Video

On June 5, National Youth Forum took place in the Baku Congress Centre on “Environmental Aspects of 2030 Agenda”.

Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and head of IDEA Public Association, Goodwill Ambassador of the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Leyla Aliyeva attended the Forum.

Arranged in connection with the World Environment Day, the event’s objective is to enlighten the youth on the Sustainable Development Objectives (SDO), in particular, their ecological dimensions, as well as to increase the role of the youth in implementing the 2030 Agenda by encouraging them to be ambassadors of SDO.

Leyla Aliyeva addressed the opening ceremony.

Leyla Aliyeva said she was delighted to be together with the Forum participants to celebrate the World Environment Day, which is the most important day for the agitation of enlightenment and activities aiming to protect our planet and its natural reserves. Saying “Our event is a great opportunity to mark this day and have discourse over pressing issues concerning the environment and sustainable development”, - Leyla Aliyeva emphasized that we have to remember that time slips by and that there is no time, but now to start acting.

“In 2015, world leaders approved the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, a universal way leading forward towards solution of all challenges existing in the world. In the Agenda, 17 goals and 196 targets have been determined for universal sustainable development, to be achieved until 2030. When establishing the National Coordination Council for sustainable development in October 2016, with the objective of implementing sustainable development targets in Azerbaijan, our country demonstrated its commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda on the highest level. Today, 8 resident and non-resident entities of the UN endorse the efforts made by Azerbaijan towards achieving these 17 goals. I want to mention with the feeling of joy that our organization IDEA has been successfully cooperating with the UN in a number of projects aiming to promote the Sustainable Development Objectives in Azerbaijan. Carrying out a number of agitational events, including holding of events with the UN Development Programme, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization - FAO and UNICEF, are planned for 2018. Of course, this large forum is an outcome of our cooperation. I am hopeful this would increase awareness on issues associated with the environment, and help the youth combine their efforts towards achieving global objectives. The 2030 Agenda is in fact a youth agenda, as primary participants ensuring its development are the youth”, - said Leyla Aliyeva.

Then, minister of ecology and natural resources Mukhtar Babayev and acting resident coordinator of the UN in Azerbaijan Edwards Karvardin took the floor.

Thereafter, a video address of the UN secretary general in connection with the World Environment Day was shown.

The Forum continued in panel sessions.