Dubai, UAE, August 14, 2016:  To commemorate International Youth Day , UN Women and UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development organized  the first ever panel discussion on 'Investing in Young Women’s Leadership for the Implementation of the SDGs' at the United Nations in New York . 

16 inspiring young women from all over the world were invited to share their messages at this panel. 16 year old Kehkashan Basu from Dubai , who is the Founder President of youth organization , Green Hope and the Youth Ambassador of World Future Council,  was the youngest speaker at this epoch making discussion which sought to highlight the key role of young women in leading the implementation process of the sustainable development goals. 

In her speech , Kehkashan shared the work done by her organization 'Green Hope' in engaging youth , especially girls , in the sustainable development process. She said ' 

In order to ensure that women and girls are at the centre of the youth developmental framework, we need to design a gender-responsive climate action plan which empowers women and strengthens gender equality through climate action. This plan must be specific to regions and take into account local challenges and biases with regards to women, especially rural communities. It is also important to understand that women and girls do not face the same needs and vulnerabilities in the face of natural disasters and climate change. Thus governments, UN agencies, regional organizations and other stakeholders should build institutional and individual capacity and tools for mainstreaming gender into the Disaster Risk Reduction Plans.

With the global population crossing 7 billion, the earth's finite natural resources are under tremendous strain. Economic progress is being achieved at the cost of the climate and the environment while, paradoxically, the polarization between the global north and south continues to increase. The youth of today are aghast at the escalating rate of environmental degradation as a consequence of climate change and we are seriously concerned at the prospect of us, future generation, inheriting a barren planet that cannot sustain its inhabitants. By 2030, our goal should be for a PLANET 50:50 and create an equal world by empowering women and girls, so that in 2030 girls would have equal opportunities as boys and the freedom to live their lives the way they want. '

The event was telecast live on UN Web TV and reached out to millions across the world

Kehkashan is in New York to also speak at the ongoing United Nations Youth Assembly , where earlier in the day , she conducted a workshop on Sustainable Consumption and Production.