Tackling social development concerns in SIDS: the importance of representative youth networks and advocacy
By Stephanie Carter
Small Island Developing States face a unique set of economic and environmental challenges for their development. During 1-4 September, heads of State, policymakers, business leaders, youth and youth-led organizations and other stakeholders gathered in Apia, Samoa, in the Third Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), to discuss the ways to overcome these challenges.
Ahead of the conference, participants held a Youth Forum, to inform the conference plenary sessions and other events about youth related issues. The theme of the Forum was SIDS T.A.L.A.V.O.U. (Towards A Legacy of Achievement, Versatility, Opportunity through partnership and Unity) for Sustainable Development. In the pre conference TALAVOU Forum, young leaders from across the Caribbean, Pacific and African regions came together for a day of dialogue and collective action.
There was no shortage of ideas, innovation and collaboration, particularly when it came to critical issues affecting the sustainable development and livelihoods of SIDS youth. Amongst the issues discussed, which ranged from youth unemployment to oceans and climate change, social development was a key priority area. In the build up to the main SIDS conference from 1st- 4th September, social development was underscored as one of the three dimensions of sustainable development, key to ensuring results for the most vulnerable and marginalized youth. Under the broader umbrella of social development, SIDS youth find themselves facing the implications of non-communicable diseases, gender inequality, sexual and reproductive health concerns and youth unemployment and empowerment- all issues hindering their progress. Many youth highlighted gender violence and teenage pregnancy as prime causes of social exclusion, along with youth unemployment and lack of skills training.
As was highlighted at TALAVOU, in seeking solutions to social development concerns affecting youth in SIDS, youth empowerment and advocacy is key to overcome these challenges. In bridging the gap between political decision-making and the real time effects of social development policies, young people must strive to play an active and informed role. As the future leaders of SIDS, young people must take advantage of available platforms and networks that allow them to truly advocate for a change. In building youth capacity, young people should utilize their vast social media networks, hone virtual youth networks and promote collaboration and knowledge sharing. In the spirit of targeted and representative advocacy, this is essential.
Katherine Ellis from the Commonwealth Secretariat emphasized the need to create more representative youth networks as a way to take action.
‘Critical factors for youth empowerment in my opinion- firstly that youth networks and youth groups are truly representative and preferably youth led, they have direct and authentic access to decision makers, and we need to make sure the focus is on young people’s capabilities and needs. Youth leaders need to be really informed, aware and effective. Young people must be driven by values and purpose’.
Participants recognized the need for SIDS youth to practice ‘informed and structured’ youth advocacy, and for governments to support strong and active youth councils.
‘We’ve got to make sure that young people are represented properly and not just in terms of employment, but in terms of empowerment and participation’.
In reflecting on the outcomes of the youth conference, Bahamas youth delegate Crystal Alexander was very hopeful.
‘An investment in youth, is an investment in change- structural, economic or social changes. That’s the future’.
About the Author:
Stephanie Carter, age 24, is currently working for GRM International on international aid programs. She is also studying Business and Integrated Marketing Communications at Queensland University of Technology. She is a freelance writer for the Commonwealth Secretariat, UK.
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States
The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States was held from 1 to 4 September 2014 in Apia, Samoa. It focused the world’s attention on a group of countries that remain a special case for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities. The overarching theme of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States was "The sustainable development of Small Island developing States through genuine and durable partnerships". more information
Inter-Agency Update
On August 12 the Inter-agency network on youth and its member organizations commemorated International Youth Day all around the world. UN entities organized events in several countries to raise awareness about youth development. UNV Bolivia, for example organized a flash-mob involving more than 500 young people to promote volunteerism among youth. To overcome the stigma young people with mental health conditions often face, UN ran an online campaign #MentalHealthMatters in the months leading up to the International Youth Day. Please refer to the worldmap of IYD celebrations to read about multiple initiatives organized by youth, civil society and UN entities in observance of the International Youth Day.
UN Entities Highlighted News
IOM: PLURAL+ Youth Video Competition
We are thrilled to announce that after screening more than 200 entries from around the world, winners of Plural Plus 2014 have been selected for a cash prize of US$ 1000 each and trip to New York to attend the Award Ceremony. The winner for age category 9-12 is Aldo Abril Badenas and his team from Spain, the winner of age category 13-17 is Michael Born and his team from Canada and the winner for age category 18-25 is Al-Mothanna Al-Ghizzawi and his team from Jordan.
UNFPA Tunisia: Young Tunisians priorities on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
More than 80 young people took part in a national consultation, which aimed to engage young Tunisians in the discussions on the priorities for the post-2015 development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The participants worked on many themes, including education, employment, health, crime & violence, participation and mobility. The workshop resulted in the adoption of more than 100 recommendations.
UNESCO: Launch of the UNESCO Diversity Kit for Youth in Basque and Catalan
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Etxea and the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policies and Cooperation, Spain have launched the UNESCO Diversity Kit for Youth in Basque and Catalan, an educational and innovative game for teenagers (12-16 years old). Developed by UNESCO and a team of experts, this online game allows teenagers to take on an individual path of discovery, exploring the main themes of the UNESCO 2005 Convention, including creativity and diversity of cultural expressions in an easily understandable and entertaining way.
ITU: Take part in the Young Innovators Competition
Do you have innovative ideas on how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help develop smart cities to tackle the effects of climate change and improve people’s health? International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in partnership with World Health Organization (WHO) launched Challenge 3 in its 2014 series, on ‘Smart Cities and Climate Change’. If you are 18-30 years old and want to co-create the winning solution with your peers, enter the competition and win a chance to join us at ITU World Telecom World in Doha..
More
IFAD & PROCASUR AFRICA: Innovative ideas and approaches to integrate Rural Youth in Agriculture
Youth and agriculture represent two great potentials in Africa. However, the relationship between them is ambiguous. PROCASUR and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) organized a Learning Route to show that, despite difficulties, young people play an important role in creating new rural businesses and reducing poverty. The cases seen in Kenya (August 2014) have served as examples for the 22 participants from 9 different countries to design Action Plans, with new strategies and activities including a youth dimension to ongoing IFAD-supported projects.
More
UNESCO-IUCr Crystal Growing Competition - International Year of Crystallography (IYCr)
As part of the International Year of Crystallography, a crystal-growing competition for schoolchildren was launched. Students, aged between 7 and 16 years, have to grow large and regular crystals from saturated solution, and to test the effects of changing temperature, water softness or other environmental conditions. They have to send their crystals to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters and to post their results on a central website. This event will introduce students to the exciting, challenging and sometimes frustrating world of growing crystals.
More
ITU: #PP14youth
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is offering the chance to send a message to ICT policy makers on how information and communication technology can empower marginalized young people, and what needs to be done to take best advantage of this. The open consultation is crowdsourcing input to a resolution which will be presented by the Republic of Costa Rica to Member States at the ITU’s upcoming Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) in October.
Support, oppose or comment on the draft youth policy document:
Here
WFP: World Youth Parliament 2014
In august (9th to 15th) 130 young people from 20 Nations gathered in Germany, near to Berlin, to the World Youth Parliament 2014.
The final document “Magna Charta of youth in the school of hope” presents the ideas of thousands of young people involved in this Project, through a global forum for dialogue promoted by the International Idente Youth. The outcome document was presented at the Humboldt University in Berlin on August 14th.
More
UNESCO: Young Filmmakers Showcase in Havana, Cuba
The Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC: Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Arts and Industry) holds “Young Filmmakers Showcase” (Muestra Joven) every year, in order to foster audiovisual works of young people, and to facilitate dialogue between different generations of artists in Cuba. In the 13th edition (2014), over 70 entries were screened at the different venues in the Cuban capital, where young people from different parts of the island shared with the public their intellectual and aesthetic views on their works.More
UNESCO: Sandwatch Project
Sandwatch Project is implemented with young people from UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) in Cuba (29 educations centres) and the Dominican Republic (10 educations centres). The students along with their teachers and their community understand and provide solutions to the environmental problems of the beaches. The project is aimed at raising awareness among young people on the importance to protect coastal zones.
More
Youth in Action
Youth Climate Action: On the road to the 2014 UN Climate Summit: The International Youth Climate Movement is back and stronger than ever!
Moving towards the UNFCCC COP 21/CMP 11, the UN Secretary-General's Climate Summit on 23 September is an important milestone to an ambitious 2015 climate change agreement. On this occasion, Youth Climate Action launched a web platform on 23 August to give more visibility to young people taking action on climate change, to encourage youth participation at the Summit itself and also to inspire world leaders. We want our decision-makers to be as ambitious as we are!
More
Kazakhstan National Federation of UNESCO Clubs: Children are Painting the World
The International Festival "Children are Painting the World. Central Asia 2013-2014" was held in Astana, Kazakhstan on 23rd August. There were about 4,000 works submitted for the contest and more than 700 works of all the finalists of the contest aged between 3 to 17, were published in the album “Children are Painting the World. Central Asia 2013-2014”. 150 young talents (12-17) from 5 Central Asian countries received the opportunity to participate in the unique master-classes during the Festival.
ILO: Work4Youth report: Young workers in Asia face instability and vulnerability
The report presents the results of the School-to-work transition surveys (SWTS) implemented in five countries in the Asia-Pacific region – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Samoa and Viet Nam – in 2012 or 2013. According to the study, Labour market transitions of young women and men in Asia and the Pacific, the majority of youth in the region are either in low quality jobs or unemployed. Nearly half of workers aged 15−29 in Asia and the Pacific are self-employed and two in three youth are in paid work without a written contract.
UNESCO: Initiative on Heritage for Dialogue and Reconciliation based on the Underwater Cultural Heritage from World War I
This initiative foresees the publication of a Teacher’s Manual as a part of an educational package provided in support of the UNESCO project, Heritage For Dialogue And Reconciliation - Safeguarding Underwater Cultural Heritage From World War I, which also includes film material and an introductory brochure. The initiative aims to facilitate the work of educators in introducing to the younger generations the understanding of concepts like dialogue, peace and reconciliation in connection with an appreciation of the cultural heritage, in particular the underwater cultural heritage, its preservation and social scope.
