Intergenerational dialogue seeks to empower youth on the gender equality and women’s empowerment journey in China
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Beijing, China — To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+30), and to mark International Women’s Day 2025, the UN system in China, the UN Thematic Group on Youth (UNTGY) and UN Thematic Group on Gender (UNGTG), under the leadership of UN Women, organized an intergenerational dialogue titled “30 for 2030: Reunion for ALL Women and Girls” in Beijing on 7 March.
Accounting for 28.4 per cent of China’s population, youth (aged 14–35) are critical agents of positive change. As underscored in China’s Medium- and Long-Term Youth Development Plan (2016–2025), young people are the “country’s future and the hope for realizing the Chinese dream.” Empowering them should significantly accelerate progress towards Beijing+30 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is particularly important as youth empowerment and gender equality (SDG 5) are integrated across more than half of the SDGs.
The event brought together more than 80 young leaders from across China, alongside representatives from the All-China Women’s Federation, United Nations agencies, think tanks, financial institutions, the private sector, civil society and academia.
Participants reflected on how the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action has shaped China’s gender equality agenda and discussed persistent barriers to fully realizing the Declaration and the SDGs. They identified opportunities to close gender gaps and foster cross-sector, intergenerational collaboration among gender equality advocates to drive transformative change.
Young leaders also shared innovative and practical approaches to mainstreaming gender equality within youth empowerment programmes and initiatives. These included organizing social innovation and entrepreneurship competitions that invited technology engineers and university students to develop Artificial Intelligence-powered solutions tailored to the needs of women with disabilities.
UN heads of agencies engaged directly with the youth leaders, who jointly committed through a statement to advancing gender equality and shaping a more inclusive and sustainable future. The youth commitment statement centres on six key areas: a digital revolution; zero violence; climate justice; freedom from poverty; empowering adolescent girls and young women as catalysts for change; and strengthening international cooperation for gender equality, aligned with UN Women’s “6+1” Beijing+30 Action Agenda and China’s national review report on Beijing+30.
Smriti Aryal, Country Representative of UN Women China, emphasized the transformative power and potential of youth: “Young people in their diversity are the force for change, they are the future and beacon of hope for humanity, and our planet. Beijing+30 and the Pact for the Future call for stronger support and empowerment of young people, especially young women and girls, so that they can fulfil their lives’ full potential and contribute to the betterment of this world.”
Song Li, Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women’s Federation, said: “On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Beijing World Conference on Women, we are committed to joining hands with everyone – especially the younger generation – to carry forward the spirit of the Conference. Together, we will advance the global women’s movement towards greater equity, inclusion and high-quality development, and work tirelessly to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and build a global community of shared future.”
Siddharth Chatterjee, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in China, stated that: “We can and must fulfil the promise of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the SDGs by galvanizing the will, commitment and resources from stakeholders, seizing this historical momentum.”
The dialogue fostered intergenerational connections between gender equality advocates and experts – both young and experienced – to strengthen networks, share knowledge and information, and brainstorm joint future actions to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in China and beyond.
