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Only Eight Youth Delegates are back |
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Written by Falko Mohrs
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Sunday, 07 February 2010 19:14 |
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A call for more Youth participation After the last UN General Assembly has seen the largest number of Youth Delegates (YD) ever only eight are now able to attend the Commission for Social Development (CSocD). “It is really a pity – considering that more than half of the world population is under 25 years old we’re definitely underrepresented here” explains Martina Gasser, the Swiss YD. The UN defines Youth as people between 15 and 24 years and participation was stressed again in the last Secretary General’s Report on Social Integration (2009). “Bearing these facts in mind we have to make sure that youth is effectively involved in decision-making processes – not only when the topics are directly related to youth” highlights Emily Buening, the German YD. She already attended the GA in October 2009.
Looking at the schedules of the YD during the first week shows how important their presence at the UN is. Meetings with (Youth) NGOs and the missions are daily business. Furthermore, they meet with different UN agencies and initiatives in order to discuss their priorities and the values of youth participation at the global level. Besides the plenary and informal negotiations they are talking to delegates and high representatives from Member States and civil society in order to bring forward the youth perspective in a wide variety of topics. During the Side Event on Youth and Volunteering, organised by UN Volunteers (UNV), they emphasized the positive impact of youth participation and engagement in youth-led organisations and called for a better recognition of non-formal education. Another step in promoting the idea and value of Youth Delegates is the Side Event this Monday in the German Mission. Nicola Shepherd, the UN Focal Point on Youth explains: ‘we will mainly focus on what is necessary in order to set up a Youth Delegate programme – last October we had a working breakfast addressing a similar question which was co-hosted by Australia and Thailand, which was a huge success’. Georges-Louis Bouchez, one of the Belgian Youth Delegates, is optimistic: ‘I’m sure that the Side Event will strengthen youth participation at the UN level and we will see as many Youth Delegates attending the GA as we saw in 2009’. We all wish, he is right… |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 13 February 2010 19:18 )
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