A historic delegation of young leaders from Antigua and Barbuda has taken center stage at the 2026 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, marking the Caribbean nation’s most robust participation in this landmark global youth gathering. Held from April 14 to 16 at UN Headquarters in New York, this year’s forum centers on a mission-driven theme: advancing transformative, equitable, innovative, and coordinated collective action to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), building a just and sustainable future for all people worldwide.
Heading the 8-member delegation is Dr. Jrucilla Samuel, Director of Antigua and Barbuda’s Youth Affairs Department, alongside four National Youth Ambassadors — Christal Percival, Amelia Williams, Kristine Louisa, and Shacia Albertine — and two representatives from the National Youth Volunteer Corps: General Secretary Sara Bacchus and Esquire Henry, a former CARICOM Youth Ambassador. This contingent represents the largest group of young leaders Antigua and Barbuda has ever sent to the forum, underscoring the nation’s commitment to centering youth voice in global sustainable development policy.
In her opening remarks delivered on the forum’s first day, Dr. Samuel framed workforce rejuvenation as a core strategic priority for both national institutions and global multilateral systems. Challenging common misconceptions about the concept, she emphasized that workforce rejuvenation is far more than a routine recruitment cycle. Instead, it is a deliberate, intentional strategy to renew institutional capacity through intentional investment in cognitive diversity. Dr. Samuel clarified that the goal of this approach is not to replace the institutional knowledge and experience of long-tenured staff, but rather to create powerful cross-generational synergy. When the seasoned insight of veteran leaders combines with the creative energy and native digital fluency of young people, she argued, global and national stakeholders dramatically strengthen their ability to tackle the most pressing challenges facing the planet today.
Dr. Samuel also cautioned against performative youth inclusion, noting that while investing in workforce rejuvenation is a critical step forward, young leaders should not be pushed into senior roles overnight without adequate support. “Sustainable multilateralism can only be built on the foundation of sustainable leadership,” she added. To that end, she stressed the urgent need to equip emerging young leaders with three core pillars of support: quality, accessible education, meaningful hands-on work experience, and values-based mentorship rooted in non-negotiable principles of accountability, resilience, and personal integrity.
The second day of the forum brings Antigua and Barbuda’s youth leadership to the forefront of Caribbean regional dialogue, with two National Youth Ambassadors set to deliver presentations during the Caribbean Regional Breakout Session. Amelia Williams will address the session’s regional theme, “Empowering Caribbean Youth to Innovate, Unite and Transform: Shaping the Road to 2030,” while Kristine Louisa will dive deep into priorities for advancing Sustainable Development Goal 11 focused on building inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities. Esquire Henry, who received a rare second invitation from the United Nations to participate in the ECOSOC Youth Forum, will serve as moderator for the regional breakout session, bringing his past experience in regional youth advocacy to guide collaborative discussion.
On the forum’s final day, National Youth Ambassador Christal Percival will showcase the concrete progress Antigua and Barbuda has already made domestically to advance the targets laid out in SDG 11, sharing actionable Caribbean-led solutions with global attendees.
Ahead of the forum’s official proceedings, the full delegation paid a courtesy call to Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Aubrey Webson. During the meeting, Ambassador Webson walked the young delegation through the structure and core mission of the UN system, and urged the emerging leaders to remain consistent, persistent advocates for the unique priorities and challenges of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), a bloc of low-lying island nations disproportionately vulnerable to climate change that Antigua and Barbuda has long represented on the global stage.
Ambassador Webson commended the delegation and Dr. Samuel for their ongoing work across key sustainable development priority areas, including environmental sustainability, public education, public health, youth entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. He also shared personal lessons on building community and institutional resilience, and outlined the critical work of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), which focuses on building connected, climate-resilient communities and strengthening national data collection capacity to better track SDG progress.
This year’s ECOSOC Youth Forum places targeted emphasis on five of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals: Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17). As a leading global platform for youth engagement, the forum brings together young change-makers, UN member state governments, UN system agencies, and civil society and private sector partners to exchange emerging ideas, showcase locally rooted innovative solutions, and deepen meaningful youth participation to accelerate global progress on the SDGs.