Youth Delegates Participation at the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly
The Youth Delegates Programme is an important and crucial mechanism for the participation of young people in the work of the United Nations. Every year, many Member States support their youth delegates as part of their official delegation to the United Nations General Assembly and various functional Commissions of the Economic and Social Council. The intergovernmental processes give youth an opportunity to actively participate and understand the intricacies of negotiations, achieving consensus and diplomacy executed at the various levels of decision making processes. Most importantly, youth delegates bring creativity, energy and new perspectives to highlight issues and interests that globally concern them. Upon their return to their home countries, youth delegates continue to impart their knowledge and lessons learned from the Youth Delegates experience to members of their communities. For the years 2017-2018, several Youth Delegates attended various intergovernmental processes including the General Assembly opening and debate, and the upcoming Third Committee that deals with a range of social, humanitarian and human rights issues including those of youth. The underlying principle of youth participation in the work of the United Nations lies in its inherent potential to create better policy and programmatic dialogue between young people and their Governments on youth issues. The Youth Flash monthly newsletter interviewed Paige Burton, the current Australian Youth Delegate to share her perspectives on how participation at intergovernmental bodies through the Youth Delegates Programme, helps empower her and other youth.
Question: How did you become a UN Youth Delegate for Australia?
Paige Burton: The Australian Youth Representative role is appointed annually by an organisation called UN Youth Australia and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The process is an open application process that asks applicants to share their vision for the role, and prepare a focus for the year. The application process takes place over many rounds and includes interviews, written applications, and a face-to-face workshop delivery. The application process is a good way to get your vision for the role right, and work out where you can improve it going forward.
Question: Why is it important to include youth in decision making mechanisms including UN intergovernmental processes?
Paige Burton: I know that young people have clever, nuanced, and intelligent contributions to make to public debate but often are not given formal platforms to share them. This generation is the largest ever generation of young people and we are going to be crucial in implementing the SDGs.
We cannot achieve all we want to by 2030 without the cooperation, and hard work of young people.
It is important as a global community, that we carve space for young peoples’ input at all levels of decision-making. We all need to recognise the value of young people in contributing to formal intergovernmental processes. Civic empowerment of young people is critical for combatting so many of the issues we are facing around the world, and that means engagement at all levels.
We should be creating spaces that make young people feel celebrated, supported, and powerful. We also need to allow young people to have important conversations with their peers, to give them support, and autonomy to carry out their ideas without being tokenistic.
Question: What do you see as major challenges for your country in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda?
Paige Burton: A major challenge for us, as I think it is with all countries, is making sure that young people are meaningfully engaged in decision-making processes. Australia is a very large country, and so many young people live outside of major cities, in rural and remote communities, and it is very important that the opinions of those young people are heard and valued alongside everyone’s.
The biggest challenge I see is educating young people about the 2030 Agenda in a way that lets them think about the agenda in a framework. Young people care about so many of the SDGs but the goals cannot be left in silos. All the SDGs are connected, and most issues are related to each other. We need to find a way to teach that to young people early so that they are able to educate their peers, and act on the SDGs in that intersectional way.
Question: How do you intend to implement lessons learned from UNGA 72 to youth in your home country?
Paige Burton: I am writing an extensive report after my time at UNGA. Each Federal Electorate in Australia will have a report written that reflects the views of young Australians that I have captured in my consultations throughout the year as well as some lessons from UNGA 72. For a couple of months, I will also be on social media sharing the experiences, and engaging in conversations face-to-face with young people about my time in New York and the United Nations.
Question: What advice do you have for other youth who will like to start-up a Youth Delegates programme in their country?
Paige Burton:Do it! Youth Delegates are so important; they give a voice and face to so many issues that are crucial for young people in your country. Chat to some former youth delegates to establish how they run their programme. There are variations across the world in the way the programmes are managed, but you can have a look and see which one will work for you. I would be very happy to talk about how to setup the programme, using my experience.
Paige previously served as the National Education Director and Chair of the Board for United Nations Youth Australia. Paige helped develop the UN Youth Australia’s national curriculum, founded the first national advocacy-oriented public speaking competition (Voice), and facilitated educational tours of Timor Leste, and the Middle East for high school students.
Until 2016, Paige was the Events & Operations Manager at the Centre for Australian Progress, a non-profit organisation committed to building the advocacy capacity of Australian civil society. In 2015, and 2016, Paige was recognised for her work by Pro Bono Australia as the youngest ever recipient of the ‘Impact 25: The 25 Most Influential People in the Social Sector’ award. In 2017, Paige was named as a finalist for New South Wales Young Woman of the Year.
Paige represented Australian young people on the United Nations LGBT Core Group's panel for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
You can read more about Paige Burton and her work as a Youth Delegate here and follow her on social media: Facebook or Twitter: @Paige_Burton.
ILO: High-Level Conference on Youth and Employment in North Africa
The first Youth and Employment in North Africa (YENA) conference, organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), was held from 26 to 27 September 2017 at ILO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The YENA conference brought together senior government, employer and worker representatives from seven African countries, as well as development partners. The two-day conference addressed the most pressing issues related to youth and decent work and agreed on a new “Roadmap for Youth Employment in North Africa” for the next five years. The interactive platform also provided an opportunity to share latest initiatives, results, and priorities for each country. More.
ILO and UNDP: High-level Event on Youth Employment for Peace and Resilience
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) co-organized a high-level event in partnership with the Ministry of Employment and Social Security of Spain and the Permanent Mission of Tunisia to the United Nations. Under the aegis of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, the event brought together ministers and other high-level representatives of governments, social partners, UN entities, business, youth organizations and other key stakeholders to raise awareness about Recommendation 205 (2017) on Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience, which highlights good practices and advance joint work on youth employment in fragile situations. More.
ILO: Creating Decent Jobs for a Rapidly Expanding Young African Labour Force
ILO conducted an interview with Bruno Losch, the co-Director of the Center for the Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Western Cape in South Africa, to explore youth employment challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. Youth unemployment rates remain relatively low in sub-Saharan Africa, as the vast majority of employable active youth cannot afford not to work. Yet within the next 15 years, some 375 million young people will become of working age in the region. Bruno Losch is also a lead political economist at the Agricultural Research for Development (Cirad). Read about the interview here.
PBSO: Young Peacebuilders Come Together to Discuss Peace and Security Challenges and Opportunities in Africa
The Peace Building Support Office (PBSO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), through the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security, brought together young peacebuilders from East and Southern Africa. The young leaders shared the work they are doing with their peers and discussed the peace and security challenges they encounter in their communities. The participants also worked together to identify innovative solutions that address both context-specific and common, overarching challenges that they experience across the region. The event was held in two separate consultations in August and September 2017. More.
UNEP: UN Environment Reveals World Finalists for Young Champions of the Earth Prize
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Young Champions of the Earth is a forward-looking prize designed to breathe life into the ambitions of brilliant young environmentalists who offer novel solutions to pressing environmental challenges. In this inaugural year, thousands of applications were received and following a multi-stage selection process including an online public vote, 12 world finalists were selected. The next stage is for a global jury to pick six young champions who will be selected for having the most innovative, scalable and impactful ideas. Winners will represent diverse geographical regions and are to be announced in November 2017. Each winner will receive USD 15,000 in seed funding, needs-based training, technical support, expert mentoring and global publicity. More.
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), which is the operational arm of the 2005 Convention for the protection and the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, financed a project to create a laboratory specialized in various aspects of digital creation. Implemented by Kër Thiossane, a Senegalese NGO, the project supported the incorporation of multimedia work across artistic expressions by improving the level of professional skills of 150 artists. The impact of the project has been key for the emergence of the digital creation sector in Senegal. Young artists gained skills and have become competitive in the creative sector and job market in Senegal. More.
Watch the video of an IFCD funded project by Kër Thiossane here.
In celebration of International Youth Day which was held on the 11 August 2017, the UNESCO Office in Brazil in partnership with the National Youth Secretariat relaunched the Plano Juventude Viva (Youth Alive Plan). The event marked the beginning of the update of the Youth Violence and Racial Inequality Vulnerability Index. The index was originally published in 2014 to highlight how young afro descendants are the main victims and are most vulnerable to violence in Brazil. All new data collected will contribute to the implementation of the plan and and its aim to update the index by 2018. In addition, young men and women launched a steering committee to implement the plan. More.
UNESCO: Ensuring Creative and Innovative Spaces for Youth Engagement in Ethiopia
The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ethiopia organized a joint youth forum under the theme: “Ensuring creative and innovative and creative spaces for youth engagement in Ethiopia” on 29 August 2017 held at the UN Conference Centre. The Forum assembled about 200 young Ethiopians from different fields. Participants engaged with their peers and stakeholders and used the opportunity to discuss current challenges of youth development in the country. The objective was also in view of recommending innovative creative solutions for ensuring the incorporation of the youth voice in a more constructive and meaningful way. The highlight of the day was three inspiring young “Technopreneurs”, who live in towns with less exposure to technology and where internet affordability remains a challenge. Against all odds, the Technopreneurs taught themselves to build simple machines from recycling materials such as paper, plastic, etc. More
UNESCO: Youth Empowered to Create Technological Solutions for Violence Prevention in Honduras
Honduras first ever Hackathon with a social perspective took place aiming to empower young people to develop technological solutions for the benefit of groups exposed to situations of violence such as youth, women and the LGBTI community. Young people were called to participate using their knowledge on technology, government, human rights, gender equality, and education. The multidisciplinary teams participating in the Hackathon were composed of five young people from different fields such as social sciences, health sciences, engineering, and human rights, among others. More.
UNESCO: Young Leaders from Indonesia are Trained on Climate Change in UNESCO Sites
In February 2017,the UNESCO Office in Jakarta, together with its partners (The One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), UNITAR, The Climate Reality Project Indonesia (TCRPI) and Youth for Climate Change (YFCC), held a series of the Youth Leadership Camp on Climate Change programme for 150 young leaders in three UNESCO’s designated sites in Indonesia. Upon completion of the trainings, the young leaders conducted climate awareness campaigns and actions targeting their peers and community. As a follow-up to the activities, participants used their networks and resources and held talk shows at Universities, educated school children, and reached out to local radios and public gatherings. The camps provided participants with training materials to improve their communication and confidence skills and covered communication and social media strategies including a movie-making workshop, an outbound training programme, and a workshop on peer education skills to raise awareness on climate change issues in the community. More.
UNFPA: Y-PEER Girls Empowerment Campaign Volume 4
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Youth Peer Education Network (Y-PEER) Girls' empowerment and The National Council of Women’s awareness campaign (Taa Marbouta) were started in 2014 through interactive activities focusing on women’s issues. In the process, the campaign enabled girls to access basic services and raised awareness on Gender Based Violence. In 2016, Y-PEER reached a total of 17,681 young people in 18 governorates in one month. In parallel, Taa Marbouta reached more than 23 million people using social media platforms. By September 2017, Y-PEER Egypt continues to reach more girls and young women from 23 different governorates through edutainment activities which focus on issues ranging from sexual harassment, domestic violence and early marriage within the context of peace building. More.
UNFPA: Y-PEER Enhancing the Role of Youth Centres
UNFPA and the Youth Peer Education Network (Y -PEER) Egypt and Ministry of Youth and Sports, held the first Training of Trainers (ToT) on peer education techniques addressing population issues, adolescent heath, gender based violence and female genital mutilation under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national population strategy context. The training targeted the building capacity of 30 trainers to deliver high quality peer education programmes in clubs at local youth centres. A total of 30 trainees from 11 governorates in Egypt drafted short term plans and applied what they learnt with their peers in youth centres to raise community awareness on population issues. More.
UNAOC PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival & Awards
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)’s initiative, PLURAL+ youth video festival on migration, diversity, social inclusion, and prevention of xenophobia, will have the 2017 Awards ceremony on November 9 and 10, at the United Nations Headquarters and the Paley Center for Media in New York. Organized by UNAOC & International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with a wide network of partners, PLURAL+ supports the global, multi-platform, outreach and distribution of youth-produced videos on these urgent topics. A total of 27 of the 320 videos received from around the world have been selected for awards. More.
Youth in Action
YALI (NGO) Entrepreneurship and Management Training
The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) brought together students, entrepreneurs, universities professors who were trained by the YALI Regional Leadership Centre in The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Alumni Chapter in partnership with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). For about 3 months ,68 participants were trained to better understand business management from the conception of an idea, the implementation and the achievement or success of the business. Participants were challenged to think about solutions to address critical problems that the DRC is facing such as education and environmental issues.
Publications
ILO, UNDP and UNHCR: Launch of Report on Youth Employment in Fragile Situations
The International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), under the aegis of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, produced a joint report bearing examples of good practices from around the world that showcase innovative approaches to youth employment that help to build peace and resilience in fragile and conflict affected situations. The report was launched at a high-level event on Youth Employment for Peace and Resilience and highlighted how empowered young women and men can play a vital role in preventing conflicts and ensuring sustainable peace. More.
FAO: The Nutrition Challenge Badge is here!
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) booklet: The Nutrition Challenge Badge is part of the United Nations agencies and other stakeholders from the civil society’s “Challenge Series” which aim to raise awareness, educate and motivate young people for behavior change and to encourage them to be agents of change in their local communities. The Nutrition Challenge Badge aims to help children and young people learn about the importance of a balanced, varied diet to ensure that the human body’s nutritional needs for a happy and healthy life are met. It includes information about how to make healthy food choices and understand the importance of food safety and provides guidance on how adopting a sustainable diet reduces impacts on our environment. It is packed with activities to stimulate learning and help lead healthy lifestyles that are not only good for themselves but alsothe planet.The Nutrition Challenge Badge specifically supports the Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero hunger), 3 (Good health and wellbeing) and 12 (Responsible consumption and production patterns).
ILO: Today's Latin American Dream: A Decent Job
ILO and theCiti Foundation worked on a joint article thatfocuses on the challenges faced by young people in Latin America and the Caribbean. Of the 108 million young people in the region, 20 percent neither study nor work. In addition, many young people have stopped looking for work altogether. The article highlights theGlobal Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, the first comprehensive United Nations system-wide effort to scale up action and impact on youth employment worldwide. More.