Luca Bellomo – Italian delegate to the Y7
The world continues to face fundamental mid- and long-term challenges. These include poverty, hunger, insufficient or inadequate education affecting employability, persistent unemployment particularly in the youth segments, gender inequality, demographic change affecting social protection, constraints on natural and energy resources, and climate change. Global challenges require global responses and all of these should be addressed as top priorities. To tackle these issues and realise sustainable and inclusive growth, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, and religion, it is essential to promote equality of opportunity for all and set high global goals. Yet, these goals have already been defined and adopted by all United Nations (UN) Member States in 2015 and they are called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As asserted by the UN on their website, the SDGs provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. They are ambitious goals that can be achieved only through a strong joint effort on the part of all countries – developed and developing – in order to build a better, more sustainable and equitable world for the future generations. In a global partnership, though, there are no obstacles to social, cultural and economic progress and this is why governments should do their best to mobilise appropriate policy tools to better promote the achievement of SDGs within our society.
As member of the working group on Inequalities & Growth, there is also another propositions that I will try to support during the upcoming Summit and it regards the fight against tax evasion and the illicit financial flows to tax havens. I believe individuals and companies should pay their fair share of taxes so that governments can pursue policies which aim to benefit the whole society, including those that cannot afford to pay for their healthcare, education or to access basic services and infrastructure. Furthermore, considering the rising levels of economic inequality in the world, it is of utmost importance that tax policies are reformed to avoid that wealth becomes more and more concentrated in the hands of a few.
I am really looking forward to starting the negotiations and the work with the other delegates coming in a few days to Paris. This year, I am convinced our communiqué will send a powerful message to the G7 leaders and we can expect positive outcomes from the 2019 Youth 7 Summit.