The WYF 2021 Is Now Officially Open

The World Youth Forum (WYF) has been launched, with the presence and under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. 

The opening ceremony started off with Sara Badr’s welcome note and speech, the spokesperson of the World Youth Forum, in which she welcomed all the participants. Then, a robot welcomed President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the attendees and expressed its happiness to participate in this edition of the Forum. 

Following the welcome note, the UN Secretary General, the WHO Director General, the representative of the World Bank, the UN Special Envoy on Youth, and a group of speakers delivered their speeches through the video conference. 

Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, urged youth to keep generating ideas and to find solutions in order to create the future of the world. In addition to that, he urged world leaders to listen to youth. In his speech, he also noted that today is a good opportunity to create a better future, thanks to the youth participating in this edition of the Forum. He concluded his speech by stressing that youth have always been the source of innovative ideas and solutions.  

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized on the fact that the World Health Organization exerts efforts to support youth who should be a part of the global system. He also expressed his hope to end this pandemic in 2022. 

The World Bank representative reiterated that the world is facing many challenges, especially poverty eradication and advancing development, issues that youth play a vital role to address. He added, the pandemic has its negative implications on employment, social inclusion, and education. In this regard, he stressed on the necessity of improving the labor market, so as to provide sustainable jobs. He further suggested that there is a need to improve the legislative framework and promote a green economy that will create jobs.  

The UN Special Envoy on Youth expressed his happiness to communicate with youth in order to promote peace, in hope of making the UN closer to youth through the creation of a world that recognizes youth. He pointed out that the UN Chief has made numerous recommendations for promoting cooperation and collaboration. However, he emphasized that these recommendations cannot be achieved if we do not engage with young generations. 

Afterwards, a documentary film illustrated life before the pandemic and how it has changed in the post-pandemic age. The film also recalled the moment where the Director of the WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. The film was ended by the awe-inspiring quote: “Think Positive, but Test Negative.” 

Then, Mariam Al-Khashit, Rana Raees, and Ahmed Salama delivered a message to the world in which they stressed that humanity has been affected by conflicts and wars. They further expressed their fears of going back to wars and conflicts after the end of this pandemic. They ended this message by urging the world to avoid such a scenario in order to maintain peace and spread love. Three historic figures, that is, Albert Einstein, Galal El-Din Al-Romy, and Mother Teresa, were back on the WYF stage by hologram. Einstein, for instance, said humanity should not repeat the old mistakes. 

After the hologram show, the Spanish actress Itziar Ituño Martínez who is known for her role in the Spanish series “La Casa De Papel” praised Egypt which is incredible with its heritage. Besides, the opening song “We Are Back Again” and a video entitled “Back Together” were displayed, highlighting the story of the WYF. 

At the end of the opening ceremony, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi welcomed youth from around the globe and said that the WYF has become a platform for dialogue and communication between youth and a means for exchanging and sharing different views, notably in this critical moment of human history. He also stressed that ending conflicts, managing differences, and ensuring cooperation are the only possible ways for overcoming the crises that humanity faces. Eventually, he officially launched the WYF.   

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