2022 Y7 Final Report
Executive Summary
As the Canadian delegates selected by Young Diplomats of Canada, we were honoured to attend the Youth 7 (Y7) Summit In Berlin, May 16th - 20th, 2022. Hosted by the G7 Presidency, the Y7 is the official youth dialogue process to the G7. Four delegates represent youth from each of the G7 member countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and as a permanent voting observer, the European Union, as well as the G7’s partner countries for the year, which in 2022 were Ukraine, South Africa, Senegal, and Indonesia. In the months leading up to, and at the summit, delegates negotiated a communiqué presenting the views of young people across the G7 on key issues across 5 tracks being discussed by the G7. Each delegate was responsible for (a) specific track(s): Sustainable & Green Planet (Jaya Scott), Economic Transformation for Shared Progress (Michael Lecchino), Resilience of Democracies (Hargun Kaur), Global Health & Solidarity (Prativa Baral); and Youth, Peace & Security (Jaya Scott).
Highlights
• Pushing for a more intentional youth inclusion process domestically and internationally
• Engaging with multiple youth groups for focused consultations across the tracks and collecting data on youth priorities through a survey that reached young people across Canada
• Meeting with over 17 policy-makers and subject-matter experts
• Unanimously adopting the Y7 Communiqué, after negotiating for more than 10 weeks
• Advocating for youth voices and youth policy on G7 issues at many high-level meetings with Canadian senior bureaucrats in GAC, Members of Parliament, and Ministers among others
• Publishing a joint Op-Ed in The Hill Times calling for intergenerational governance
• Developing partnerships between YDC and the government of Canada to support the financial sustainability and equity of future delegations (i.e., initiated initial discussions with the Ministry of Women, Gender Equality and Youth) youngdiplomats.ca | @ydcanada
Key Take-Aways
1. It has been an honour to represent the resilience, ingenuity, thoughtfulness, and integrity of young Canadians at the international stage and domestically.
2. Young Canadians are experts in their own right - by tapping more intentionally into their skillset and commitment to a better country and a better world, the government of Canada has much to gain.
3. As Canadians, we have much to offer and much to learn from others in a global setting - we encourage all young Canadians to take flight in expanding their global citizenship and to seize opportunities to connect with wonderful people from around the world.
4. Seizing opportunities isn’t an equal playing field for all - we urge Canadian and international policymakers to build a more equitable system that empowers all young people - particularly those who are most marginalized.
5. To all young people: be bold in your ambition - one of the great things youth contribute to policy discussions is a powerful vision of a better world. Together, we can build that future.
Up Next
We are going to continue to advocate for more intentional youth inclusion across the Canadian government, one that does not tokenize young people as youth, but genuinely sees that partnerships with young people, in all of their diversity, is a win for Canada. We are pursuing follow-up advocacy with Minister Steven Guilbeault, looking to continue writing Op-Eds, and working to continue to represent young people and call for meaningful youth participation in each of our respective fields.