汇聚全球智慧，共创可持续未来——北京青爱教育基金会举办2026联合国可持续发展高级别政治论坛交流会议

Recently, Beijing Changier Education Foundation hosted an online exchange meeting centered on the theme of the 2026 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Experts and youth representatives from the UN, education, technology, culture, public policy, and other fields gathered virtually to engage in in-depth discussions on inclusive society building, digital infrastructure, gender equality, cultural heritage, tech literacy, and cross-cultural peace.

Dr. Joseph Olivier Mendo’o, from Cameroon, moderated the session, which featured trilingual translation (Chinese, English, and French). The forum focused on advancing the 2030 Agenda through transformative, equitable, innovative, and coordinated action, bringing together cross-generational and multidisciplinary voices. An esteemed panel of speakers, including youth speakers from China, the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Egypt, and Hong Kong, China, shared their diverse expertise on building a safer, more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable world.

以创新、平等与合作建设韧性社区

Building Resilient Communities Through Innovation, Equality, and Cooperation

Susan Kendall, a UN and international expert on gender equality and social inclusion, brings over a decade of international development experience, having contributed to projects with UNICEF and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

Drawing from her experience building support networks for adolescent mothers in Botswana, she pointed out that true innovation does not necessarily stem from new technologies; it can also come from enabling people to be seen, heard, and connected. She emphasized that sustainable development solutions should be co-designed with communities rather than unilaterally determined by external forces. Truly lasting change begins with listening, grows out of trust, and ultimately empowers people to shape their own futures.

以“软联通”深化中非人文交流与社区合作

Deepening China-Africa People-to-People Exchanges and Community Cooperation Through "Soft Connectivity"

Ms. Zhang Yinjun, Founder and Chairwoman of Beijing Changie Education Foundation (Qing Ai), has long been dedicated to youth health, education, and philanthropy, leading the foundation in implementing projects across youth health, family education, psychological support, and public welfare both in China and abroad.

In her speech, she introduced the "Qing Ai Silk Road · Soft Connectivity" China-Africa Youth and Mombasa-Nairobi Railway Cultural and Philanthropic Action. She noted that sustainable development requires not only "hard connectivity" like railways, roads, energy, and digital networks, but also "soft connectivity" built upon education, health, women's empowerment, youth exchange, and mutual learning among civilizations.

The initiative will focus on life and health education, mother and family education, empowering women-led community shops, and establishing China-Africa youth partnership mechanisms. It aims to shift projects from one-off aid to long-term capacity building, from material support to sustainable livelihoods, and to help youth evolve from project beneficiaries into key forces that identify problems, propose solutions, and drive action.

看见人工智能背后的土地、能源与资源

Recognizing the Land, Energy, and Resources Behind Artificial Intelligence

Ujjwal Kumar, Founder and CEO of Quantum Alliance and an Edward S. Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, previously spent many years working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Starting from the physical infrastructure underlying AI, he highlighted that the so-called "cloud" is not invisible; it consists of data centers that occupy land, consume electricity and water, and rely on critical minerals like copper, aluminum, lithium, and rare earths. He called on cities to integrate computing infrastructure into water, power, and land planning, set clear community benefit criteria for large facilities, and assist mineral-rich countries in developing processing, research, and technical education capabilities to prevent the digital transition from repeating historical patterns of unequal resource exploitation.

让活态文化成为可持续发展的智慧资源

Making Living Culture a Source of Wisdom for Sustainable Development

Casey Jiang from Beijing, China, focuses on anthropology, cultural studies, and sustainable development. She has conducted field research in Liangshan, Sichuan, and participated in youth cultural education and digital storytelling projects.

Reflecting on her field studies of Yi culture, she pointed out that culture is not just clothing, festivals, and language, but a way of understanding family, community, nature, and the world. She proposed a "Living Cultural Heritage Index" to measure cultural vitality across dimensions such as language use, youth engagement, cultural transmission, innovative development, sustainable cultural industries, and community autonomy, driving a shift in cultural preservation from tracking financial inputs to evaluating whether culture remains actively practiced, inherited, and updated.

让体育规则同时维护包容、公平与尊严

Ensuring Sports Rules Safeguard Inclusivity, Fairness, and Dignity Simultaneously

Shun Fu, a youth representative from the United States who grew up in Australia, is passionate about global health, human rights, and public policy. Drawing from her diverse experiences in first aid, fashion, and youth advocacy, she delves into the intricacies of building trustworthy institutions.

She asserted that sports should not force a binary choice between inclusion and fairness, but should instead tailor rules based on specific sports, ages, and competition tiers. Sports organizations must ground policy-making in reliable evidence, involving athletes, physicians, scientists, ethicists, and human rights experts. Simultaneously, they must safeguard athletes' privacy, mental health, dignity, and independent appeal rights, with enhanced protections for child and youth athletes.

建设数字跨文化资本,让网络空间成为和平的桥梁

Building Digital Intercultural Capital to Make Cyberspace a Bridge for Peace

Daniel Ye, a youth representative from Toronto, Canada, focuses on human rights, technology, and peace issues, while also participating in cultural capital research and game design practice.

He introduced the concept of "Digital Intercultural Capital" - the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and ethical awareness youth need to understand, respect, listen to, and collaborate with people from diverse cultural backgrounds in digital environments. Built on the four pillars of understanding, respect, listening, and cooperation, he recommended integrating these topics into global citizenship education, media literacy, and youth peace education. He urged tech companies and international organizations to jointly curb online hate, misinformation, and cultural bias, transforming digital spaces into bridges that foster trust and peace.

以PBIS夯实包容、韧性社区的“社会基础设施”

Strengthening the "Social Infrastructure" of Inclusive and Resilient Communities with PBIS

Dr. Sandy Sears, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Connecticut, is a researcher in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and an advocate for inclusive education. Her long-standing focus has been on promoting PBIS, ensuring educational equity, and supporting the development of students with disabilities. Additionally, she serves as an admissions interviewer for Cornell University.

She emphasized that sustainable communities require not only physical infrastructure like housing, transportation, and clean water, but also social infrastructure that promotes dignity, belonging, safety, participation, and trust. Introducing the multi-tiered prevention framework of PBIS, she highlighted findings from education and mental health research showing that proactive, evidence-based, and person-centered support mechanisms reduce exclusionary discipline and restrictive interventions, helping schools, hospitals, and communities foster safer, more positive, and inclusive environments.

提升青年媒体素养,重新审视谁在塑造全球叙事

Enhancing Youth Media Literacy to Re-examine Who Shapes Global Narratives

Lucy Wei, a high school student from the United States, actively follows international relations, global communication, and contemporary cultural issues. Skilled at analyzing interactions among different countries, societies, and cultures from diverse perspectives, she is dedicated to enhancing youth media literacy, dismantling cultural stereotypes, and fostering a more rational, open, and responsible understanding of the world.

Her discussion revolved around how social media influences youth perceptions of nations, cultures, and international events. She noted that online content is not necessarily entirely false, but material that is one-sided, out of context, or repeatedly amplified by algorithms can equally construct stereotypes and cultural misunderstandings. She called for integrating media and information literacy into core school curricula to empower youth to verify information sources, recognize algorithmic filters, compare differing narratives, and actively seek out marginalized community voices.

让多元声音转化为可持续行动

Translating Diverse Voices into Sustainable Action

While spanning gender equality, cultural heritage, AI infrastructure, sports fairness, digital peace, inclusive education, and media literacy, the event conveyed a unified and clear message: sustainable development goes beyond economic growth, technological innovation, and physical infrastructure; it fundamentally centers on human dignity, community engagement, institutional fairness, and cross-cultural, intergenerational understanding and cooperation.

The event concluded with a Q&A segment where guests and youth further discussed policy implementation, educational innovation, tech ethics, and youth participation. The moderator called on all participants to turn the stories, research, and recommendations from the forum into tangible actions to drive a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Beijing Changier Education Foundation will continue to leverage its bridge-building role as an organization with Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC, promoting exchange and cooperation between China and the world, youth and experts, and social practice and global issues, offering more young people a platform to express views, take action, and contribute solutions.

Looking ahead to 2030, let us unite through cooperation, respond to challenges with innovation, connect the world with humanistic care, and jointly build a sustainable future where no one is left behind.

特别致谢

Special Acknowledgements

Special thanks to our simultaneous interpreters - Tengguo Zhang, Hong Zhang, and Yuxiang Yang from Beijing Foreign Studies University (English), and Lola Ge and Iris Zhu (French), for their outstanding support. Deep thanks also to Ms. Rongbing Shen for her diligent coordination and technical management, which guaranteed a smooth and successful conference.