Emerging Pathways Beyond GDP: Presentation of the High-Level Expert Group’s Emerging Recommendations and Intergenerational Dialogue with Youth Moving Beyond GDP

Join us on Wednesday, 5 November 2025, 3:00–4:15 PM AST, in Room 106, Qatar National Convention Centre, and live on UN Web TV

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Context

The World Social Summit offers a critical moment to accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as to advance the implementation of the Pact for the Future. The Summit’s overarching goal is to foster inclusive social development and address key challenges to achieve well-being for all. However, progress and well-being continue to be assessed primarily through gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic output that is unable to capture crucial dimensions of sustainable development. GDP also fails to capture long-term impacts and distributional equity, limiting its usefulness as a comprehensive measure of progress on sustainable development, particularly in the context of the Second World Summit for Social Development.  

In response, this Solutions Session marks the first public presentation of the interim report by the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP’s (High-Level Expert Group), which was appointed by the Secretary-General in May 2025 following a request of Member States in the Pact for the Future. The interim report aims to provide an update on the work of the Expert Group, which is tasked with the development of a global framework that will guide future intergovernmental negotiations and policymaking at national and international levels. The framework seeks to complement and go beyond GDP by incorporating multidimensional indicators that better reflect inclusive, equitable, and sustainable development.  

Central to the High-Level Expert Group’s work has been an inclusive and participatory process. The World Social Summit provides a key platform for this global dialogue on social development and social progress, ensuring that no one is left behind in our shared sustainable development journey. Key constituencies in this regard are young people and future generations, as they are not only the inheritors of existing systems but also active changemakers driving transformation. The Youth Moving Beyond GDP and its Youth Network on Beyond GDP operationalize this principle by fostering inclusive and transformative engagement of young people in shaping the Beyond GDP agenda, helping to break the “intergenerational glass ceiling” in global economic and social discourse.

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Overview of the Solutions Session

This Solutions Session serves as the forum for the first presentation of the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP’s interim report on new measures of progress toward sustainable development that complement and go beyond GDP. This presentation marks a key milestone for broader public dialogue and consultations with civil society and governments across the globe.  

The session will feature insights from diverse stakeholders, including through the Youth Network on Beyond GDP, showcasing how intergenerational perspectives and cross-sector collaboration have shaped the recommendations. The session will also highlight perspectives from Member States who are crucial players in adopting, supporting, and implementing Beyond GDP frameworks.  

A key outcome of the session is to respond to the strong calls from thousands attending the World Social Summit for fairer and more forward-looking measures of progress. The Beyond GDP agenda thus serves as a rallying point for the global social development community, aligning with the goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Pact for the Future.

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Objectives of the Solutions Session

This session aims to provide a multi-stakeholder and intergenerational space for exchange to:

• Reflect on how the High-Level Expert Group’s work as outlined in the interim report can advance social development and drive progress on well-being priorities such as poverty eradication, full and productive employment, and social inclusion.
• Enable diverse contributions, including from young people and key constituencies engaged in the Second World Summit for Social Development, to support work of the Expert Group towards successful implementation and uptake of the Expert Group’s work at local, national and global levels. Extensive consultations, such as this Solutions Session, will help to ensure that perspectives from all regions and sectors inform the work of the Expert Group.

Designed as a forward-looking, participatory, and collaborative dialogue, the session responds to the World Social Summit’s call for interactive Solutions Sessions that promote co-creation and active participation to drive transformative change at all levels. It seeks to inform concrete commitments on inclusive well-being for all, anchored in the 2030 Agenda and the SDG (SDG Target 17.19), Action 53 of the Pact for the Future, and the Political Declaration of the World Social Summit, all of which call for new global frameworks that move beyond GDP.

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Agenda Overview

1. Opening Remarks by the UN Deputy Secretary-General, H.E. Amina J. Mohammed, and by government representatives

2. Presentation by co-chairs of the Expert Group, Ms. Nora Lustig and Mr. Kaushik Basu

Followed by: Intervention by Youth Network on Beyond GDP representative

3. Open Discussion: Intergenerational exchange and active engagement among the High-Level Expert Group, the Youth Network, and a wide range of stakeholders, including Member States, young people, and experts from diverse sectors and regions

4. Closing Remarks by government representative

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Organizers

The Solutions Session will be hosted by the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP and the Beyond Lab as the two lead organizers.

It will be co-hosted with the following organizing partners:

• Secretariat of the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP: UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA), and the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General (EOSG).
• Youth Moving Beyond GDP initiative: Beyond Lab, Rethinking Economics International, and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as core partners, with generous support from the Government of Germany through its Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
• The Government of Qatar, as the host of the World Social Summit.

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