Side event at the 2023 ECOSOC Youth Forum in New York, US

SIDE EVENT AT THE 2023 ECOSOC YOUTH FORUm: “Disarmament for Development: Rebalancing Military Expenditure with Development Priorities”

Through an examination of these issues, the event will discuss the opportunity cost of excessive military spending and how this relates to the achievement of Agenda 2030 and specifically SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals), which has been selected by Member States for in-depth discussions at the 2023 High-Level Political Forum.

Agenda:

3 min Opening remarks Ivor Fung (UNODA)

8 min Setting the stage: recent trends in military expenditure Nan Tian (SIPRI)

30 min Panel discussion on: What actions could be taken to redirect funds? What are the consequences of military expenditure on the full implementation of Agenda 2030 and specifically SDG 17?
towards initiatives to advance the SDGs? How are young people contributing to disarmament and arms control?

Panelists: HE Lachezara Stoeva (TBC), Patrick Karekezi (youth representative), International Peace Bureau,  Christelle Barakat (youth representative), as well as Nan Tian (SIPRI).

15 min Q&A, moderated by Alexandra Marksteiner (UNODA)

3 min closing remarks & Showing Spesterra Youth Video Challenge winner’s work by Chief RDIOB / Y4D

20 min Networking session