LocationsOpening Remarks by Mr James George at the 2025 Shanghai Jiao Tong University SDG July Camp
June 20, 2025
UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in China, James George, delivered remarks virtually at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Shanghai Jiao Tong University SDG July Camp.
Dear Professor Liu Weidong, Vice President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University,
Dear Professor Ma Wei, Deputy Director of Global Cooperation and Exchange,
Distinguished faculty members, colleagues, and students,
On behalf of the United Nations Development Programme in China, I am delighted to join you today for the opening of the 2025 Shanghai Jiao Tong University SDG July Camp.
In 2015, all the United Nations Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—a global call to action and the most ambitious blueprint ever conceived to protect people and our planet. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a shared vision for the future—one where no one is left behind.
Today, nearly a decade later, our world is changing dramatically. The newly released 2025 Human Development Report highlights both the promise and the perils of this digitally transformational era—especially as we navigate the rise of AI. It reminds us that while technology is powerful, it is we who decide how that power is used.
The report also reveals that human development progress is experiencing an unprecedented slowdown, reaching a 35-year low, as we continue to grapple with the lingering impacts of COVID-19 and other global crises. This moment demands not just urgency but new approaches to leadership.
That is why your presence here matters. Solving today’s emerging challenges won’t be possible without cultivating a new generation of leaders.
The SDGs cannot be achieved without the vision, creativity, and action of young people.
At UNDP, we see youth not only as beneficiaries of development, but also as drivers of it. Across our work in over 170 countries and territories, we empower young changemakers to become catalysts for inclusive, sustainable development.
Here in China, this is especially important as there are over 400 million young people (aged 14-35), making up 28.4% of the total population (7th National Population Census, 2020).
Our commitment to youth empowerment is continually evolving.
"Solving today’s emerging challenges won’t be possible without cultivating a new generation of leaders. The SDGs cannot be achieved without the vision, creativity, and action of young people."
In youth leadership and entrepreneurship, UNDP launched Youth Co:Lab in 2017, a regional initiative to empower young people to accelerate the SDGs through innovation and social enterprise. To date, we’ve supported over 500 youth-led start-ups in China, and co-developed 12 online courses to equip young innovators with practical tools and real-world case studies to scale their impact.
When it comes to gender empowerment, our HER Digital Future Bootcamp has been breaking barriers by equipping more than 6,000 young girls across 100 rural schools with STEM skills, digital tools, and knowledge of the SDGs to design innovative solutions that address real-world problems in their communities.
Additionally, through our Fellowship Programme, in collaboration with partners including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, we have been supporting the professional development of young people, offering them the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge and experience in development work.
In SDG education, and in close collaboration with the UN family and partners, over 110,000 young people received training through the Movers Programme with 21 SDG courses over the past 5 years. Last summer alone, more than 4,000 young Movers volunteers from over 400 universities in China joined Movers4Climate, bringing Green Classes to over 500 rural schools, directly empowering more than 50,000 rural children with climate knowledge and skills.
These efforts share one conviction: you are not merely tomorrow’s leaders—you are the changemakers of today. Every startup founded, every girl designing her first app, every volunteer teaching climate action proves that the young generation is already rewriting the rules of progress.
So, as we begin this camp, we will see university disciplines delivered in alignment with the SDG framework.
Together with SJTU, UNDP China is committed to supporting the camp where you’ll reimagine the world—and your role in shaping it. I’m excited to return this year and thrilled to see the momentum continue.
Over the coming weeks, my UNDP colleagues will also share their insights on reshaping development pathways. I encourage you to actively engage with them.
Remember, you are not just students. You are systems thinkers, policy shapers, and innovation drivers. Your ideas, your energy, and your ambition are exactly what the world needs.
So, dare to think boldly, collaborate across boundaries, and lead with purpose.
Because the future is not something we inherit—it is something we create, together.
In closing, I extend my heartfelt thanks to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, its dedicated faculty, and the many volunteers who have made this year’s camp possible. Thank you for creating such a dynamic space where young pioneers can learn, connect, and drive meaningful change.
May the ideas sparked over these weeks ignite transformations that resonate far beyond this camp.
Thank you.
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