On June 5th, SDSN Youth hosted a powerful intergenerational dialogue titled “Uniendo Fuerzas para la Sostenibilidad”, bringing together youth leaders and experts from academia, the private sector, and civil society to reflect on how collaboration across sectors and generations can drive sustainable change.

Held on World Environment Day, the session served as a timely reminder: sustainability cannot be achieved in silos. From climate change to mental health, the interconnected crises we face demand equally interconnected responses. In this case, we at SDSN Youth are committed to advocating for young people and ensuring that the solutions we propose are intergenerational, leaving no one behind.

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Moderated by Antonio Díaz Aranda (Global Events & Partnerships Lead at SDSN Youth), the dialogue included the panelists below, each of them bringing their unique perspectives to the conversation:

• Diego Calderón, SDSN Youth Bolivia, representing youth
  
  
• María de los Ángeles Huerta, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, representing academia
  
  
• Nicole Zapata, Metropolitan Touring, representing the private sector
  
  
• Sandra Astete, UNICEF Spain, representing civic society
  
  

Insights From the Conversation

• Breaking Silos Requires a Common Language: Nicole and Sandra both emphasized that genuine collaboration starts with empathy. Whether you’re working in tourism or youth mental health, building bridges means learning to speak each other’s language and normalizing difficult conversations.
• Youth Shouldn’t Be Decorative: As Diego powerfully put it, “Youth aren’t just the future, we’re the present.” Panelists agreed that youth participation must be real and structural, not symbolic. That means inviting young people into decision-making spaces and ensuring they have the tools and trust to lead.
• Interdisciplinary Work Needs Structure: María Ángeles highlighted the need to connect academia with practice. Universities can be living laboratories for sustainability, but only if we reshape educational frameworks to prioritize impact, not just theory.
• Trust Is the Metric That Matters Most: While we often default to quantitative indicators, Sandra reminded us that collaboration is built on trust, not just metrics. Sustained partnerships, shared purpose, and a willingness to co-create are better predictors of long-term success.

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This wasn’t just a panel. It was a collective call to action. And the takeaway was clear: we need more spaces like this, where connection leads to collaboration, and where young people are seen not as recipients of change, but as leaders shaping it.

Let’s keep weaving these conversations into our daily work. Let’s make sustainability the thread that ties us not just in theory, but in practice.

Rewatch the event here.

For collaboration opportunities with SDSN Youth, please reach out to youth@unsdsn.org