Bridging the gap: youth inclusivity and the post-2015 development agenda
By Jilt van Schayik
An old African proverb says: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. I believe this wisdom is the key to Sustainable Development.
Over the past years I have talked to thousands of youngsters living in the Netherlands and travelled to all corners of the world. I debated with Dutch students and participated in youth empowerment programs in the slums of Mumbai. I talked to people infected with HIV in Nairobi and worked on rebuilding local fishing communities in the Philippines. Everywhere I went, I came across young people who are already profoundly impacting their societies. My work as a United Nations Youth Delegate is inspired by the stories, challenges, and dreams of these young people, and focuses on putting youth at the centre of the post-2015 development agenda.
Hopefully my colleagues and I can fulfil part of this promise when we will be in New York for the ECOSOC Youth Forum and the Commission for Social Development (CSocD) in February. Youth development lies at the heart of overall development and, with 1.8 billion young people aged 10-24 across the globe, I believe that’s truer today than ever before. At both the ECOSOC Youth Forum and the Commission for Social Development, I am looking forward to discussing topics such as health, governance and employability hand in hand with governments. It is only through working together that we can create solutions that will ensure a truly transformative agenda.
Today we are standing at a cross point in history. If it were up to me, 2015 would be the starting point for a new world. A world in which young people have equal access and opportunities to help shape the future they want. It is time to finally bridge the gap between young people and the United Nations by ensuring meaningful and inclusive youth participation. This means not only communicating with educated youth in capital cities, but also with the marginalized youth who make up the vast majority of young people in the world.
From this perspective, I am thrilled with the post-2015 process so far. For the first time in history, young people have been actively engaged in shaping the development agenda beyond 2015. Take for example, the Global Youth Call that was endorsed by more than 1,300 youth organizations from over 140 Member States and functioned as one of the input documents for the Secretary-General’s synthesis report on the post-2015 development agenda. Despite this, more needs to be done in order for this agenda to be truly inclusive and to ensure that nobody is left behind.
Far away from our realities, far away from New York, there is a world of young people whose voices have never been heard. As a UN Youth Delegate and as a global citizen I feel it is my duty to connect young people from all walks of life with the United Nations. That’s why we, a group of young people, have launched the Building Bridges project. It is a project that will take us on a bicycle from Amsterdam to Cape Town, from the vast desserts of the Sahara to the central highlands of Namibia, from rural communities to crowded metropolises. The goal of this adventurous project is to explore the post-2015 agenda from a different perspective, a youth perspective on the grassroots level. This way we hope to contribute to making this development agenda truly inclusive. Please visit our website or Facebook page for more information on the project.
About the Author:
Jilt van Schayik, aged 23, is the Dutch Youth Delegate to the 69th session UN General Assembly. Jilt studied Business at Fontys University of Applied Science in the Netherlands. For his graduation thesis, Jilt conducted research on agrarian cooperatives in Kenya and established, together with the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, a cooperative including 500 farmers.
Youth Delegates at the 53rd Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD53)
Youth Delegates to the General Assembly attended the 53rd Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD53) held in New York on 4-13 February 2015. CSocD is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. The Commission has been the key UN body in charge of the follow-up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. The priority theme for 2015-2016 is “Rethinking and strengthening social development in the contemporary world”. More information
Inter-Agency Update
The UN Inter-agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD) contributed to the organization of the ECOSOC Youth Forum held in New York on 2-3 February. The forum brought together youth delegates and youth representatives, Member States, UN entities, as well as civil society representatives to discuss young people’s participation in the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) a Ministerial Session discussed efforts to enhance the implementation of the WPAY and create links to the post-2015 agenda. A session focusing on the “youngest continent”, looked at youth participation in local and national governance processes in Africa. There was also a panel discussion that looked into the status of young women and girls and how engagement by young people can generate new opportunities to promote rights and opportunities for girls. Furthermore, results of national, regional and global processes were presented and their relevance for the Post-2015 agenda was discussed. For statements and videos from the forum, please click here.
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In this video the head of the ILO office for the United Nations, Jane Stewart, explains why youth employment should be at the top of the new development framework.
Youth in Action
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The International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child, anywhere in the world, for his or her dedication to children’s rights. He or she receives the statuette ‘Nkosi’, a study grant and a world-wide platform to promote his or her ideals and causes to the benefit of children’s rights. Nominate a child for this prize before 1st April 2015! For more information or the nomination form, visit the Children’s Peace Prize website or write to info@childrenspeaceprize.org.
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