NDP Youth Champions Highlight India’s Development Priorities at UNGA

Youth champions and advocates associated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India highlighted the role of young people in sustainable development, climate action and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during high-level engagements at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

UNDP India youth champion Sanjana Sanghi, youth climate champion Prajakta Koli and SDG advocate Bhumi Pednekar participated in dialogues and events focused on youth participation, climate action and advancing the 2030 Agenda, UNDP India said.

During the UNGA session, Sanghi called for a shift in how young people are viewed in development processes — from beneficiaries to active partners and decision-makers.

On September 16, she participated in the high-level dialogue, ‘A Generation at the Crossroads: Dynamics Facing Youth in Asia and the Pacific’, alongside UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo, UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Kanni Wignaraja and permanent representatives from across the region.

Drawing on her engagement with young changemakers through Youth Co:Lab, Sanghi stressed the need to provide young people with greater access to decision-making processes and a meaningful role in shaping issues that affect their lives.

She also took part in a conversation with De Croo on what young people need to build their future and shared her message on youth agency at the UN Peace Circle held at UN Headquarters on September 21 to mark the International Day of Peace.

Sanghi participated in the UN campaign ‘Hear Us. Act Now for a Peaceful World’, alongside UN Under-Secretary-General Melissa Fleming, UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Mary Maker, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Muzoon Almellehan and youth representatives.

She emphasised the importance of investing in young people, including through education and health, while reiterating that they should have a role in decisions rather than being treated only as beneficiaries.

Sanghi also joined the session ‘Powering the Transition: India’s Climate Economy and What it Means for the Global South’, which focused on green growth, decarbonisation, capital mobilisation and the need for an equitable transition.

She also met UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to discuss climate action and the role of young people in shaping a more sustainable future.

Meanwhile, UNDP India Youth Climate Champion Prajakta Koli served on the high-level judging panel for the 2026 UN SDG Action Awards. She became the first Indian to serve on the awards jury, which recognised individuals and initiatives translating the SDGs into action through creativity, innovation and collective efforts.

UNDP India Advocate for the SDGs Bhumi Pednekar, through her engagements during UNGA81, highlighted the urgency of climate action and the role individuals can play in protecting the planet.

UNDP India said the engagements of Sanghi, Koli and Pednekar reflected different ways in which public voices can bring development issues closer to people, while highlighting youth agency, climate action and the SDGs.

The UNDP said achieving sustainable development will require greater opportunities, platforms and decision-making space for people, particularly young people, to shape the decisions that affect their future.