Lessons from the G20 Youth Summit: 3 Takeaways for International Diplomacy

Isha Desai

Photo supplied by Isha Desai

Earlier this year, I represented Australia at the G20 Youth Summit in Washington DC on the Global Economy and Job Creation track. This involved a week of negotiations with representatives from G20 member countries to produce a set of policy recommendations known as the Y20 communiqué. Despite months of research, in-person training in Canberra and online negotiations, I learnt that international diplomacy follows its own rules. Here are three lessons I took away from the experience.

1.     Don’t be afraid to let go of the details for the principle

If you talk to a professional in international affairs, they will tell you that research is everything, and it is. Before the summit, I held youth consultations, spoke to with CEOs of youth housing providers and poured over statistics, reports and articles. I wanted to enter the summit having a thorough understanding of what Australian youth needed from the global economy. However, I learnt that international diplomacy often rests on the principle of the argument, not the details. Should social protection be available for informal workers? Is financial literacy a universal life skill? Are exclusionary zoning reforms a form of discrimination?

When you are negotiating whether an idea is legitimate in the first place, there is little time to discuss its implementation. Whilst conducting detailed practical research is helpful, it is important to also prepare strong arguments on the moral and ethical foundations of your policy. As a result, I learnt that having detailed knowledge is vital, but being able to adapt and find common ground with other countries is even more important.

In my research I had created a detailed plan to ensure that gig workers can be classified as formal employees to receive overtime pay and fairer dismissal processes. My original proposal carried the idea that all employees deserve social protection and transparency in the hiring and dismissal process. I had researched the EU’s Platform Work Directive, Spain’s Rider Laws and Australian insights by the McKell Institute to formulate five specific policies.

To create a positive consensus across the states, the final document acknowledged that AI-driven platform work is rapidly expanding, and the gig economy requires protections that keep pace with technological developments while ensuring accountability. The Y20 track strongly supported reclassifying gig workers as employees to guarantee overtime and core labour rights, alongside establishing a portable, platform-funded social protection system. While the details of my proposal were not used, the underlying idea was.

2.     Tim Tam diplomacy is real, and it works

Australians are often known for being easy-going, good-humoured and approachable, including in international settings. The term ‘Tim Tam diplomacy’ emerged in 2020 after Scott Morrison brought Tim Tams for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson during post-Brexit free trade negotiations. Since then, it has come to describe Australia’s tendency to use informality and cultural diplomacy to build rapport in high-stakes political settings.

Before the Y20, I was told to bring Tim Tams and Caramello Koalas for my Global Economy and Job Creation colleagues. During the week, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the theory rang true. There was warmth and friendliness in all my bilateral meetings, even when we disagreed on policy. There was a shared belief that we all wanted to help each other achieve the best possible outcomes. And when the Global Economy track was the first to reach consensus at the Y20, the celebratory Tim Tams were a hit!

3.     Even during tense negotiations, people want to find a solution

At the end of our negotiations, our track chairs made a comment that intrigued me. They thanked the delegates for avoiding passive aggression in their discussions. It made me wonder how hostile international negotiations can become. Our track had some intense disagreements, including whether economic gender inequality required its own section in the communiqué. Each delegate was given the floor to make their case, and their arguments were listened to and engaged with on their merits, leaving personal beliefs out of the discussion. I knew I was in a room with people who genuinely wanted to find a solution and were willing to work across their differences to achieve one. After our negotiations were wrapped up, we took turns playing a song from our home country, creating a shared playlist we could listen to after. I learnt that you could debate with people representing positions from opposite sides of the political spectrum and still both genuinely want to find a solution.

Traditionally, the Y20 Chair sends the communiqué to the G20 leaders so they can read the policy recommendations from young people. Importantly, this does not mean that the G20 leaders must act on every recommendation, and the document serves as a snapshot into the youth perspective on the most pertinent issues of the year. Whilst it is not a binding document, the Y20 summit preserves an important process of international diplomacy. It embeds the youth voice in international relations and considers the next generation as a stakeholder that must be considered when creating multilateral policy.

Overall, representing Australia at the G20 Youth Summit was an incredible experience that provided me with valuable negotiation and policy skills, greater professional confidence and new friendships. I believe young people have valuable ideas that deserve to be heard on the international stage, and that meaningful international collaboration can help turn those ideas into policy recommendations.

Isha Desai is a writer, researcher and analyst graduated from the University of Sydney in Politics and International Relations. She was the 2024 Indo Pacific Fellow for Young Australians in International Affairs (YAIA) and currently works in sustainability and social impact policy for Penguin Random House ANZ. Isha is the 2026 Y20 Fellow with Global Voices, where she represented Australia at Washington DC later this year, with a particular focus on climate mobility governance.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Young Australians in International Affairs. All content is original, and no plagiarism has been used in the preparation of this article.