By Aryampa Brighton
Every 12th August, we celebrate and mainstream young people’s voices, actions and their meaningful, universal and equitable engagement. The day is dedicated to bringing the youth issues to the global attention and to remind the world political leaders and their governments that the youth must be considered partners in today’s global society.
This year 2025, the theme for International Youth Day is “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond” with a strong emphasis on the transformative role of young people in the localization of the SDGs, translating the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into local realities.
Today must remind governments to focus on their budding population. Uganda is one of the youngest countries in the world. More that 70% of our population is below 30. The high number of young people is an opportunity for the Uganda and world’s growth but only if these new generations are fully empowered to realise their best potential. It is especially important that young people are included in decision making and given appropriate opportunities for work and to innovate. Today, the world of development has configured around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like iron filings around a magnet. World leaders, academicians, CSOs and even businesses are swearing allegiance to the SDGs but what is central is that the value in the SDGs lies in the actual achievement. This achievement will only come if we think and act differently from the way we have in our past. It will come if we strike the right balance through inclusive policy and politics to action and impact. In the past, we have trusted the decision in the hands of the few with power. Not to ignore their accomplishments but it has not worked. We need to rethink big and harder, we need to look at the groups we have very much ignored in the past. The groups that face the worst consequences of the decisions and policies passed by the few global leaders. We must look at translating the world’s blueprint of sustainable development into local realities. Involving youth and society in championing the SDGs is not merely a question of inclusion, but one that is fundamental for economic growth, innovation, peace, security and sustainable development.
Today, let us focus on the Climate Action, SDG 13 given that we have seen an overwhelming increase in youth voices and actions demanding climate action in Uganda and globally for the last four or so years. Every day most Ugandans know and see that their communities are grappling with climatic impacts and are undoubtedly affirming that the ongoing climate chaos is a global crisis. As a strong campaigner who has not only participated in the stopEACOP activism but mobilized, empowered and educated youth to stand against the expansion of fossil fuels in Uganda and globally, SDG 13 reveals how deeply intertwined climate action is with global development. Climate is not an isolated issue. It affects nearly all the 17 SDGs. Local communities experience more frequent floods, droughts, and erratic weather patterns. Under SDG 6 Clean Water: Oil infrastructure like the EACOP project threatens water supplies in Uganda and Tanzania. Under SDG 2 Zero Hunger, the shifting seasons harm smallholder farmers, pushing vulnerable populations into food insecurity. Under SDG 15 (Life on Land); Forests and wildlife corridors are endangered by fossil fuel exploration and industrial projects among others.
Clearly, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires action that is inclusive, localized, and driven by those who will live with the long-term consequences. As climate issues escalate globally and locally, the role of youth must shift from passive observers to powerful agents of change. The call to institutionalize youth participation is no longer optional. It’s essential to translating SDGs into impactful, community-centered local realities. The StopEACOP movement led largely by African youth offers a real-world example of how youth engagement can influence global finance, local communities, and national policy. Their role and actions in pressurizing local and international banks and insurers to withdraw funding from the project, public awareness raising of land rights, environmental damages, endangered wildlife, critical biodiversity, community displacement and amplification of local voices through social media engagements, peaceful protests, target advocacy, university and public dialogues and international platforms are pushing for a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
But to move from reaction to proactive policy influence, youth participation must be formally institutionalized at all levels. Local government councils should reserve seats for youth representatives, national climate policies must include youth consultations during drafting and implementation and Education systems should integrate SDG literacy, enabling young people to take informed action. This should be true youth participation not just symbolic involvement. It must be structured through youth councils, advisory boards, and legal frameworks, funded and respected not just as beneficiaries but as co-creators of development solutions. We must accept that young people are contributing daily to the benefit of their communities and nations. From providing support to the elderly, to advocating for justice and equality, young people have proven their centrality to building and sustaining healthy communities. Instead of rewarding and appreciating their contributions with flowers to motivate them, we are rewarding with reprisals, we are attacking, threatening and criminalizing them to suppress their opinions and speech.
The SDGs may represent our last chance to transition to a country, largely a world characterized by justice, opportunity, peace, and stability. We must do everything possible not to miss this chance. That means accepting that everyone must contribute to finding solutions of the global issues we face at all levels. The young people who make the larger population must be at its heartbeat.
The writer is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda and Chief Executive Officer, Youth for Green Communities (YGC).
