The world is home to 1.8 billion young people, one-third of the population. They are the largest generation in human history, and they’ve been born into the middle of unprecedented changes that threaten to undermine their prospects forever. Increased automation, changing migration patterns, and the rise of new technologies demand that young people acquire an entirely new set of skills or face economic exclusion.  A challenge of this scale requires significant dedication, and a broad-based mobilisation of partners with significant resources. Enter Generation Unlimited, a global partnership that connects education and training to the employment needs of the future, enabling adolescents everywhere to become engaged and active members of society. A collaboration between governments, civil society, the private sector, UNICEF and other UN agencies, and young people themselves, Generation Unlimited aims to tackle the generational crisis holding millions of young people back, and help them reach their full potential.

Henrietta Fore has been the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) since 2018. She has championed economic development, education, health, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in a public service, private sector and non-profit leadership career spanning more than four decades. From 2007 to 2009, Ms Fore served as the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and Director of United States Foreign Assistance; she was the first woman to serve in these roles.

Moderator: Mark Cassayre, Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim, U.S. Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations

This conference is organised by the Institute and the Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations with the support of UNICEF. This is part of the “Women in World Affairs” lectures series which showcases the achievements of prominent American women, from different sectors and backgrounds, in world affairs.