In the 1980s, the principles of neoliberalism, advocated by scholars like Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ludwig von Mises, and James M. Buchanan, as well as politicians and policymakers such as Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and Alan Greenspan, were introduced in the international economic and political orders. These principles included privatization, deregulation, globalization, free trade, monetarism, austerity, and reductions in government spending to increase the role of the private sector in the economy and society.

The neoliberal policies, implemented under the Washington Consensus in the world regulated by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Trade Organization (WTO), have exacerbated and continue to exacerbate unprecedented inequality in various forms between and within states. For instance, as per the Global Inequality Report 2022 while the bottom 50 percent of the global population owns just 2 percent of wealth and 8 percent of income, the top 10 percent of the population owns 76 percent of total household wealth and captures 52 percent of total income. Oxfam Report 2022 reveals that one person dies every four seconds due to colossal rise in inequality-led vulnerabilities in society.

Authoritarianism and totalitarianism, under the guise of extreme nationalism, populism, and fundamentalism, are on the rise worldwide. As a result, freedom of speech, assembly, and association have been impeded.

Moreover, the ecological system, in the name of so-called development, has deteriorated due to an illicit nexus between business tycoons and representatives of governments worldwide.

Warmongering politicians, coupled with the Military-Industrial Complex, have posed a tremendous perilous situation, damaging the security situation in the world. The Ukraine-Russia conflict, Israel-Palestine conflict, and Middle East crisis are epitomes of the propensity of warmongering politicians using the pretext of a so-called geopolitical conflict in the 'new cold war.' Furthermore, the saber-rattling of nuclear use, the most destructive bomb for humanity, has been a Damocles' sword hanging over human civilization for a long time.

Although world leaders time and again commit in international forums to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights, the fundamental rights of people living in poverty, women, indigenous, LGBTIQS++, migrants, refugees, Dalits, and other marginalized and vulnerable communities have been significantly violated.

In the contemporary world, there exists a demographic of over 1.2 billion individuals aged between 15 and 24 worldwide. Extensive research and studies have indicated that a significant majority of young people, exceeding 80 percent on a global scale and especially in regions referred to as the Global South, experience oppression and exploitation as a result of the negative consequences brought about by privatization, liberalization, and globalization in their everyday lives.

While youth have played a remarkable role in social, economic, and political revolutions, their right to have meaningful participation in decision-making, education, health, employment, entrepreneurship, and other necessary rights have not been guaranteed. As a result, in the so-called globalized world, youths are living in desperate conditions throughout the world in general, particularly in least developed countries.

Given the current context, youth living in all continents of the world should have a clear understanding of the driving forces of the international political and financial order, its inherent contradictions, and its linkages with youth development, among other factors. For this reason, the youth of the world should come together to discuss the challenges they face, strategize alternative proposals, and enhance the world youth movement against neoliberal globalization, making counter hegemonic ideas.

The 'World Social Forum', starting in Brazil in 2001, is set to be organized in Nepal from 15-19 February 2024 in Nepal. Under this forum, given the tremendous potential of youth to transform the world under the slogan "Another world is possible," the Inter-continental Youth Forum (IYF) is planned to be held from 17-19 February 2024 in Nepal, involving more than ten thousand progressive youths from around the globe.