Felipe Paullier, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, delivered a video speech at the opening ceremony of the 2025 World Youth Development Forum. He noted that amid global challenges like climate disruption, digital revolutions, and rising inequalities, global youth are not passive observers but leaders—driving green consumption to reshape lifestyles and build a sustainable future, innovating and governing in AI and science while shouldering the responsibility to ensure these tools benefit people and the planet equitably and ethically, and acting as cultural bridge builders who revitalize traditions to shape an inclusive future.