SDG 5: Gender Equality | SDG 1: No Poverty
Institutions: Ministry of Women and Child Development | Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship | NITI Aayog
The Vienna Discussion Forum 2025, titled Freedom from Poverty: Empowering Women, Engaging Youth, served as a critical platform to examine the gendered dimensions of poverty and exchange multilateral solutions for its eradication. The central finding emphasized the vital importance of investing in womenβs economic, social, political, and cultural empowerment as a precondition for sustainable development.
The event was jointly organized by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Permanent Missions of Finland, Sweden, and Norway. It stressed the multifaceted role of women in advancing sustainable development and underscored the transformative potential of youth as agents of change. The discussions drew on the work of UNIDO and UNODC to promote comprehensive and innovative responses to systemic challenges that perpetuate poverty and inequality.
By focusing on empowering underrepresented groups, the forum promoted the idea that inclusive industrial development and gender-sensitive policies are essential drivers for accelerating progress toward poverty eradication and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The forumβs outcomes reinforce the need for India to integrate gender-responsive strategies into industrial and development policy, ensuring dedicated investment in skills training, financial access, and political inclusion for women and youth to maximize national poverty reduction efforts.
What is the Vienna Discussion Forum? β An annual dialogue platform bringing together UN agencies, member states, civil society, and youth to debate intersectional poverty, gendered effects, and forward-looking solutions. In short, it is a platform for policy-setting discussion.
Follow the full news here: Empowering women, engaging youth: The Vienna Discussion Forum 2025 advances gender equality and poverty reduction | UNIDO