Engagement Opportunities in the lead up to WSSD2 2025

This event provides a platform for over 1,000 young people to engage in dialogue with Member States and other stakeholders, sharing their perspectives and actions aimed at transforming the world into a fairer, greener, and more sustainable place. The 2025 Forum will be guided by the theme of ECOSOC and the HLPF: "Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring no one is left behind." The Forum will offer opportunities to discuss concrete actions and recommendations related to SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 8, SDG 14, and SDG 17, which will be examined during the HLPF in July 2025. The 2025 ECOSOC Youth Forum is convened by the President of ECOSOC and organized by DESA in collaboration with the UN Youth Office, the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD), and co-convened by the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) and the International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organizations (ICMYO), with technical input from youth organizations relevant to the Forum’s theme.
On the final day of the Forum, a plenary session will provide youth with a platform to share their views on social development, addressing key social challenges such as poverty, employment, education, and social inclusion. Panelists will be invited to discuss youth-driven solutions and strategies to advance social development. Young panelists will highlight priorities, challenges, and recommendations for shaping global and national social development policies, as well as preparations for the second World Summit for Social Development. This session is organized by DISD-DESA in collaboration with MGCY.

A Thematic Session aims to assess the status of SDG 8 in the Arab region, identify lessons learned from existing initiatives and policies (including innovative solutions and success stories), consider emerging issues and trends, building on the political momentum of the Summit and Pact of the Future towards further progress by 2030.

Organized by ESCWA in collaboration with partner UN agencies and the League of Arab States . The Forum will include a high-level ministerial discussion “On the road to WSSD2”, actionable recommendations for the region will derive from the session

Taking place following the Summit of the Future, the Regional Forum is also a unique opportunity to reflect on the outcomes of the Summit and articulate concrete actions for their implementation. Moreover, ARFSD-11 will also be held in the leadup to the Second World Summit for Social Development to be held in Qatar from 4 to 6 November 2025. The region will therefore seize the opportunity of ARFSD-11 to articulate Africa’s common position for the Second World Summit for Social Development.

Organized by the League of Arab States in collaboration with ESCWA and other UN partners.
Ministerial discussion that will focus on the priorities of the Arab region within the framework of WSSD2, and on the most pressing social development issues facing the region in light of the geopolitical developments

The high-level meeting will focus on the priorities of the Arab region and the common regional priorities within the framework of the main topics of the upcoming world summit, in addition to discussing the most important social development issues facing the region in light of the geopolitical changes witnessed by the region. This event is led by the League of Arab States with partners from UNESCWA, UNDP, ILO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, UNHCR, WB, AASTMT, ALO and Union of Arab Chambers

3rd "peer learning round table" discussion on SDG8, co leading organization with ECE

Multistakeholder meeting to review SDG progress in the UNECE region (Europe, North America, Central Asia, Israel) and exchange on acceleration actions; civil society consultation (1 April): self-organized and inclusive consultation coordinated by the regional civil society engagement mechanism. Both the RFSD and the preparatory civil society consultation will discuss issues closely related to the Second World Summit for Social Development, such as social and economic inclusion as part of the in-depth review of SDGs 3, 5 and 8. Inputs could feed into the summit through various channels, including inputs by member States, UN system and civil society.

In the context of the Sustainable Development Forum of LAC, this panel is proposed as a moment to share the views and proposals from LAC countries, represented by Chile and Brazil (current and upcoming Presidents of the RCSDLAC) with the DSG Amina Mohammed and the USG Li Junhua, and the ECLAC Executive Secretary, Jose Manuel Salazar Xirinachs.

Organized by the Arab NGO Network for Development, Engaging CSOs and youth in WSSD2 regional preparations

The purpose of this Ad-hoc group is to promote the establishment of favorable conditions for digital empowerment, freedom of expression, media development, access to information and language technology, alongside artistic creation in indigenous languages.

In collaboration with ILO, IOM, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN WOMEN, the second event was held as an Associated Event of the 12th Asia-Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development (APFSD). It built on the special event organized on October 10, 2024, and attended by representatives from Governments, the UN, academia, civil society and development partners providing a space to discuss social development issues of importance to the region with a focus on their interlinkages. The event comprised a high-level panel discussion and four thematic roundtable discussions. The high-level panel, moderated by ESCAP, set the stage by addressing the broader themes of social development and their intersection with regional challenges.

High level speakers from OHCHR, ILO and other relevant partners will deliver high-level messages that can be linked to WSSD2 and UN advocacy. The 58th session will also include a presentation on the work mandated by the Human Rights Council on care and support economy and systems (RES/54/6).

The multi-stakeholder regional consultation was organized as an associated event of the 12th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (25-28 February 2025). The consultation focused on social development priorities in Asia and the Pacific, emphasizing inclusive and people-centered development. Thematic areas of particular interest included the need to strengthen social protection systems, preparing for an ageing population, while strengthening intergenerational solidarity and relations, meeting increasing care demands, while also taking into account gender equality considerations and how governments can ensure inclusive development to reduce poverty and inequality and create opportunities across all groups of society.

Organized by the GCC Executive Bureau and IOM in collaboration with ESCWA.
Ministerial discussion to support GCC countries in preparations for WSSD2 and enhance their participation in preparatory processes at national, regional and global levels

The Conference was organized by the Ministry of National Territory and Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy of the Government of Morocco, UN-Habitat, GLTN and the Arab Land Initiative, in partnership with the League of Arab States, UNESCWA, UNECA, the World Bank, BMZ, the Netherlands’ RVO, and Morocco land sector stakeholders. Adequate Housing for All is an increasingly prominent concern in peace and security with housing, land and property rights and the destruction of civilian infrastructure being major features in recent conflicts especially in the Arab region. Land disputes and scarcity, as well as insecurity of tenure, are important indicators of inequality and drive conflicts between communities and groups in several contexts. Secure housing, land and property rights are an essential component of peace processes and post-conflict stabilisation. To ensure integration of land issues in the intergovernmental preparatory processes leading up to the Second World Summit on Social Development, UN-Habitat collaborates closely with the Kingdom of Morocco, as the host of the conference, and H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations, as the appointed cofacilitators.