The UN Youth Delegates at the 2026 Regional Forum on Sustainable Development: Between the SDGs and ‘Beyond GDP’

++ Youth delegates Matilda & Florian report ++

The day before the forum, we took part in the Civil Society Pre-Meeting and the Youth Pre-Meeting. Together with other young people, youth delegates and civil society organisations, we worked on joint statements for the roundtables on this year’s focus SDGs and finalised the Youth Report. We found the international exchange with young people from a wide variety of backgrounds particularly valuable.

On the first day of the conference, the programme began with the Opening Session and the High-Level Policy Segment. In addition to national statements from the participating states, the results of the civil society and youth consultations were also presented there, and we had the opportunity to exchange views with staff from the Permanent Mission in Geneva. We then attended various peer-learning roundtables on this year’s focus SDGs: clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17). Matilda took part in the roundtable on SDG 7, focusing on resilient and sustainable energy systems in the UNECE region, whilst Florian followed the discussions on SDG 11, covering sustainable urban development, mobility and road safety.

The second day of the conference also offered fascinating insights into regional challenges and potential solutions. At the roundtable on SDG 6, discussions included preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference, and it was made clear that, despite significant progress, there remains a need for action in the UNECE region regarding access to clean water and sanitation.

A particular highlight for us was the concluding panel discussion on the topic of ‘Beyond GDP’. The focus was on how social progress can be measured more comprehensively in future than simply through gross domestic product. Florian contributed the perspective of young people and emphasised that well-being, environmental sustainability, social justice and intergenerational justice must be given greater weight in political decision-making. He said: “[…] my generation has a different vision of how our children’s lives should be better than our own.” He also made it clear: “[…] we must start using the ‘Beyond GDP’ metrics in exactly the same way as we currently use GDP metrics.”

For us, the RFSD 2026 was a very enriching conference. Following the national HLPF in Berlin, we were now also able to gain an international perspective on this year’s focus SDGs, make new contacts and further strengthen our collaboration with other young people and civil society. The jointly drafted Youth Report will also guide us in the coming weeks as we continue our preparations for the 2026 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. We will certainly remain committed to the ‘Beyond GDP’ theme for some time to come.