The role of digital technology in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the theme of today’s International Youth Day.

The date, instituted by the General Assembly in 1999, highlights the role of young people as digital and visionary generations who are at the forefront of adopting new technologies, the agency says on its website.

With the theme this year «From clicks to progress: Youth digital pathways for sustainable development», the UN recognises that this is the largest demographic of users and developers shaping digital trends globally.

This makes youth the driving force behind digitalisation and innovation, as well as an essential population segment for harnessing the transformative power of technologies to address global challenges, it says.

In this context, the United Nations Panel for Sustainable Development identified the rapid digital transformation taking place on the planet as one of the transitions that have catalytic and multiplier effects on the SDGs.

According to the UN and other parts of the UN system, data generated from digital interactions enable evidence-based decision-making, which has a profound impact on the economic, social and environmental dimensions.

Digital technologies and data contribute to at least 70 percent of the 169 SDG targets and reduce the cost of achieving the goals by up to $55 trillion, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said.

Every 12 August, the UN reinforces the promotion of initiatives to highlight the role of youth in contemporary society and the international community’s attention to their issues.

The global body also reaffirms the approach that young people constitute decisive actors in contemporary global society, due to the sensitivity of the stage they are going through with sufficient energy, if well used, for the rebirth of nations.