving on to our third speaker. Our third speaker is Jiyoon Kim with the UNDP PA and DPO. Jiyoon specializes in integrating data analytics and innovation into peacekeeping and early warning systems. She will discuss how AI is reshaping conflict prevention. Jiyoon, over to you, the floor is yours.

Hello, well, first of all, I would like to thank the International Organization of Youth and the mission of the Bahamas for hosting this event, and also everyone here for participating. My name is Jiyeon, and as a former intern and now data and innovation IC with the digital technology or digital transformation team supporting the UN peacekeeping, my work focuses on leveraging AI, data, technology, and innovative approaches to support mandate implementation. When thinking about AI, a lot of the people are reluctant to embrace it because they think it will replace human work. So the focus should be on how AI and technology can take on repetitive manual tasks so that people can spend more time on what requires human judgment, such as strategic decision making, problem solving, and relationship building. One of the challenges that I frequently see is that a significant amount of information is still documented and processed manually, often across fragmentic systems and large volumes of documents. So mechanisms need to be put in place to address this gap. And here's a very simple example. In one peacekeeping mission, it took approximately four months to locate the authorization letter related to the use of drones. The information existed, but it was difficult to find because the documentation was not structured in a way that is easily searchable. And this is where technology can make a practical difference. In response, a search engine was developed which enables personnel to retrieve information much more quickly and supports knowledge sharing across missions. And for me, the question is not simply, can AI do this task? But it's also, how can AI help people do their work better while keeping people at the center of the process? And this brings me to the ethical question around AI and data analytics in peace operations. There is a paper that has stayed with me ever since I read it, which is called Which Humans by the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at the Harvard University. This paper asks a very simple but powerful question. When we compare the performance of a large language model with human performance, we should first really ask, which humans? The researchers found that the responses of LLMs on a range of psychological and cognitive measures most closely resemble those of people from what are called weird societies, which stands for Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic societies. They argue that this reflects the fact that the training data used to develop these AI models does not really represent the enormous psychological and cultural diversity of humanity equally. Operations in complex environments often span highly diverse cultural, political, and social contexts. If the systems we use are trained primarily on the experiences, languages, perspectives, and knowledge of populations that are already better represented online, then we have to ask whose voices are missing and how do we mitigate this bias in future generations of AI models? Are we adequately representing the perspectives of people living through conflict? Are the experiences of women and marginalized communities reflected in the data or the language the AI uses? What about communities whose knowledge is primarily oral, whose languages are underrepresented online, or who have historically had less access to digital technologies? As young people and as the generation that will increasingly build, use, and govern these technologies, I think we have a responsibility to ask these questions early. not after the systems have already became deeply embedded in our institutions. For me, responsible AI is therefore not only about making AI more accurate or more efficient. It is about making sure that the people and communities affected by these technologies or by the decisions supported by these technologies are actually represented in the systems that we build. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Jiyoon. It is good to hear that we have people keeping track of their presentation within the tracking of data. Now we're moving to our fourth speaker. We welcome Uzair Hassan from Maxim Foundation, bringing a civil society and philanthropic perspective on how AI can be deployed responsibly to protect human rights in vulnerable communities. Uzair, the floor is yours.

Thank you so much for having me. First of all, excellencies, distinguished delegates, fellow speakers, and most importantly, the delegation of the governor of Pakistan who is visiting right now. Thank you, International Organization of Youth and Mr. Ahmed for making it all possible. And thank you everyone for being over here at this place. And it's a house full. So congratulations and give a huge round for yourself, first of all, of being over here and being such an amazing audience. So Well, standing here at the United Nations on International Youth Day is both honor and a privilege as well for me. Right now, I'm here as representing Maxim Foundation. I came from the world of business, technology, digital media, and philanthropy. Through Maxim Group and Maxim Foundation, I have had front row seat to how technology is changing. the way people communicate, people, businesses consume information, access opportunities, and increasingly how communities solve problems. And now we have AI. Apparently, technology decided we were not moving fast enough already. But jokes aside, I believe we are living through one of those rare moments in history where an entire generation has the opportunity not just to experience change, but to actually shape it. not simply what AI will do to young people, but what young people can do with AI and what responsibility comes with that power. When we talk about artificial intelligence, the conversation often becomes complicated very quickly. We talk about algorithms, automation, machine learning, data, and computing power. But I think there is much simpler way looking at it. AI is a tool. Human ambition gives that tool direction, and human values must determine its boundaries. For young people today, that distinction is incredibly important. An idea once required an office, large team, computing power, only requires right now a good internet connection and that urge to learn. An idea once required the office that we have mentioned earlier. can be summarized into a small working space. And that changes entrepreneurship, it changes education, it changes media, and it changes who gets an opportunity to participate in the global economy right now. But from a civil society and philanthropic perspective, there is an even bigger question. Where is AI most urgently needed to advance human rights? I believe the answer is whenever opportunity is most unequal, AI is required on those places. In communities where a child does not have access to best teachers, AI can help expand access to education. Where people struggle to navigate information, public service, or economic opportunities, someone's ability to participate, AI has the potential to bring opportunity closer to them. Through our work in technology, digital media, and through Maxim Foundation's engagement with communities, one lesson is very clear. Technology introduced into a vulnerable community without understanding that community can create new problem instead of solving the old ones. So innovation can not only be about asking, can we build it? We also have to ask, who does it help? Who could it harm? Who is being left out? And perhaps most importantly, who is accountable when something goes wrong? Young people must learn to ask in this information real, who is who created it? Who is the source? Who is the purpose? What is the purpose? Sorry. Should I trust it and should I share it? It often happen when we get an information, we often share it to multiple platforms. We are living in the fifth generation war era where information is being sent, spread without clarification or without getting… any confirmation that if it's real or not. So we are playing our own part as well in spreading the false narratives or false information. We need to be careful about that. We need to be on the front seat when almost sharing the information because this is the era of data sharing and information sharing. AI should make you more capable, not more dependent. Use it to accelerate your thinking, but never outsource your thinking completely. You might be very good at giving prompts, but you should also use your own brain power. You should also use your own cultivating thoughts where you have been learning throughout your life. It's not only about the thing is I'm talking about AI in general because I've experienced this when we talk to students out there on multiple platforms. The answers that we get from any platform, it can be Claude, it can be ChatGPT, the answers are so confidently overwhelming and it seems so right that we think that this is appropriate or it suits us or things that we are doing completely aligns our thinking. But it's actually and slowly taking over our thoughts. Because in a world where AI can generate almost anything, authenticity, credibility, and human responsibility becomes more valuable, not less. Ladies and gentlemen, there will always be another technology, another platform, another breakthrough, another algorithm. But technology alone has never determined the future. People do. So if I could ask one thing from the young delegates in the room today, it would be this, commit to making AI not only more powerful, but more humans. When you build something, ask who it includes. When you use AI, question what it tells you. When technology gives you influence, use the influence responsibly. And when you have the opportunity to create something that improves another person's access to education, opportunity, dignity, or information, take it. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much, Ruzair. That's really insightful so that we have to participate, right? We have to continue participating. And lastly, our last speaker, Lamar Zala Grant.

Hello, everyone. First of all, I want to thank International Organization of Youth to create this event and mobilize all of the young people from all around the world today. I have had the privilege to work with International Organization of Youth since 2024. So my name is Lamarsa Lagron. I'm a UNESCO youth leader, youth advocate, and founder of Empowering Afghan Women, a nonprofit focused on expanding educational opportunities for young girls and young women in Afghanistan. I also worked on youth and policy issues throughout the United Nations, where I have participated in youth forums, consultation, and policy discussion focused on education, youth participation, peace, security, and sustainable development. My work with young people has taken me from grassroot education initiatives to international policy spaces at the United Nations. Through my work in Afghanistan and with Afghan girls, I have seen firsthand both the enormous potential of young people and the barriers that prevent them from reaching that potential. Today, I want to speak about the intersections of youth, artificial intelligence, and education, particularly for girls in Afghanistan. Women and girls in Afghanistan are facing severe restrictions on their education, employment, movement, and participation in public life. As opportunities for formal education have taken away from millions of girls in Afghanistan, technology and online learning have become increasingly important pathways for continuing their education and staying connected to the wider world. Through my organization, Empowering Afghan Women, I have worked to create educational opportunities for girls despite these barriers. The area that has become particularly exciting, the use of artificial intelligence. The girls we work with use AI to learn English and other languages, practice communication, explore coding, and learn programming languages. AI introduces them to a new world of technology, giving them opportunities to develop a skill that can shape their academic and professional future. And they are using AI at home with no formal classroom. But we have to also recognize the enormous digital divide. Sometimes two or even three girls in the same family share one smartphone to attend classes, communicate with teachers, and access education resources. For these girls, one smartphone can become a classroom, library, language laboratory, and a connection to a world of knowledge. This experience has shaped the way that I think about AI and my work at the United Nations as well. When we discuss about AI, digital transformation, and the future of the work at the global event, We cannot focus only on innovation, but we must also ask, who has access, who is being left behind, and whose voices are shaped the future of technology? AI cannot replace schools, teachers, or the fundamental right of every girl to receive an education. But when access to traditional education is restricted, AI and learning can provide a powerful additional pathway to learning creativity and opportunity. I believe young people shouldn't be simply the consumers of AI. They should be empowered to understand it, use its responsibility, and create it with it, and eventually shape the technologies that will define our future. Girls who have been excluded from opportunities should be at the center of our today's conversation. My work in Afghanistan through empowering Afghan women and my engagement with young people and policymakers at the United Nations have reinforced one belief. Technology is the most powerful when it comes to human opportunity. If you want an exclusive future shaped by AI, you must make sure that young people everywhere, including girls who are currently denied their basic right to education, have the opportunity to participate, building their future. The girls I work with shouldn't be simply be preparing for the future, but they should have the opportunity to create it. Thank you.

Thank you, Lamar, and for all the work that you do. And thank you for all of our speakers. We're now opening the floor to our youth interventions. And again, I'll call on the name and seat number, and then your mic will turn on red, then you'll be starting speaking. It will be on for two minutes, and then so we have to finish it in two minutes. that we can give as much chance to other speakers as possible. So now first I'm going to call on Grace Miller representing Restoring Rainbows, C2516. Wait, it will turn red then start speaking. Love that.

There you go. In my freshman year of high school, staring into my laptop at headlines and Instagram reels about educational disparity, I felt heartbroken. Not only because of the want of some communities, but also because of the waste of others, including my own school district. Usable school supplies abandoned in favor of the shiny and new. But I turned that heartbrokenness into a relentless drive for an initiative that could restore school supplies, improving educational accessibility while promoting sustainable practices, a nonprofit called Restoring Rainbows. AI has the power to provide educational access to millions worldwide with the capacity to produce personal learning resources and free accurate translations into dozens of languages. However, along with potential benefits within education, AI could have significant negative impacts on sustainability. increased CO2 emissions, water usage, and electronic waste among top concerns. In addition, climate-related issues will disproportionately affect the youngest generation, Gen. Z and Gen. Alpha, who make up 48% of Earth's population. This makes youth input imperative in AI development in order to protect the world that we will all inherit, because it is only through intentionally inclusive AI development that AI remains truly human-centered. And so it is my hope that students in this room and all around the world staring at their laptops right now at headlines and Instagram reels about AI development, that they will not feel heartbroken, but rather that they will follow their hearts, empowered to become the voice on the screen, to rally for the policies that they believe in, to fight for a seat at the table that is putting our futures on graphs and flowcharts, a future that is sitting at a school desk or staring down a football field or watching world leaders make decisions whose impacts they will not live to see. A future that starts today. Thank you.

Thank you, Grace, for those remarks. And Allison Rosen from Vanta for Foundation 2717.

Thank you for the floor. Good afternoon, esteemed delegates. My name is Alison Rosen, the founder of Vanta Forward Foundation, a nonprofit that provides devices and AI education to underserved communities. A few months ago, I asked a room of middle schoolers what artificial intelligence is. Not one of them could tell me that AI learns from patterns. These are the people that we call digital natives. We are making a policy for a generation that cannot even explain the technology we're governing. This issue is not only about access. I have put devices in a student's hands, but a device is not an education. A student can have the technology and still have no idea what's happening under the hood. Implementing AI education at a young age is necessary, and it's not too much too soon. By age 10, children are cognitively capable of the abstract reasoning this requires, how a system learns, what it's learning from, and why that specifically matters. The question we must answer is no longer whether students are ready to use AI, it's how can we prepare them for it? So I ask of us today that we treat AI literacy as a basic, not optional, as we shape global AI policy. Guardrails protect students from AI, but education prepares them for it. Thank you.

Thank you, Allison, for those remarks. And now I'll be calling on Yael Potter, representing Quantum Street 2515.

I would like to thank Mr. Mustafa, distinguished guests, and UN representatives for giving me the honor of speaking today. My name is Yael Potter. I'm 17 and the founder of Quantum Street, an educational platform and podcast about artificial intelligence, the fourth industrial revolution, and the future of work. I'm here to speak on advancing AI innovation while democratizing access and reskilling workers globally. We should refrain from placing heavy restrictions on AI development because while it is perceived as a great harm to the jobs, wages, and economic security of many, I've seen the technology also create unparalleled levels of economic prosperity. Through Quantum Street, I've met countless students as young as 14 who have become financially independent through scaling businesses using AI and generative tools. We are entering a time, a new industrial revolution, where information, assistance, and generative capability can be available to anyone. But of course, it is only beneficial to those who have it, know how to use it, or even to seek it out. The United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology collected data from 254 surveys about AI and the future of work. It found that 86% of respondents were aware of AI, yet 76 lacked an understanding of how the technology works. If we don't work to democratize skills and access, the economic gains from AI will only accrue disproportionately to individuals and countries that already possess the skills, infrastructure, and capital to use it. The UN should work to ensure that artificial intelligence functions as a tool for empowerment, entrepreneurship, and equity, rather than just inflict harm and displacement. I suggest we develop frameworks similar to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to evaluate and release global employment and labor data, evaluate patterns, and design reskilling programs accordingly. AI doesn't necessarily replace people, but it changes what skills are needed. Our job at this summit, standing here today at the UN, is to shape policy that.

Thank you, Yael. Thank you very much, first. All right, everyone, sorry for not being able to give a lot of time for our speakers. We'll have more time in the afternoon. Now, because it's lunchtime, and we have to give time for this space so that we can come back. Therefore, we're concluding the session. 00 with our workshop, and looking forward to get you guys back. All right, thank you, and have a great day.