Naomi Ekpoki, UN Youth Champion for Disarmament, participates in thematic session at the 2022 ECOSOC Youth Forum

On 19 April 2022, UN Youth Champion for Disarmament, Naomi Ekpoki, participated in the SDG 5 Thematic Session on “Generation Equality: Building Back Better with Young Women and Girls at the Centre”.

The session formed part of the 2022 ECOSOC Youth Forum, which this year addressed the theme of “Building back better from COVID- 19 while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda.” As an annual initiative, the ECOSOC Youth Forum provides a key platform for young people to contribute to policy discussions at the United Nations through their collective ideas, solutions, and innovations.

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs co-organised the session on SDG 5, Gender Equality, with UN Women, the World Organization of the Scout Movement, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

UN Youth Champion for Disarmament, Naomi Ekpoki, joined fellow youth speakers to discuss the interlinkages between COVID-19, gender inequality, gender-based violence (GBV) and climate change. Participants also spoke about the disproportionate impact on young women and girls due to the rising social and economic pressures and lockdown measures triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Naomi Ekpoki presented on the work of Senema Love Foundation (SLF), a youth-led organisation that Naomi founded in Nigeria, to empower financially challenged children and youths, especially surviving victims of violence, through education, capacity building and skills training.

Naomi noted the organisation’s efforts to train young people on principles of peace building, ways to prevent violent extremism and how to enact a positive, ripple effect on other young people within their societies. “We have had workshops where we train young people to go into their communities and organise their own initiatives as well to be a positive impact regarding these issues,” she highlighted.

Naomi also noted SFL’s recent efforts to explore the linkages between peace building and scalable solutions aimed towards achieving climate action. “We are also incorporating climate justice into our programmes, and trying to connect the dots between climate justice, peace building, countering gender-based violence and generally getting more young people involved,” Naomi concluded.

The session underlined the role of young people as the ultimate force for change, working together to build a more secure, peaceful, and sustainable world for all. 

A recording of the session is available to watch here. For more information, please visit the ECOSOC Youth Forum website.

You can also find out more about the UN Youth Champions for Disarmament programme here.