Amakobe Sande’s address @ Global Young Leaders Dialogue Annual Forum 2025

December 12 , 2025

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The Global Young Leaders Dialogue Annual Forum 2025 was successfully held in Beijing from November 18 to 20. The event was hosted by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), co-organized by the Secretariat of the Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) program, and supported by the Haidian District Human Resources Bureau and the Haidian District Foreign Affairs Office. At the Opening Ceremony on November 19, Ms. Amakobe Sande, UNICEF Representative to China, delivered an inspiring address on behalf of the international organization.

Amakobe Sande’s address @ Global Young Leaders Dialogue Annual Forum 2025

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Below is the full speech delivered by Representative Amakobe Sande. The English transcription and Chinese translation are for reference only; please refer to the video speech for the accurate content.

Distinguished Madam Mabel Miao, Secretary General of CCG; Party Secretary Liu Yong; and my dear friend, Dr. Henry Wang, President of CCG; more importantly, let me also say, dear young people and friends of UNICEF, it’s indeed a pleasure to join you at the Global Young Leaders Dialogue Annual Forum.

And indeed, what makes this forum special is not just the theme that we will be discussing, but the energy and the purpose that you all bring—young leaders from 30 countries united by a belief that innovation should serve people and also create a fair world.

Across the world, UNICEF sees young people designing AI tools for learning, for building green startups, for strengthening climate resilience and using digital platforms for social impact. Young people are showing us that the youth are not just passive recipients of technology, they are also co-creators who have to be taken seriously in this digital age.

Yet we know that the benefits of this transformation are still uneven. Many young people, especially girls and young women, lack access, skills or safe places to participate fully in digital life. AI and the green transition hold incredible promise, but without intention, they can deepen divides.

And that is why a platform like the Global Young Leaders Dialogue really matters. Your leadership, your readiness to collaborate across continents, across cultures and across sectors are essential to shaping a more inclusive digital future.

Ladies and gentlemen, artificial intelligence is reshaping how we learn, how we work, how we solve problems. But for AI to truly be a force for good, it must be ethical, it must be inclusive, and it must be centered on human rights.

Girls face higher risks in digital spaces. They have fewer opportunities in STEM, as we know, and are more likely to see their jobs disrupted by automation. If AI is to expand opportunity, young people, especially young women, must have the skills, the confidence and the voice to shape it. And that is why UNICEF emphasizes future ready skills that go beyond employability. Young people are telling us that they need critical thinking skills, digital literacy, leadership skills, capital and the ability to navigate online spaces safely. These skills allow young people not only to use technology, but to influence how it is designed and also how technology is governed.

 

Digital learning is also reshaping education, but technology only works when it truly improves learning outcomes and reaches those who need it the most. UNICEF is helping countries build inclusive digital learning ecosystems where connectivity, open platforms and empowered teachers work together to strengthen learning. Through UNICEF’s “Giga” initiative, for example, over 30,000 schools are now connected to the internet, turning connectivity into a foundation for opportunity.

Another example, UNICEF’s “Accessible Digital Textbooks” initiative. This develops curriculum based digital textbooks designed with universal design for learning principles and accessibility features so that children with or without disabilities can learn together in inclusive classrooms. Implemented with ministries of education and disability organizations, this accessible digital textbook initiative is supporting system level scale up of equitable digital learning.

In China, our partnership with educational authorities is helping rural and urban schools share digital resources and reduce learning gaps. These are a few concrete examples of digital transformations grounded in inclusivity and grounded in equity.

Young people are also looking for pathways into green and digital economies. So through the “Generation Unlimited” initiative, UNICEF works with governments, with companies, with youth networks to help millions of young people gain digital, green, entrepreneurial and leadership skills. And globally, more than 2.5 million young people in 2024 alone earned job relevant credentials through another one of our initiatives called the “Passport to Earning” platform.

And across China, Asia and Africa, youth innovation initiatives supported by UNICEF are helping young entrepreneurs turn their ideas into solutions in renewable energy, in inclusive tech and in climate-smart agriculture.

To the young leaders here today, you’re already demonstrating that global challenges cannot be solved by governments and institutions alone. Youth leadership is not something for the future. We like to speak of young people being the leaders of the future, but they are leaders today. This transformation is happening now.

So UNICEF stands with you as a partner, supporter and champion of your ideas. We believe deeply that young people must help shape the governance of new technologies and the direction of the green and digital transformation.

The next generation, ladies and gentlemen, is ready, and together, we can build a digital future where every young person can learn, lead and thrive.

Thank you!