Advancing Global Governance, Empowering Youth | GYGA Secretary-General Attends 2026 Geneva UN High-Level Summits
The Geneva Digital Week 2026 flagship events — the AI for Good Global Summit and the World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS Forum 2026), both hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — recently opened in Geneva, Switzerland. The two landmark UN summits brought together heads of state, international organisation leaders, academics, and industry figures to address AI for good, global digital governance, and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Xuebing Bai, Secretary-General of the Global Youth Governance Association (GYGA), attended the full programme, engaging in multilateral exchanges, high-level dialogues, and international partnership discussions, demonstrating youth engagement in global governance.
High-Level Dialogue with Senior UN Officials
On 6 July, Xuebing Bai was invited by the Executive Director of the Global Centre for SDGs and Leadership Development to attend a thematic conference and awards ceremony co-hosted by the Centre and the ITU. During the event, he engaged in in-depth conversation with former UN Deputy Secretary-General Fabrizio and former WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry, discussing the implementation of the UN SDGs, international talent development, global public governance, and digital cooperation. The exchange further strengthened GYGA’s ties with senior UN institutions, laying a solid foundation for future collaboration.
Entering the Palais des Nations: Strategic Partnership Discussions
On 7 July, at the invitation of Li Yutong, President of the World Academy of Digital Technology and Sciences (WADTS), Xuebing Bai entered the Palais des Nations to attend a series of high-level thematic sessions. He held a dedicated roundtable with Li Yutong and the Ambassador of the Gambia to the United Nations, focused on advancing the strategic cooperation between WADTS and GYGA and reaching consensus on youth empowerment in the age of artificial intelligence.
All three parties agreed that in an era of rapid digital and AI advancement and accelerating transformation of the global governance landscape, youth are the central driving force for global sustainable development. Both organisations will leverage their respective platforms to jointly build an international, professional youth development ecosystem — with a focus on AI literacy, global governance capacity, and international perspective — to cultivate more young talent with global competitiveness and a sense of responsibility.
Engaging UNRISD: Deepening Youth-Focused Cooperation
On 10 July, in the closing phase of the summit, Xuebing Bai met with representatives of the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) for a dedicated exchange on youth empowerment, youth participation in global social development, and digital inclusion for young people. The two sides explored long-term cooperation mechanisms and discussed how to leverage UN platforms to lower the barriers for youth participation in international governance, establish regular youth exchange channels, and integrate youth issues into the global sustainable development agenda — charting a clear course for future collaboration in youth public service, international study programmes, governance practice, and talent development.
This series of engagements at the 2026 Geneva UN summits represents a significant step in GYGA’s efforts to deepen its integration with the UN system and advance global youth governance. Going forward, GYGA will continue to pursue its international vision and youth empowerment mission — deepening multilateral cooperation with UN agencies, international academic platforms, and diplomatic missions — to help more young people engage with the world and contribute their energy to global governance in the digital age.