Youth and the Post-2015 Development Agenda: An Analysis of Youth Participation in Designing the Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2015, Member States of the United Nations adopted the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda. With a mission to leave no one behind, the Agenda includes 17 Goals and 169 Targets that will succeed the Millennium Development Goals in January 2016. Despite progress of the Millennium Development Goals, young people are more likely than their older generation to be marginalized. Today, there are 1.8 billion young people in the world. This study analyses the participation of young people in designing the Sustainable Development Goals. Analysing young people’s participation, this research looks at the purpose, context and mode of participation. The research reveals linkages between participation, human rights, identity and power.