At the Youth Sustainable Development Network (YSDN), we believe in the untapped potential of global youth to lead the sustainability agenda. By equipping young people with tools, mentorship, and opportunities, we empower them to tackle critical issues like climate change, energy security, and social equity. Through our pillars of capacity building, policy influence, and global project implementation, YSDN helps youth become leaders in their communities and champions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Together, we are fostering a generation of change-makers driving global sustainability.
The Youth Sustainable Development Network (YSDN) was born out of the belief that young people are not just the future, but the key to solving today’s most pressing global challenges. Founded with a mission to empower youth, YSDN has grown into a global movement, reaching over 12,000 young leaders across 100+ countries.
From launching grassroots sustainability projects to advocating for change at international forums like COP, YSDN’s journey is about unlocking the immense potential of youth to drive real, transformative impact.
Through hands-on initiatives, policy influence, and global collaboration, YSDN continues to pave the way for a sustainable future led by the next generation of changemakers.
YSDN’s Theory of Change centers on empowering youth to lead sustainable development. By providing resources, mentorship, and platforms, YSDN unlocks the potential of young innovators to address challenges like climate change and social inequality. Our approach focuses on three pillars: capacity building, policy influence, and sustainable project implementation. This process drives youth-led projects that create real impact, leading to long-term outcomes like green job creation, improved energy access, and global sustainability leadership, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The future of humanity and of our planet lies in our hands. It lies also in the hands of today's younger generation who will pass the torch to future generations.” The 2030 Agenda, paragraph 53.
Our development priorities, as outlined in the 2030 Agenda, can only be realized if the youth, who are undoubtedly the driving force for social development, are properly educated on what the SDGs are. The intricacies of the 2030 Agenda and the inherent success are deeply reliant on how well-informed the young people are. Their knowledge, reach and innovative solutions are essential if sustainable development is to be realized.
To realize the 2030 Agenda as a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and our shared planet, we have realized that young people need to be included in the decision making processes and policy recommendation stages for this blueprint. Therefore, at the Youth Sustainable Development Network, we delight ourselves in working and partnering with young people in the grass root across the world for the realization of our shared common goals.
We strongly believe in action as building consciousness through action is preeminent for the success of the 2030 Agenda. External financing is one of the most crucial pillars for the implementation of the SDGs and the Youth Sustainable Development Network is dedicated towards augmenting the required tools and financing, through important partnerships and consistent roundtable conversation, to implement sustainable grassroot projects and facilitate adequate global outreach.
Now more than ever before, ESG Reporting has become key in ensuring that businesses and organizations maximize profits and achieve their goals while maintaining optimum sustainability measures. On the above basis, we work with associates consultants and researchers to provide strategy, implementation guides and recommendations for organizations towards ensuring that they become sustainable stakeholders and partners in creating a sustainable global environment.
Our partners have worked with us to deliver ever more innovative, effective and successful projects and programmes. They have walked and worked with us as we consistently lend our voices in the conglomeration of stakeholders that matter to our mission, and their support has been vital in achieving the impacts that are essential towards making the world a better place.
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Maame Boateng is a partnerships manager at the Africa-Europe Foundation and formerly an Associate at the Executive Office of the UN Special Representative and CEO for Sustainable Energy for All. Before moving to New York to join the UN, Maame spent her early career in South Africa as a lawyer dealing in climate justice matters in relation to displaced persons across the African continent.
Maame was part of the team that led the first SEforALL Youth Summit which brought over 2,000 youth participants from 134 countries to the table to inspire active participation in the achievement of SDGs by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050.
Maame previously worked at the United Nations Global Compact, where her role encompassed supporting the mobilization of public-private partnerships in support of the 2030 Agenda.
David Kahale has been the Chief Executive Officer of Panta Group since 2016 and has represented Panta in all international settings, including international development consulting, infrastructure planning, and policymaking.
David holds a Bachelor Degree in Business (Marketing) and a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations, Asian Studies, and Philosophy) from Western Sydney University.
David is an advocate of sustainable and equitable development, dedicated to providing universal access to essential services through innovative mobile technologies.
David was a World Bank Group Delegate – Smart Cities for a Resilient Future (2019), and Resilient Recovery (2021). He also went on to win the first-ever team-based Deloitte Case Study Challenge (2019).
David has consulted and advised many high-level Government Boards in Southeast Asia in areas of mobility and smart city development. He has also assisted government working groups in drafting policies and national standards for digital payments, digital identification and automated fare collection on public transport. David has also been a stakeholder and a major supporting voice of the Philippines’ flagship infrastructure project, the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
Taylor joined Emory University’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives as a graduate intern in 2013 and became the Assistant Director in 2020.. She works closely with Emory Dining to support their efforts to source more food locally and sustainably and to co-manage the weekly Emory Farmers Market. She also runs the WaterHub student docent program, the OSI intern program, and the Zero Waste Ambassadors outreach group. Taylor also manages OSI’s daily communications platforms and strategies.
Taylor has conducted leading research on land rights in Rwanda, social movements in Northeast Brazil, effects of gender norms on climate adaptation for smallholder farmers in Kenya and Ghana, and intimate partner violence prevention in Vietnam,giving her a broad and interdisciplinary context to champion behavior change and community engagement.
Damilola is a passionate youth, thought leader, lawyer and international development consultant with over six years’ hands-on experience in advisory service provision, collaborative research, youth-led advocacy, facilitation of participatory processes, and a track record of meaningful impact on youth, communities, and institutions inclusion in sustainable development affairs.
