DNK delegation takes part in the Y7 Summit in Paris

This year, four youth representatives negotiated on behalf of the DNK in the thematic tracks of Y7. Under the leadership of delegation head Isabel Rutkowski, Ben Aichele represented the ‘Geopolitical Upheavals’ track, Johnny Bonk negotiated on “Technological Disruptions”, Feodora Lüdemann worked on the “Economic & Demographic Imbalances” track, and Isabel Rutkowski contributed to the “Ecological Crises” track.

The summit in Paris marked the conclusion of the preliminary negotiations that had been ongoing since March. Following arrival and an initial opportunity for the delegations to get to know one another, the first two days of the summit featured intensive negotiations as well as various discussion sessions with partners from Y7 France. For some members of the delegation, the negotiations continued late into the night before the final day of the summit. On that day, the Y7 Communiqué was first officially handed over to the French minister responsible for youth affairs. At the official closing ceremony, the communiqué was then presented to the French Minister for Foreign Affairs. In addition, the German delegation visited the German Embassy in Paris to hand over the communiqué in person.

In the final communiqué, the delegates call on the G7 countries to act decisively, in a coordinated and multilateral manner in the face of interlinked crises. The communiqué describes the current global challenges not as individual, separate crises, but as a ‘polycrisis’: economic and demographic imbalances, technological upheavals, geopolitical upheavals and the environmental crisis are mutually reinforcing.

In terms of content, the communiqué addresses, amongst other things, the strengthening of international cooperation and rules-based institutions, the responsible management of technological upheavals and artificial intelligence, greater intergenerational justice in the face of economic and demographic changes, and keeping the environmental crisis higher on the international agenda despite competing political priorities.

Through its participation, the German DNK delegation brought the perspectives of young people from Germany into a key international participatory process. The communiqué makes it clear: young people do not simply want to identify global challenges, but to help shape political solutions.

Info box: The Y7 is the official youth participation forum within the G7 process. Young delegates from the G7 countries and the European Union come together to draw up joint recommendations for the G7 heads of state and government. The results are set out in a joint communiqué and fed into the G7 process.