young people

Bringing Young People To The Forefront Of SDG Monitoring

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download (1)Plan International convened a panel to seek best practices on consultation method involving young people, so that the future monitoring process of the sustainable development goals can include effective participation of young people.

The Chair opened by asking young advocates if they know of any institutions of consultation in which young people’s view can be collected. One institution discussed is the UN Young Delegate programme, in which member states nominate young people of their country to speak in the Third Committee of the General Assembly. While there is enthusiasm surrounding this proposal, there are concerns as to whether the programme can reach out to the most marginalized children in a country. Further, there are also questions as to whether the Youth Delegates can reach out to their constituencies during their tenure in New York, which is core to their task of representing young people in their country.

Further consultation mechanisms, such as universal periodic review mechanism used by the UN Human Rights Council are advocated as possible means to involve young people in monitoring the progress of the SDGs. The mechanism’s provision for civil society to write shadow reports in response to member states’ submission allow young people to pinpoint lapses in the country’s progress and areas for improvement. The role of national Youth Advisory Board, a mechanism mentioned and strengthened in the Colombo Declaration of Youth, is also highlighted as a possible means of monitoring and consultation.

Attention is also paid as to whether the outcome of the monitoring process can be fed back to the decision-makers, as there are worries as to consultation of youth being reduced to a mere public relations exercise. Concerns about the decision-makers’ capacity to engage with young people were also raised, as some young delegates mentioned their experience of being patronized when making suggestions.

Meeting Title: Youth participation in monitoring to ensure accountability for the post-2015 development framework
Speakers: Representative from Plan International, Representative from Overseas Development Institute, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and Youth Delegates
Location: Conference Room 7, North Lawn Building, United Nations Headquarters
Date: 2 July 2014
Written by WIT Representative: Harrison Chung
Edited by WIT Representative: Aslesha Dhillon

Breaking the Silo Approach in implementing the SDGs

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downloadOne overarching characteristic of sustainable development is its three-pillared nature, which encompasses economic, environmental and social sustainability. To ensure that the sustainable development goals (SDGs) truly integrate the three pillars, Ambassador Sajdik convened an interactive dialogue on breaking the “silos mentality” to sustainable development .

Mr. Netshitenzhe spoke on the administrative reforms required to break the silo-approach to development, which included bringing together all government actors in the planning process, aligning the planning cycle of different government agencies, and maintain a hierarchical discipline to ensure that subsidiary agencies see to it the developmental plan initiated by the centre of government. He also highlighted the role of involving the science and private sector in implementing sustainable development. Ambassador Drobnjak echoed this point, stressing that the bottom-up consultation process will provide synergy to the solutions.

Ms. Hickey introduced the forum to the concept of Natural Capital Accounting, which is an exercise of quantifying the natural resources and analyzing ways to maximize the sustainability of the resources. She is followed by Ms. Ramma, who provided a case study of using Natural Capital Accounting to find out how to achieve optimal use of Mauritius’s water resources. Instead of continuing its sugar-cane planting economy, which uses 48% of Mauritius’s water resources but generate only 1.1% of its GDP, finding suggests that transition to production of ethanol from the sugar cane can lead to increase in GDP and improve import-reliant energy sector of the country.

In closing, Ms. Invanova added that science educators need to adapt to a interdisciplinary approach to educating future scientist, and move away from the sectorial, differentiated studies of individual topics. She believed interdisciplinary programmes involving education of science, international relations and financial literacy can equip our future generations with the skillsets to solve problems of their time.

Meeting Title: Moderated Dialogue “From silos to integrated policy making”
Speakers: His Excellency Martin Sajdik (Austria), President of the Economic and Social Council; Mr. David Nabarro, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Food Security and Nutrition, and Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement; Mr. Joel Khathutshelo Netshitenzhe, Executive Director, Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, and member of the National Planning Commission, South Africa; His Excellency Vladimir Drobnjak, Permanent Representative of Croatia to the United Nations, and Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council; Ms. Indoomatee Ramma, Chief, Resource Management Division, Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, Mauritius; His Excellency Ferit Hoxha, Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations; Mr. Ousainou Ngum, Executive Director, Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) International, Nairobi; Ms. Maria Ivanova, Co-Director, Center for Governance and Sustainability, McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston, on behalf of the major group of scientific and technological community; Ms. Valerie Hickey, Sector Manager, Agriculture and Environment Services, World Bank
Location: Conference Room 1, United Nations Headquarters
Date: 2 July 2014
Written by WIT Representative: Harrison Chung
Edited by Wit Representative: Aslesha Dhillon

Private Sector’s Current State of Play in the SDG Process

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masthead_resourcesDr Louise Kantrow opened the discussion by noting the paradigm transition from the MDGs to the SDGs, wherein the role of the private sector has grown. ICC coordinated the Global Business Alliance 2015, which brought together global and regional business organisations aimed at constructively engaging with the post 2015 process and the UN agencies. The key points from the private sector perspective are the following: effective governance, rule of law, and security are critical enablers to achieve the SDGs; poverty eradication involves economic growth and jobs creations; and therefore it is crucial to address the informal employment and low governance challenges arisen in many developing countries.

H.E. Jean-Francis Regis Zinsou recognised that the global environmental and social challenges should be addressed through mobilising private finance for SDGs, innovative and technologically advanced business models. There is a move in the approach of the private sector from maximising profits for shareholders to stakeholders and the planet should be considered a stakeholder. Ms Esin Mete, then addressed the importance of agriculture and rural development as primary drivers to address poverty reduction and food security.

Mr Vinicius Carvalho Pinheiro stated that 75 million young people are currently unemployed. It is imperative to not just address the quantity but the quality of jobs available. As economic growth does not automatically create jobs, the private sector is the core driver of jobs. He then addressed the critical need to create a safe environment for workers as every 15 seconds one worker is killed due to working accidents: making it a world epidemic.

Finally Ms Katharine Maloney underlined the fundamental beliefs of KPMG to explain their active participation in the consultations of the post 2015 agenda. First, they recognise the paradigm shift explained previously by Dr Louise Kantrow. Second profitability and developmental agenda are not mutually exclusive. Third, business and social values are inextricably linked. Fourth, the private sector can provide a lot more than money, for instance real ideas, innovation, technical know how and a lot more resources.

Meeting Title: Private Sector Briefing: Current State of Play in the SDG process
Speakers: Dr Louise Kantrow, ‎Permanent Representative to the United Nations at International Chamber of Commerce; H.E. Jean-Francis Regis Zinsou, Permanent Representative of Republic of Benin to the UN; Ms Esin Mete, Director General, IFA (International Fertilizer Industry Association); Mr Vinicius Carvalho Pinheiro, Deputy Director of the ILO Office for the United Nations; Ms Katharine Maloney, Director, Development and Exempt Organizations (DEO) Practice at KPMG LLP.
Date: 3 July 2014
Location: Conference Room 5, NLB, United Nations, New York.
Written by WIT Representative: Aslesha Kaur Dhillon

Ideas And Trends That Can Shape The Lives Of Present And Future Generations

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imagesA moderated dialogue took place at the 2nd meeting of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development to address the emerging challenges that will affect future generations. Making reference to Rio+20 ‘The Future We Want’ report, Mr. Mcbean affirmed the need to promote intergenerational solidarity for the achievement of sustainable development. He highlighted the negative impacts of climate change, particularly loss of biodiversity and frequent disasters, deteriorate the quality of life in a global and intergenerational scale. Taking into account uncertainty always exists, he demanded a sense of reality and adoption of better risk management.

Mr. Nakicenovic saw education as the critical tool for human capacity building. He urged for sustainability revolution to proceed at a greater speed and, by all means through SDGs, universal access of energy, sanitation and education beyond 2030 can be achieved to fully eliminate inequality across all scales in future generations. Mr. Daives introduced the Wales Bill to illustrate good governance and decision-making for the long term. He quoted “the Bill has the power to resolve intergenerational challenges beyond the term of one government and beyond the scope of government alone”. The mechanisms of the Bill includes the setting of national long-term development goals, the requirement of public settings to demonstrate how their policies can meet national long-term goals and establishment of an independent future generation commissioner with legal power to advocate for the long-term.

Mr. Szabo discussed the role of national institutions in safeguarding future generations. He highlighted both industrialized and developing countries suffering from important structure problem and national institutions can initiate public dialogue on the long-term wellbeing of society, help cultivate environmental literacy and help the national implementation of UN Policies in the safeguarding of the needs of future generation. Finally, he pointed out many institutions adopted the Budapest Memorandum to promote the spread of national institutions for future generations and to safeguard their interest in the SDGs target.

Meeting Title: Ideas and trends that can shape the lives of present and future generations
Speakers: Mr. Gordon McBean , President-elect, International Council for Science; Mr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic , Deputy Director of IIASA, Director of Global Energy Assessment, and professor of Vienna University of Technology; Mr. Peter Davies, Sustainable Futures Commissioner for Wales, UK; Mr. Marcel Szabó , Deputy-Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Responsible for the Protection of the Interest of Future Generations, Hungary; Ms. Catherine Pearce , World Future Council
Location: Trusteeship Council, UNHQ, New York
Date: 1 July 2014
Written by WIT representative: Tracy Lau
Edited by Wit Representative: Aslesha Dhillon

Global Citizenship through Multilingualism

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A special event on youth and multilingualism, co-organized by the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), Department of Public Information (DPI) and ELS Educational Services, was held at the United Nations Headquarters today. The event was held to celebrate the power of languages to connect people around the world by bridging divides and enriching our understanding of the human experience.Image

Sixty highly-talented students from twenty-six countries representing all regions of the world, were selected through an essay writing competition, and honored with the opportunity to make presentations on the UNAI principles relating to education and global citizenship.

Mr. Launsky-Tieffenthal congratulated the students for their highly commendable linguistic skills as they were asked to write essays on global citizenship in a language that is neither their mother tongue nor their usual medium of instruction. Mr. Launsky-Tieffenthal emphasised on the ability of the youth to address complex global issues and articulate a vision for an interdependent world by bringing creative energy, fresh ideas and new paradigms for the future. He further added that the students embodied the spirit of the United Nations Charter, which lays out the outline for a more peaceful, balanced and a harmonious global community.

Students highlighted the importance of global citizenship and proposed ways of achieving it. The proposals extensively focused on the purpose of equal education, which is to make every child gain access to more opportunities through education. Investment in quality education will foster interest in the minds of the youth to know, understand and experience other languages and cultures. Students also laid stress on the importance of solidarity for achieving peace. The world needs to be united to resolve global problems and the key for discussing and advancing ideas for global citizenship is education. Thus, educational institutions should aim to promote global oriented programs for their students in order to prepare them for the future.

Meeting Title:Global Youth Forum on Multilingualism: Many Languages, One World
Chair: Mr. Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information
Location: General Assembly Hall, North Lawn Building, United Nations Headquarters, New York
Date: 27 June 2014
Written by WIT Representative: Nusrat Laskar
Edited by WIT Representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark

 

Soccer and Sports promote Peace and Development

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imagesTo celebrate the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the Permanent Missions of Brazil and the Netherlands co-organized a dialogue today that highlighted the valuable contribution of sport in the areas of peace and development. As the moderator, H.E. Mr. Oosterom opened the panel by discussing the beneficial aspects of sports on very basic levels, such as relieving stress, promoting happiness, and providing safe forms of entertainment. H.E. Mr. Khiari continued the conversation by discussing how sports transcend the boundaries created by differences in information, communication, and technologies. Through an increased sense of understanding, sport in turn creates an environment more conducive to reconciliation and peace.

Ms. Brandt spoke to the importance of sports in the lives of young people, pointing both to the lessons and values learned through sports, as well as sports exceptional ability to help return normalcy to the lives of traumatized children worldwide. Mr. Lemke continued the conversation about sports and children, discussing how his inaugural UNOSDP Youth Leadership Programme in 2012 helped promote leadership, social inclusion, gender equality, and partnership, showing how sports can help achieve the MDGs. Mr. Ghandour discussed the relationship between sports and poverty, expressing his pleasure with the annual Match Against Poverty, an event that uses former soccer stars such as Brazil’s Ronaldo to raise awareness about poverty and spread the message of teaming up to end this global challenge.

Ms. Scott continued the attention on gender equality, speaking about the need for a global initiative modeled off the irrefutable success of Title IX in the U.S. Through sports, girls experience life outside the home and subsequently learn skills that develop voice and agency that assists them in all spheres of life. Four out of five executive business women played sports in their youth, and most point to athletics as a major factor in their development. To close the meeting H.E. Mr. Aguiar Patriota shed light on sports create harmonious existence between groups with different cultures, promoting tolerance and non-discrimination that has historically been difficult to achieve.

Meeting Title: Soccer and Sports for Peace and Development
Speakers: H.E. Mr. Mohamed Khaled Khiari, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tunisia to the UN; Mr. Wilfried Lemke, UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace; Ms. Yoka Brandt, Deputy Executive Director UNICEF; Ms. Tuti Scott, Founding Member of the Board of Directors of Women Win Foundation; H.E. Mr. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Permanent representative of Brazil to the UN; H.E. Mr. Karel J.G. van Oosterom, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN
Location: United Nations HQ, Conference Room 3, New York.
Date: 10 June 2014
Written By WIT Representative: Zachary Halliday

UNICEF discusses Developmental Challenges and Human Rights in Context of CRPD

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A panel of five speakers gathered at the Henry Labouisse Hall of the UNICEF House, to discuss and respond to the overlooked development challenges. Ms. Yannis stated that one in seven human beings has a disability out of 7.8 billion people in the world. People with disabilities are also the single largest population excluded from school. Mr. Marrit followed by highlighting the purpose of having the legally binding convention to promote, protect and ensure the equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities. It also aims at promoting respect for their inherent dignity.

Mr. Paul then summarized his thoughts towards eradicating the extreme poverty and hunger by three approaches. First, promote equality in opportunities, including access to education and health. Second, introduce good governance by encouraging the right of freedom and rule of law. Third, integrate respect for all human right as cross cutting throughout the whole SDG. Following, Mr. Nicholas, senior advisor of UNICEF, briefly outlined what UNICEF is doing to ensure that no one is left behind and also emphasised the human rights and rights of person with disabilities. He mentioned that the principle of leave no one behind, has emerged as one of the key foundations of the post-2015 Development Agenda.

Further, Mr. Vinicius emphasised the significance of investments in a child’s well-being and their rights, as the most effective way to secure a more equitable, peaceful and sustainable world. He concluded his speech in three words: empowerment, protection, discrimination. Ms. Diane then made very powerful points concerning language, visibility and cost. She expressed, how uncomfortable she feels when people named them as a part of a vulnerable group. She ended her speech by encouraging more young people to join the CRPD committee, in order to achieve the goals as part of the post-2015 Development Agenda.

Meeting Title: The intersection of human rights and development within the context of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Speakers: Yannis Vardakastanis, President of European Disability Forum; Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Deputy Head of Office OHCHR; Paul Gulleik Larsen, Senior Advisor for the Agenda of the Nor Wee General; Nicholas Alipui, Director of Program and UNICEF Senior Advisor; Vinicius Pinheiro; Diane Mulligan, Member of UN CRPD Committee, Representative of IDBC and CBM
Location: Henry Labouisse Hall, UNICEF House, New York.
Date: 10 June 2014
Written By WIT representative: Samantha Kong
Edited by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark 

Forum on Youth 2014

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In accordance with UN General Assembly resolution 68/1, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) should further promote the integration of youth into its deliberations, building on the past positive experiences of informal youth forums.

From the 2-3, June 2014 the United Nations was home to youth delegates, representatives from the Children and Youth Major Groups, youth representatives from Member States, including those from National Youth Councils, representatives of regional youth organisations as well as youth-led and youth focused organisations and networks, including those in consultative status with ECOSOC.

The aim of the Youth Forum was to bring the voice of young people into discussion on addressing the challenges for meeting the Millennium Development Goals and shaping the post-2015 development agenda. During the opening ceremony, Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon remarked, “There is a world of need out there, but also a world of opportunity. So I urge you to keep doing your part. Keep showing your leadership as global citizens” while urging attendees to “keep making a difference”. The Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi spotlighted five thematic areas; education, employment and entrepreneurship, health, peace and security, and governance  as the greatest concern that threaten youth development in nation states. These areas were condensed after engaging more than 1.2 million young people through the My World 2015 survey and a crowdsourcing platform convened by UN agencies and partners. World Information Transfer’s DPI Representative, Apurv Gupta, was ranked 5 in the overall community, sharing recommendations on all thematic issues.

It was observed at the forums conclusion that employment was the key area young people wanted world leaders to focus on during the construction of the post-2015 development agenda. Currently, 75 million youth are unemployed, and more than 600 million jobs need to be generated globally in the life span of the new development agenda to absorb current unemployment levels and provide jobs to new labour market entrants.

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Meeting Title: ECOSOC Youth Forum 2014
Speakers: H.E. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, H.E. Martin Sajdik (Austria), President of the Economic and Social Council, H.E. Csaba Kőrösi, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations and Co-Chair, Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goal, Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi, United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy for Youth, Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Youth Representatives.
Location: United Nations HQ, Conference Room 1 (CB)
Date: 3 June 2014
Written by WIT representatives:  Apurv Gupta and Aslesha Dhillon

Advancing progress in Africa beyond 2015: a youth perspective

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The third session of the Forum on Youth 2014 focused on the theme of creating an enabling environment for youth to thrive in post-2015 Africa. Moderating the panel, Ms. Ibrahim emphasized that the Youth Bulge in Africa makes a continent of talents, but these valuable human resources are often not translated into the desirable outcomes due to the lack of opportunities.

Mr. Bah stated that a more strenuous effort is required to give African youths the education they want. While African governments are firm in the conviction that education is important, such conviction is not matched by their budgetary commitment. The “business as usual” attitude is not good enough for post-2015 education, as Africa is the only continent where the secondary school completion rate has not increased in the past decade.

Ms. Agyemang commented that social inclusion of women is crucial for unleashing Africa’s potential. The paternalistic worldview of some communities curtails women from exercising their land rights, and thereby limiting Africa’s opportunities. She said that through further education, human rights and good governance can be infused into the communities as core values.

Mr. Hachonda spoke on the advancements needed in the area of reproductive health through comprehensive sexuality education. He believed the lack of such education is culpable for denying girls full reproductive rights.

Ms. Allam stated that African youth are enthusiastic advocates for climate change, and juxtaposed their enthusiasm with the lack of cooperation among African governments. She called for international cooperation in the transfer of know-how to combat climate change, for assistance should not only come in monetary form.

One recurring contribution from the floor was that African youths are ready to see to it the changes they want, and are not be content with being in the periphery of the decision-making process.

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Meeting Title: Advancing progress in Africa beyond 2015: a youth perspective
Speakers: Ms. Hadeel Ibrahim, Founding Executive Director, Mo Ibrahim Foundation (Moderator); Mr. Chernor Bah, Chairperson, Youth Advocacy Group for the Global Education First Initiative; Ms. Danielle Agyemang, Program Coordinator and Liaison to the World Youth Movement for Democracy–NED; Mr. Holo Hachonda, Member, High-Level Task Force for the ICPD, and Program Director, BroadReach Healthcare; Ms. Mariam Mohamed Abdullah Abdelhafiz Allam, National Coordinator of the Arab Youth Climate Movement.
Location: United Nations Headquarters, Trusteeship Council Chamber
Date: 2 June 2014
Written by WIT representative: Harrison Chung
Edited by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark 

 

Forum on Youth 2014: Reports From Global and Regional Youth Forum

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97401248-ab48-4d56-a715-7addf9106359Today the Forum on Youth 2014 began in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. This afternoon’s meeting focused on reports from previous global and regional youth forums.

The meeting began with H.E. Mr. Dullas Alahapperuma presenting information from the World Youth Conference 2014, which was hosted in Sri Lanka. A total of 1,500 participants attended, most were youth delegates and civil society members. At this conference the Colombo Declaration on Youth was comprised, and the main focus of the conference was youth unemployment. The delegates suggested possible solutions to this including job creation, entrepreneurship incentives, more liberal access to education, and training and skills development. The conference also focused on ICT skills development, healthcare for youth, and gender equality.

Next, Mr. Doug Court spoke about the Global Summit on Youth and ICT, which took place last September in Costa Rica. This forum focused on entrepreneurship, governance, unemployment, and the environment; the factors most impacted by technology for youth. There was also discussion on how technology brings down barriers between citizens/youth and policy makers.

Mr. Gabriel Laurence-Brook then gave a statement about the International Organisation de La Francophonie (IOF), an organization committed to increasing youth action and supporting French-speaking youth. At the last IOF conference the delegates talked about youth involvement in creating the SDGs, and there was some debate over whether the youth agenda should be addressed in a cross cutting manner in all SDGs vs. having a specific SDG on youth. The forum also discussed strengthening youth decision-making bodies, access to decent and lasting jobs for youth, and programs to foster youth entrepreneurship. The next Conference will be held in Dakar, Senegal on November 29 2015, under the theme of “women and youth in the French speaking world as drivers for peace and development”.

Lastly, Mr. Alejo Ramirez spoke on behalf of the Ibero-American Youth Organization, which represents youth from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. So far, this organization has found that young people have not played an important enough role in the creation of the SDGs, and their role must be made larger. He also called upon the SDGs to lift people from poverty, as well as focus on employment and healthcare for young people.

Meeting Title: Forum on Youth 2014: Reports From Global and Regional Youth Forum
Speakers: H.E. Mr. Dullas Alahapperuma, Minister for Youth Affairs and Skills Development, Sri Lanka; Mr. Doug Court, Deputy Coordinator, ITY BYND 2015 Youth Summit; Mr. Gabriel Laurence-Brook, Spokesperson of the Francophone Youth Parliament; Mr. Alejo Ramirez, Secretary-General, Ibero-American Youth Organization
Location: United Nations HQ, New York 
Date:  2 June 2014 
Written By WIT representative: Marli Kasdan
Edited by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark