Generation Hope Goals 2026: Actions for the SDGs - Final Pitch Session

Opening Remarks by Beate Trankmann, Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific

February 25, 2026

Event Detail: Associated event of the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development

Date and time: 25 February 2026, 11:30

Location: Conference Room 3, United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok

Excellencies,

Distinguished partners and colleagues from Save the Children, UN ESCAP, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre for Asia-Pacific and ChildFund International

Most importantly, young leaders and innovators,

Good morning.

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Generation Hope Goals 2026, held alongside this year’s Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development.

We are now well past the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda. Progress across the Sustainable Development Goals in our region remains uneven. In some areas, particularly climate action, we are seeing setbacks when we urgently need acceleration.

Children and young people are among those most affected by the climate crisis, from extreme weather to food insecurity. You are inheriting challenges you did not create.

On the other hand, you are also a generation powered by hope, not defined by the challenges you face, but by your ideas and your willingness to take action. That is what Generation Hope Goals is all about, not passive hope, but hope translated into action.

Across this region, you, young people, are confronting the realities of our time with clarity and determination, choosing not to look away, but to step forward.

Last year, for example, Ecolery, a youth-led startup from Bangladesh, developed edible cutlery to tackle plastic pollution, proving that practical innovation, when supported, can reduce waste and inspire wider change.

At UNDP, we are committed to fostering enabling environments for young leaders to lead and innovate for sustainable development. Space to share knowledge. Space to test ideas. Space to collaborate across borders and generations.

Because the future must be shaped with the generation that will inherit it.

Building it begins with you bringing your ideas to life and stepping forward with leadership and purpose.

But leadership does not grow in isolation. It requires trust. It requires opportunity. And it requires systems that remove barriers, expand access to support and financing, and create real pathways for young leaders to thrive.

Through UNDP’s Youth Moonshot, we are working to build that nurturing environment — investing in young leaders and strengthening the ecosystem around you. Because the progress and transformations you are shaping must be supported by all of us.

In closing, I want to say to our finalists: today is one milestone in a much longer journey. You chose to build, to refine, and to stand behind your ideas. That determination already matters.

To our partners: thank you for walking this path with us. Progress like this is only possible through collaboration across institutions, sectors, and generations.

And to all of you here today, you are a generation that gives us hope. Not only for what you imagine, but for what you are already building. Keep going with determination. We will continue to stand by your side, support you, and believe in your leadership.

Thank you. I wish you a meaningful and inspiring day ahead.