【Report】Summary of the seminar delivered by Aaron Chan

Future Forward: Shaping G20 Futures Through Diplomacy

5 December 2024

In this seminar, Aaron Chan presented on the role of G20 in promoting youth diplomacy. Mr Chan started by outlining the Youth 20 (or Y20), a part of the G20 which specifically serves to connect policymakers with youth. The Y20 is the official engagement group in the G20 for youth-based issues, and Y20 delegates are expected to provide actionable recommendations to G20 policymakers. Y20 delegates, however, are not directly involved in policymaking. Drawing from his firsthand experience, Mr Chan described the tasks of a Y20 delegate in amplifying youth voices in economic, social, and environmental issues, advocating for their nation’s youth policy priorities, and facilitating cross-cultural exchange. Mr Chan continued by elaborating the process of joining the Y20. The process usually occurs through a series of selection processes that vary depending on the member state.

The seminar proceeded with a lively question-and-answer session, where participants raised issues related to the impact of the Y20 and the process of making recommendations. Participants asked about how disagreements among delegates were handled and whether a delegate’s recommendations need to be consistent with the preferred stance of the member state they are representing. There were questions on the actual impact of Y20 recommendations.

The seminar concluded with a brief group discussion section where participants discussed the question of whether the role of youth matters in international politics.