By Ruth Nyambura*

I had never been to the Middle-East, yet, one thing I knew for certain was that it was incredibly hot and I really liked that. I left for the conference in late November, a time of rain and extreme cold in my country and was exited about the hot weather in Doha. Imagine my surprise when I got to Doha to find that the country was in the middle of some sort of ‘winter’, nightfall came at 5 pm everyday with winds left me freezing which, ultimately forced me to buy scarves and to occasionally borrow jackets from Devika, my room-mate from Fiji.

I arrived in the morning and in few hours I reached to the Education City, just opposite to the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), to attend the 8th Conference of Youth (COY8). I quickly understood that we, around 300 young people from all over the world, came together not only to network and highlight the issues of climate change but also to prepare to put up a united front of young people during the COP18 negotiations.

 At the Conference of Youth I met other nine youth delegates from the Global South who, like me, also received grants from the Norwegian government to attend the conferences. Four of us were from Africa, two from Latin America, two from South Asia and one from pacific region. Honestly, I have never been with people from such diverse backgrounds with full of enthusiasm, and I loved every moment at the youth conference.

In addition to my team members from the Global South, I also worked with youths from the Global North, through the youth-run environmental newswire ‘The Verb’. I was actively involved with the newswire and provided media content surrounding the COP18 and the issues faced by the youth of the South. As a recent graduate in Mass Communication, it was an amazing opportunity for me to report on contemporary issues at such a high-level platform. I thoroughly enjoyed working with an amazing group of young people who helped me understand the nitty-gritty of UNFCCC processes.

I came from Kenya where I have seen the devastating effects of climate change which, in last 4 months, exacerbated pre-existing conflicts among pastoralist communities that led to serious inter-ethnic fights over resources and caused displacement of thousands of people. I certainly expected more political goodwill in the conference to reach a deal at the global level. While current political and economic situation is worse than any recent time, an effective deal was necessary as climate change turned-out as the single biggest issue of our generation, especially for the youth. Though I was not that happy with the outcome of the meeting, I was surely benefited from the rich discussions on many issues on climate change. I met a friend from the Maldives who did not fear for the future of her Island but concerned whether the Island and its people would even exist to have a future to look forward to. I felt more empowered than ever to help other young people from Africa in solving this great crisis of our time.

The greatest lesson I learnt at COP18 was that only so much can be done at this platform if we initiate actions at the local, national and regional levels. While the high expectations for such a high-level meeting are understandable, we must not forget to pursue our representatives at home to take informed decisions at the highest level. That’s why, I have resolved to do up until the next COP in Poland and to begin working in policy formation and advocacy to strengthen and facilitate my country’s stake at these negotiations that promotes progressive and enhanced sustainability for all.

*Ruth Nyambura is a 23 year old gender and climate justice advocate from Nairobi, Kenya, who writes for the International Political Forum (IPF) http://internationalpoliticalforum.com/ and works on projects and issues related to women empowerment, youth development and a human rights based approach to sustainable development in Africa. She participated in COP 18/CMP 8 as a member of Taking It Global.

UNDESA

The Education We Want

The Post2015 Global Consultation on Education aims to bring together experiences and ideas of youth, civil society, NGOs, academia, Governments and private sector to achieve better, wider and more equitable access to quality education for all around the globe. The E-consultation will provide an opportunity for all stakeholders, especially  for young people, to  review progress on  the Education for All (EFA) and the MDG on education to discuss on possible ways  to ensure the needs around education are effectively addressed and put at the centre of the post-2015 development framework.

Join the Consultation by registering at http://www.worldwewant2015.org/education2015.

The High-Level Panel Secretariat on the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Gathering Information on Youth Initiatives

Youth engagement in the Post-2015 Development Agenda should not only integrate youth concerns but also support an environment in which youth are empowered to lead and generate innovative solutions to pressing global problems. The High-Level Panel Secretariat on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP Secretariat) aims to take the opportunity to include youth voices and encourage youth-led initiatives.

The Post-2015 High-Level Panel is keen to learn about youth-led consultations and initiatives. If your youth-led organization has completed any report on youth consultations on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), please do not hesitate to share it with the HLP Secretariat. If your organization is coordinating or participating in any youth consultations, please keep us informed of your activities and send us your ideas on how the HLP Secretariat can support your initiatives. In addition, the Secretariat will also make available the framing questions being considered by the Panel. Responses from youth will be welcome (Visit the Panel website for more information www.worldwewant2015.org/post2015hlp).

Please send your email entitled “Youth Initiatives” to the contact point in the High-Level Panel Secretariat on Post-2015 Development Agenda (Jiajun XU Email: jiajun.xu@post2015hlp.org).

UNESCO

1. Youth voices at the 40^th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention

The Closing Event of the 40^th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention (6-8 November) in Kyoto discussed the theme, “World Heritage Convention and Sustainable Development: the Role of Local Communities”. During the event, a Youth Statement on "World Heritage: the roles of local communities and youth for the next decade" was presented by the participants of the World Heritage Youth Programme that met in Kyoto prior to the event. The statement, prepared by youth from different world regions, discussed their roles in the future of the Convention, and expressed their desire to be more actively involved in its implementation. They also called upon the State Parties to facilitate communication between young people and other stakeholders and to recognize World Heritage Volunteers as one of the mechanisms to engage young people in the promotion and conservation of world heritage.

2. Empowering youth from small island developing states (SIDS) to take action on HIV/AIDS

Youth Visioning for Island Living is a UNESCO initiative which gives the opportunity to youth to design, plan, implement and evaluate their own projects towards the sustainable development of their islands. In 2012-2013 youth capacities in HIV/AIDS project development, implementation and evaluation were developed in Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Jamaica, Mauritius and Papua New Guinea, through active collaboration with youth organizations and other partners in the field. These various projects target youth key populations and are developed following a thorough assessment of their specific needs.

Contact: k.ikhlef@unesco.org

Web: http://youthvisioning.org

3. UNESCO WFEO YE/FL Youth Convention (10 to 12 February 2013, Kuwait)

The WFEO Young Engineers Future Leaders committee will be hosting a Youth Convention in Kuwait. It will take place from the 10th to the 12th of February 2013. The main purpose of the meeting will be to mobilize young engineers from around the world to discuss issues concerning Skills necessary for equipping the youth as leaders, Engineering and Technology, and Globalization and International Relations.

Contact: r.sigamoney@unesco.org

Web: http://yefl.net/; and http://www.wfeo.net/yefl/events/wfeo-young-engineers-future-leaders-committee-organizes-the-youth-convention-in-kuwait/

International Labour Organization (ILO)

ILO launches global photo contest "WORK4YOUTH"

The ILO Youth Employment Programme is organizing a photo contest to shed light on youth employment issues, the challenges young people face in the workplace as well as their power to overcome them. The contest is part of the activities of the Work4Youth. ILO welcomes photographs from amateur as well as professional photographers in the contest. The photographs submitted should capture youth at work (in different places and under various conditions) in a creative and original manner. Photographers are invited to focus specifically on working conditions, gender barriers, discrimination, informality, entrepreneurship, working poverty, migration, precarious work, and the rural economy, among others. A total of five prizes to be won! Participants are invited to submit up to a maximum of five photos by no later than 15 April 2013.

For details on how to participate, please visit www.ilo.org/w4y

Videos by young people on Decent Work

Young people deserve a chance to access decent work. Their voices should be heard, their creativity engaged, and their rights respected. As a result of the video contest “Decent work for youth” launched in March 2012, by the ILO Youth Employment Programme, over 200 extraordinary videos were received with employment-related stories of young people from different parts of the world. These videos were included in a global database that is now available online.  Videos can be searched by language, country and a wide array of youth employment topics, including conditions of work, informality, unemployment, job search, internships and migration. 

Watch the stories of young people by searching videos at

http://www.decentwork4youth.org/?sec=top

UNRWA

UNRWA TV makes a difference during crisis

During the recent crisis in Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was forced to close 245 of its schools as violent conflict intensified throughout the region. Though the temporary school closures forced 225,000 students to remain at home, UNRWA was still able to provide students with educational content through the use of its innovative educational TV channel UNRWA TV. The channel allowed students to access lessons in Arabic, English and mathematics. During the crisis the channel broadcasted 12 hours of lessons daily. A recent survey shows that UNRWA TV has secured 41% student viewership in Gaza, with over 80% of viewers and their parents reporting the channel has led to improved academic achievement. 

See the full story and more about UNRWA’s TV on UNRWA’s website:   http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1506

Youth Employment Network (YEN)

1. Ideas4Work: Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship in Africa (January 23-25, 2013)

Members of the Global Partnership for Youth Employment (GPYE) are convening this learning symposium in Dakar, Senegal, to provide an opportunity for policy makers, practitioners, researchers, youth, and donors to learn from each other through a variety of interactive sessions. The agenda will focus on gathering and disseminating evidence-based research on youth employment and entrepreneurship outcomes in Africa, as well as providing examples of effective programs and policies that respond to the challenges facing young people in their transition to employment in Africa.

More information at: www.regonline.com/ideas4work, to register for the Ideas4Work conference, please contact the GPYE Secretariat at gpyeconference@iyfnet.org

2. What’s Working? Competition (apply by December 31, 2012)

YEN invites organizations focusing on improving youth employment opportunities to tell YEN about their project. The winning organizations will have a chance to get their project featured at the 2013 Global Youth Employment Opportunities Conference and win up to $800! This round of the What’s Working competition is focused on rural interventions.

The deadline to enter is December 31, 2012:

http://yenmarketplace.org/whats-working-competition

3. Free E-Coaching programme for young entrepreneurs (apply by January 7, 2013)

YEN invites all young entrepreneurs (max. 35 years) to apply for the YEN E-Coaching programme. E-coaches provide business support and advice to young entrepreneurs and accompany them through the process of setting up their business and finding solutions to specific business challenges.

Apply by Monday, January 7, 2013:

http://www.yenmarketplace.org/request-coach

UNIC Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Fun Thursday

The UN Information Centre, Dar es Salaam, organized a “Fun Thursday” session for Youths out of school on 22 November 2012, at UNESCO Conference Hall. Kibada, Makangarawe and Buguruni Youth centres attended the session.

The main topic for discussion was UN4U and the Millennium Development Goals. Participants actively discussed the role of youth in achieveing the MDGs and also shared their experiences and opinions on each topic. While discussing reducing poverty and hunger, youth shared their opinions on various activities that may help to achieve the goal, which included agriculture, animal farming, traditional dancing, art works, small businesses (entrepreneurship) and educating other youths within their communities on HIV/AIDS.

UNIC Mexico City, Mexico

The future we want through human rights

During 3-9 December, the UN Information Centre in Mexico City hosted some thirty-five participants for the Fifth Regional Student Conference on Human Rights titled "The Future We Want through Human RIghts".

In addition to Mexican students aged 15 to 19, participants from indigenous and rural communities in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay and Peru joined in a series of interactive presentations and workshops on the rights to democracy and on ethnic and cultural minorities’ rights.  They also discussed violence against women and girls and established the Latin American and Caribbean chapter of the Global Youth Network supporting the campaign to end violence against women.

UNIS Vienna, Austria

Human Rights Youth Film Competition

My Voice Counts – the 2012 theme of Human Rights Day – was the shared vision for young amateur film makers at the Vienna International Centre on 6 December during a special award ceremony. For Human Rights Day, the UN Information Service in Vienna (UNIS, Vienna) hosted an award ceremony for the youth short film competition on human rights.

The contest aimed to raise awareness of young people’s human rights by giving students the opportunity to tackle the topic from a cinematic point of view and a platform to present their films. Students worldwide aged 10 to 20 were invited to produce short films on sustainability, migration/refugees and global warming.  

First prize went to 17-year-old Hungarian Eszter for an animation film on freedom. Four Austrian winning teams were also honoured and all winners enjoyed a guided tour through UN premises. During the Award Ceremony two young rappers Bünyamin Celik and Baris Cetin portrayed their lives as Viennese-born “foreigners” in a live performance.

UNIC Ankara, Turkey

Students visit to UNIC Ankara

On 22 November, members of the Model United Nations of TED Ankara High School visited the UN Information Centre (UNIC) Ankara and to attend a UN4U presentation

During the visit, a UNIC Information Officer recounted the UN story that began in 1945. A part of the presentation was also dedicated to the post-2015 development agenda as Turkey conducts national consultations to contribute to the formation of the priorities for Post2015 development agenda. A briefing session on the structure, priorities and ideals of the United Nations was followed by a question and answer session.  The sessions provided relevant information on preventive diplomacy efforts, structure of the Security Council, Security Council reform, the veto power of the Security Council permanent members and the UN reform.

UNIC Moscow, Russia

Indigenous Activism

On 23 November 2012, at the request of “Nuori Karjala",  a youth NGO from the Russian Republic of Karelia, the UN Information Centre in Moscow hosted an introductory session on its work dedicated to the UN indigenous agenda.

The young social activists participated in a “School of Public Diplomacy” project to create a network of citizen diplomats in the Finno-Ugric areas of Russia, as well as in Finland, Hungary and Estonia. Supporting the international Finno-Ugric agenda, it aims to contribute to multilateral activities benefitting the world's indigenous peoples. While the project’s main focus is on cultural cooperation, it has a broader dimension linked to areas of partnership between Russia and the European Union.  

Centre Director, Alexandre Gorelik, overviewed the current UN priority list, primarily around the Sustainable Development concept, and spoke about the Rio+20 Conference. The audience was receptive to comments regarding “The Future We Want” Rio outcome document and Post2015 development agenda.

UNIC Indonesia

Indonesian Youth Delegate's Voice

Rainintha Siahaan, one of 10 Youth Delegates at the High Level Panel Meeting in London was thrilled to have met “brilliant young leaders, change makers of their own communities and UN High Level Panelists entrusted by the UN to make recommendations for the post-2015 development agenda”.

Rainintha, noting the MDG's lack of a youth element, welcomed her role as youth communicator to add youth perspectives on development issues. “More young people’s voices need to be included, especially as the largest population we are accountable for whatever happens in 2030”.

As the Indonesian delegate, she explained that development in her heterogeneous society was unevenly spread and that young people needed to become more involved, such as the young doctors in the Pencerah Nusa initiative who aimed to reduce the risk of maternal deaths and educate youth about sexual and reproductive health.

Rainintha is part of an online consultation on youth post-2015 and invites young people to follow @YouthPost2015 at Twitter or “like” the Global Youth Voices on Facebook. She encourages everyone to “unite voices and send messages to people across the globe”.

My World: A Global Survey for Citizens
MY World is an innovative global survey proposed by the United Nations and partners which through web, mobile and paper surveys allows people across the world to tell the United Nations, and in particular the Secretary General's High Level Panel, the most important issues they would like the post-2015 agenda to address.

Through MY World the United Nations and partners are reaching out to citizens all over the world in order to listen to their voices, priorities and views and incorporate them in the post-2015 process which will result in a new global development agenda. This initiative has been developed by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Millennium Campaign, the Overseas Development Institute and the Web Foundation.

MY World will be available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese and Russian in December 2012 and survey results will be shared through my world website and social media and will be presented to world leaders in 2013.

More info at www.myworld2015.org

Global Youth Connect

1. Human Rights in the USA

During Global Youth Connect’s first Human Rights in the USA summit in New York City, 23 youth from all over the world engaged themselves in human rights workshops, volunteered with local NYC-based organizations on various human rights issues from health care to the “cradle to prison” pipeline to the human rights of the elderly.  They conducted over 30 site visits to local institutions and international entities such as the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the UN Focal Point on Youth, Human Rights Watch, and Witness. The visiting participants even had a chance to stay in the homes of the local delegates, in different NYC communities, to better familiarize the team with the situation in NYC. Through blogging and theatre, all participants processed what they learned and presented to an audience including representatives of the Urban Justice Center and the NYC Commission on Human Rights, creating a unique dialogue about human rights at both the local and global levels.

2. Call for applications summer 2013 -- human rights programs -- USA & Rwanda

Global Youth Connect is accepting applications from young leaders for its summer 2013 programs, which will take place in Rwanda and in USA. Each program brings 15 visiting youth from around the world together with 15 youth in the host location (Rwanda or NYC) to engage together in: a human rights workshop, key visits with policy makers and to historic sites, and volunteer service with grassroots NGOs on a variety of human rights issues.  Given the age range of the programming 16 - 30 (NYC) & 18 - 35 (Rwanda), this is an opportunity for not only students but also for young teachers and professionals to gain intercultural human rights experience and get involved in the global human rights movement.  The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2013.  An earlier decision is possible if applications are submitted by January 7, 2013.  Some scholarships are available.  For more details and to download an application please visit -- www.globalyouthconnect.org/participate.html

The International Center for Transitional Justice

Engaging Children and Youth in Transitional Justice Processes: Guidance for Outreach Programs

ICTJ’s Children and Youth Program announced the publication of a new report entitled Engaging Children and Youth in Transitional Justice Processes. Based on a comparative review of current and past efforts to reach out to children and youth as part of outreach programming for transitional justice measures, this brief and practically oriented document provides ideas for the development of youth and child tailored outreach programs for transitional justice measures. It also aims to raise awareness about the importance of including children and youth in transitional justice processes in general, and specifically through outreach and public education activities and programming. This publication launch was included as part of ICTJ’s effort to promote International Children’s Day on November 20th. 

To find the report and related information please visit:

http://ictj.org/publication/engaging-children-and-youth-transitional-justice-processes-guidance-outreach-programs