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Excellencies, dear colleagues, and above all, dear young delegates,

We are celebrating 80 years of the United Nations, 80 years since the world came together out of the ashes of the Second World War.

Now, neither I nor you certainly were born at the time. But those who were and those who built the United Nations, frankly, were probably youngish at the time they were doing it.

They had come out of the biggest horror of neighbour killing neighbour, of hatred overcoming any other emotion, any other feeling.

And they decided that they were going to turn a project of hate into a project of love.

And they decided they would build the United Nations, an institution founded on peace, on human rights, on solidarity and on cooperation after that great catastrophe.

Now, those values, I submit to you, remain a compass.

But of course, we all know that the world around us has changed profoundly.

We do face new and complex challenges, conflicts that many time seem ever ending and that defy international law and defy humanitarian law. Almost gleefully, for those who violate them and with no great consequences.

A planet in distress, deepening inequalities and technologies that are moving faster than our ethics or laws can follow.

This is a really big deal, the world is changing, and the question is, what can we do, in this room and outside of it, to make sure it changes in a better direction than this? 

Now, it would be easier, I suppose, to feel discouraged. But, honestly, I don't, because everywhere I look, I see renewal, including this room.

I see young people stepping forward. 

You are not waiting for permission. You are, in many instances, driving change.

In communities torn by conflict, you are building peace. In classrooms and labs, you are educating, getting educated, innovating. On the streets and online, you are demanding justice, equality and climate action.

I am acutely aware that, when I say you, I most probably mean every one of you in this room, but I don't necessarily mean every young person in the world.

I am as concerned as I hope some of you are about recent years and analyses and polling showing that young people feel less and less that democracy is a primary thing to be defended.

I am concerned about the fact that social media sometimes isolate, sometimes depress, sometimes create bubbles, sometimes take away the absolute capacity and necessity of people to be able to listen to each other, even if they disagree.

But at the same time, I do know that this is the largest generation of youth in human history. So, while this can be daunting, it can also be the greatest opportunity that we have, that we have ever had.

Now, the European Union is a place where we choose opportunity, that's the way that we were built.

We believe youth must be partners and not spectators, and we are doing things about that.

We have put together a Youth Action Plan in external action in our foreign policy, if you like, as Europeans. We have put together Youth Sounding boards and we do have a UN Youth Delegates program itself.

And through all those, we try to ensure that young people are not just heard, they are in the room, as many decisions are made.

And we also believe in strengthening the United Nations’ own capacity to listen and to deliver for youth.

That is why the European Union is a proud supporter and donor of the UN Youth Office, which is helping the UN system become more inclusive, more coordinated and more accountable to young people everywhere.

Now, let me connect this with something that I had the chance to discuss here at the UN during Europe Day last May - May 9th is the birthday of Europe.

Europe, too, like the UN, was born from devastation. It is at its heart a peace project, a continent once divided by war that chose cooperation over confrontation and solidarity over pushing people down.

Now, that choice was not easy.

It required memory.

It required courage.

It required conviction, the conviction that unity is stronger than fear.

Dear friends, this is our why.

You know, many times I tell this to people. I ask you, what do you do? I am a Youth Delegate.

How do you do that? Oh, I set up an event there, I go to a meeting there, I advocate this particular issue.

The toughest question to ask yourself is why.

Why do I do that? Why is it that I am in this room doing this? And if you are able to give an answer to that question, then you are able to understand who you really are.

And you might be able to understand how others look at you.

People may be excited by your what or by your how when they first see you. But you know, they are going to stick by you if they understand and if they like your why.

Our why as Europeans is that we know that unity beats every time hatred and division and fear.

And that spirit, the spirit of Europe, is also the spirit of the United Nations.

Remembering the past is not about nostalgia, it is about responsibility. It is a reminder that peace and human rights must never be taken for granted and that every generation must defend them anew.

This year, we also mark the 10th anniversary of the Youth Peace and Security Agenda.That resolution made something crystal clear: peace is stronger and more lasting when young people help build it.

That is not a slogan, it is a strategy for sustainable peace.

So yes, our world is complex, but it is also bursting with energy, talent and courage.

And the real question is, can we bridge generations, experience and innovation to move multilateralism forward? 

Bridging generations is a big deal. It means listening, truly listening. It means recognizing that the wisdom of the past and the creativity of the youth are not opposites. They don't fight with each other, they are allies.

It means creating spaces where young voices are not filtered or sidelined but heard directly.

And as we celebrate 80 years of the UN, let us honour its legacy, not only by remembering what was built, but by committing to what must come next.

Let us ensure that you, the next generation, can lead, decide and create the future that you will inherit. 

Create the future that you will inherit.

Now, before I close, dear friends, let me express my warm thanks to our outstanding panelists and collaborators in this event.

Under Secretary Melissa Fleming, absolutely fantastic to see you again, Melissa, and thank you for leading this with us.

Assistant Secretary General Felipe Paullier, great to see you, Felipe. And I know we discussed before a little bit about that bridging between generations and your emphasis on this. I'm sure we'll hear more about this later.

Ishaan Shah and Isaac Bayoh, for the leadership and inspiration they bring to this vital discussion.

And my special thanks, of course, to our European Union Youth Delegates, Veronica Novotna and Lars Westra, for bringing us together and for showing through their work what genuine partnership between generations looks like.

So, thank you all for your passion, for your energy, for reminding us that the future of multilateralism is not far away. It is already here in this room with you.

And thank you for showing us and others your why.

Every success in this meeting.