YTJN Side Event - Voices in the Ledger: Making Financing for Development Deliver on Youth Aspirations Introduction The Youth for Tax Justice Network (YTJN), in collaboration with partners including, Africa-Europe Foundation and the Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF) is spearheading a side event at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). This initiative positions young people as central actors in reshaping global financial architecture, particularly around domestic public resources (DPR), debt, and illicit financial flows (IFFs). Amid the evolving global financing landscape, this side event will serve as a platform to channel youth energy, insights, and innovation toward actionable fiscal reforms. It aims to influence the FfD4 outcome document and build post-conference structures for youth accountability in domestic resource mobilization (DRM) systems. Background and Context Despite decades of global commitments to sustainable development, systemic barriers persist in integrating youth voices—especially from the Global South—into decision-making. With over 60% of Africa’s population under 25 and a global youth unemployment rate of 13.6% (ILO, 2020), it is critical to anchor youth leadership in fiscal governance reforms. The Zero Draft of the FfD4 Outcome Document acknowledges youth contributions (para 16) and highlights systemic challenges including IFFs, rising debt, and unequal tax systems. However, it lacks concrete mechanisms to ensure youth participation in implementation and monitoring. Meanwhile, Africa loses over $88.6 billion annually to IFFs (UNCTAD, 2020), and only 17% of African countries meet satisfactory budget transparency benchmarks (Open Budget Index, 2023). In Europe, youth movements are increasingly active in demanding just, green, and future-facing fiscal systems. YTJN’s 2023 campaign Tax Justice and Youth: Why Do We Need a UN Tax Convention? revealed that 94.4% of young respondents support global tax cooperation. YTJN’s advocacy within the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UNFCITC) further affirms the relevance of youth-led engagement in reforming global financing. Objectives Overall Objective; To position youth as co-leaders in building sustainable, accountable, and gender-just domestic resource mobilization systems that are enshrined in global financing frameworks. Specific Objectives To advocate for youth-led accountability and monitoring mechanisms in the FfD4 Outcome Document. To facilitate Africa-Europe youth solidarity and learning on DRM, tax, and fiscal transparency. To co-develop and present youth-driven policy recommendations. To launch the Youth FfD Accountability Collective as a mechanism for post-FfD4 monitoring. For more information, please contact: info@ytjn.org
