By 2050 almost 70% of global population will live in urban areas. The success of the SDGs rests in our ability to transform livelihoods in our cities. Representing the largest generation of young people the world has ever seen, today’s youth will play a critical role in this transformation by making SDGs a priority in their own cities and neighbourhoods. Young people are 40% more likely to move to cities, and what they bring along is unwavering belief in a great future and readiness to contribute their energy, creativity, ambition, capacity for activism, boundless imagination and ability to conceive of a better world.

And still, youth's potential to effect positive change has not yet been entirely realized. Youth can be viewed as passive recipients rather than enablers of change, a problem rather than a solution. Youth are rarely invited to the decision-making table and too often, they have limited means to participate in public life.

To fill this gap, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network - Youth has recently launched the Local Pathways Fellowship, an initiative to provide young people with the tools, resources and a global platform they need to mobilize youth and civil society support towards the New Urban Agenda. It seeks to empower young people to promote local governments’ commitment to prioritize implementation of the SDGs; provide young people with the means to engage local youth and civil society in mobilizing public support for the SDGs; equip young people with the tools and resources to document and promote good practices and sustainable urban solutions; and nurture a young generation of urban sustainability advocates by educating them about the process of “localizing” the SDGs.

Local Pathways Fellowship is now accepting applicants for the fellowship with a deadline set for 31 January 2017. Link