Young People’s Innovative Power Must Be Unleashed to Shape Sustainable Development Agenda, Speakers Stress at Economic and Social Council Youth Forum
2015 Not Just Another Year, But ‘a Chance to Change the Course of History’, Says Secretary-General, Urging Participants to Challenge Leaders
The world’s 1.8 billion young people – 90 per cent of whom lived in developing countries — were a source of innovation, hope and resilience whose power to transform economies must be unleashed in efforts to shape the post-2015 development agenda, senior United Nations officials and youth representatives alike told the Economic and Social Council’s fourth annual Youth Forum today.
The two-day event, convened by the Council under the theme “Youth Engagement in the Transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals: What will it take?” – brought together 600 participants, among them ministers, parliamentarians, representatives of international organizations and youth leaders from around the world, to reflect on the transition to a “new global contract”. Over the two days, youth representatives will take part in brainstorming sessions, interactive speaker panels and discussions with Member States to voice their opinions on issues of shared importance.
“2015 is not just another year. It is a chance to change the course of history,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as he opened the plenary session. “Help us drive a sustainable development that is people-centred and planet-sensitive.” He called on young people to also fight injustice and inequality, and to be active global citizens. Young people today were three times more likely than adults to be jobless — 73 million were looking for work. Some 2.5 million more children in affluent countries had fallen into poverty. It was not enough to create wealth; economic prosperity must be shared equally.
Today’s participants were part of the largest youth population in history, he said. They were demanding human rights and working for peace. This year, with the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals impending, the United Nations had three priorities: to complete the Goals, agree on a post-2015 development agenda, and, in December, achieve a meaningful climate change accord.
“You have the legitimate right to challenge your leaders,” he stressed. Young people could denounce injustice and reach hands across cultures and communities. The world needed to hear more young voices and he encouraged Member States to include them in their delegations when they gathered in September for the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. With that, Mr. Ban announced the launch of a digital and social campaign — #YouthNow — advocating action by youth on important issues. “You must be bold,” he said.
Ahmad Alhendawi, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, said young people today were ready to carry their share in developing and sustaining the planet. They wanted not only to be a driving force, but to be in the driver’s seat. They wanted to work with the United Nations. The Council’s Youth Forum was “the United Nations in action”, where, for the first time, young people were sitting next to Member State representatives to create change and build momentum in a historic year. A sense of ownership was critical for the success of the new development agenda. Over the next two days, participants would examine how to increase investments in, and unleash the power of, young people, and work to ensure that “the youth call” would not be a missed call.
“We, the youth, are organically a vital part of society as a whole,” said Gabriela Rivadeneira, President of the National Assembly of Ecuador. While Ecuador had faced grave challenges when the Millennium Goals were established, her country had since benefited from a deep process of social dialogue that created a new Constitution in 2008. Putting people before capital, youth had contributed to that citizen revolution, she said, highlighting that today, the education gap between men and women had disappeared. Looking ahead to the new development era, the post-2015 agenda should include the eradication of poverty and environmental protection. Hailing the youth and others who were seeking a different, better world, she concluded that “nothing can happen to us without us”.
Broadly agreeing, Thandiwe Chama, International Children’s Peace Prize Winner 2007 and co-founder of KidsRights Youngsters, said that with 226 days left to the adoption of the post-2015 development framework, young delegates were urging action to strengthen, fund and empower youth. “We need your guarantee,” she told Member State representatives. “The year 2015 is the most important decision-making year. We must decide to be on the right side of history and act.”
Growing up in Zambia, Ms. Chama said she moved to the “frontlines” of promoting children’s rights at age 8, after her school had closed due to lack of teachers. Today, with much unfinished business regarding the Millennium Development Goals, youth must be at the heart of the post-2015 agenda. Access to education and health services and empowerment were essential. “We cannot achieve sustainable development without ensuring that my rights, my education, my health are as important as those of my brothers,” she said, adding that the outcome of the two-day Forum and other relevant youth events worldwide could not be ignored.
Rounding out the plenary remarks, Martin Sajdik (Austria), President of the Economic and Social Council, said today’s 1.8 billion youth and adolescents represented one quarter of the global population, making them central to development. “You all have potential to transform your own countries,” he said. But the right environment must be created for youth to reach that goal. A child born in 1990 — the base year for calculating progress on the Millennium Goals —– might easily become one of the millions of unemployed youth or those earning less than $2 a day. If she was a girl or young woman, she would face gender-based discrimination, further hindering her ability to be an actor or beneficiary of development.
He said the future would be different if young people were partners in decision-making at all levels. The twentieth anniversary of the 1995 World Programme of Action for Youth provided an opportunity for young people to play a central role in shaping and implementing the new development agenda. “The question is no longer whether youth should be involved,” he said. It hinged on how to strengthen youth engagement. “For development to be truly sustainable, your ideas and solutions are vital,” he concluded.
The day featured two sessions. During Session I, titled “Youth Engagement in the Transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals”, delegates participated in four parallel thematic breakout discussions on process and consultations, accountability, measurement and on partnerships, capacity-building and implementation. Session II - “World Programme of Action for Youth+20 and the Post-2015 Development Agenda” — focused on the theme “Reflections on progress made in implementing the World Programme of Action for Youth over the past 20 years and recommendations on how to move forward.” It included two panel discussions with governmental and intergovernmental officials.
The Youth Forum will reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 3 February, to continue its work.
Session I: Youth Engagement
David Donoghue (Ireland) and Macharia Kamau (Kenya), co-facilitators for the consultations and intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, launched Session I titled “Youth Engagement in the Transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals”.
Mr. DONOGHUE said that while young people were facing many challenges today, they also had never before been so educated, empowered and connected. Already involved in designing the post-2015 agenda, young people were sending a very clear message: put youth-led development at the core of the new agenda. The time for young people to play the role of having active input was now in order to shape a strong post-2015 agenda, he said, adding that the world and in particular young people could not afford to let the current opportunity pass.
Agreeing, Mr. KAMAU said it was important to include youth in the ongoing process. While the Millennium Development Goals had triggered profound achievements, with hundreds of millions of people having been pulled out of poverty, the new sustainable development goals were both ambitious and transformative. Ending hunger and gender inequality were among the list of goals. “This will be historic,” he said, inviting youth to embrace the “list” and “transform the world with them”.
PAUL LADD, Head of the Team on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Programme, then introduced the four parallel discussions. They included: “Process and consultations”, moderated by Beppe Lovoi, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and Jilt van Schayik, youth delegate of the Netherlands; and “Accountability”, moderated by Noella Richard, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, and Jean Manney, United States country representative, Restless Development.
Also being held were: “Measurement”, moderated by Serge Kapto, UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, and Maribel Ullmann, Plan International; and “Partnerships, capacity-building and implementation”, moderated by Maria Kloss, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Dino Corell, International Labour Organization (ILO), Elizabeth Niland, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and Aashish Khullar, member of the Children and Youth major group.
Proud of helping to design the My World survey, Mr. Ladd said more than 7 million young people had participated, expressing their views, with a focus on education, jobs, health, good governance, environmental protection and safety. Summarizing a general theme of young people’s discussions, he said a common view was that big changes were needed, including human rights for all. In addition, young people wanted more than just being consulted about change, he said; they wanted to be agents of change. He encouraged participants to engage actively in the ensuing breakout parallel discussions.
Session II: World Programme of Action
The Council then opened the session, entitled “World Programme of Action for Youth+20 and the Post-2015 Development Agenda”. Under the theme “Reflections on progress made in implementing the World Programme of Action for Youth over the past 20 years and recommendations on how to move forward”, two panel discussions were chaired by Vladimir Drobnjak (Croatia), Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, and moderated by Mr. Alhendawi.
Commencing the session, Mr. ALHENDAWI said 20 years ago, States agreed that the world’s youth deserved a coordinated way to address their concerns. It was in that context that the World Programme for Youth was adopted. Today, more than 120 countries had national youth policies and others were evaluating their programmes. The World Programme offered 15 thematic areas around which actions should be formulated.
ALVARO JOSÉ DE MENDONÇA E MOURA, Permanent Representative of Portugal, said, in his opening remarks, that young people had always been the driving force of society: stirring social, political and economic change; claiming respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights; and forcing opportunities to learn, work and participate. It was young people who had brought down the Berlin Wall and it was young people who had marched in civil and political rights movements. Portugal had long supported the youth agenda, having presented a youth resolution in the General Assembly since 1998. The 1995 World Programme was a consensus policy declaration that provided a framework for national action and international support. Its implementation required full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Panel I
Panel discussion I featured presentations by: Erion Veliaj, Minister of Youth and Social Welfare of Albania; Susana Camarero Benítez, Secretary of State for Social Services Equality, Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality of Spain; Andrew Rabens, Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues in the Department of State, Office of the Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs of the United States; Faisal al Tenaiji, President of the Board, Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Member of Parliament of the United Arab Emirates; and Afou Chantal Bengaly, Pan-African Coordinator of the International Movement of Catholic Students.
Mr. VELIAJ, responding to a question from Mr. Alhendawi on the most useful aspects of the World Programme in implementing national policies, said the platform encouraged Governments to allocate money to their commitments. “I’m afraid we treat young people like guys who get stuck in a car going off a cliff during a chicken run,” he said, referring to the movie, “Rebel without a Cause”. It was important to read the signs of countries that did not “go over the cliff” – and examine how much emphasis they had placed on building skills versus obtaining a diploma. The earlier Governments answered that question, the better. It was important for economies to shift towards an education system that produced marketable skills, rather than a diploma to hang on a wall.
Ms. BENÍTEZ, to Mr. Alhendawi’s question about how youth employment policies were being tackled, said unemployment was no longer a local problem; it cut across all countries. Some 73 million young people around the world could not find employment. The unemployment crisis also had led to social exclusion, which in turn, had caused poverty to rise. Spain sought to tackle the issue through structural reforms. Some youth programmes specifically featured apprenticeships. Spain’s 2013-2016 youth employment strategy was borne from dialogue between the Government and young people. A bonus was given to employers that provided indefinite contracts to young people. Spain also was working to change its school curricula to prevent students from dropping out. In such efforts, the Government regularly evaluated whether the budget had been used properly.
Mr. RABENS, asked by Mr. Alhendawi whether programmes had kept pace with changes over the last 20 years, responded that youth demographics had changed. Today, 60 per cent of the global population was below the age of 35, the largest ever. There had been a diffusion and shift in power from institutions to individuals and networks. The media landscape had changed and technology was breaking down borders, barriers, languages and cultures, allowing for greater connectivity. The United States had worked to implement aspects of the World Programme, especially those related to education and health. It did not have a national youth policy, in part because youth engagement took place at the federal and national level through various departments and channels that worked together. Such activities also took place at the state level, through governors and state bodies that were engaged fully with youth contacts, and at the local level, through city council youth bodies.
Mr. AL TENAIJI, to a question by Mr. Alhendawi on the obstacles hindering youth participation in parliament, said a forum for young parliamentarians, created at the suggestion of the United Arab Emirates, aimed to increase youth participation in social and political development. It was important that a sufficient budget was allocated to those issues, as well as to governance and democracy. Today, youth participation in political decision-making stood at less than 2 per cent, meaning that training programmes must be reviewed. However, he noted, that statistic was at 0 per cent 20 years ago.
Ms. BENGALY, to a question from Mr. Alhendawi on national youth policies, said, “You can’t think about the future without preparing the present.” She asked participants if they were indeed change makers, whether they believed it was too late to make change or if they could do better. Some of the greatest challenges faced by young people were unemployment, participation in decision-making, and in Africa, human trafficking, migration and education — three issues that recent years had shown had not been adequately addressed. Many African countries were to have put in place a national youth council. While many had, some of those bodies had been created without consulting young people. Policies had been formulated for young people without their participation.
During the ensuring interactive debate, a number of Government representatives outlined national efforts, while youth delegates raised their concerns. A representative of the Russian Federation, who said she was the director-general of a commercial organization in the Ural mountains, noted that her country had a high quality platform to ensure young people found work. Skills acquired through volunteering were useful to companies, which in turn, offered young people employment.
A youth representative from Mauritania highlighted the problem of finding an internship that offered needed experience. He asked about the balance between volunteering and finding paid work.
A youth representative from Serbia asked why Spain had tried to shut down its national youth council. He also asked about the relationship between the Albanian Government and its youth council. He proposed that the United Nations Special Youth Envoy be elected rather than appointed.
The youth representative of Pakistan said there were 5.7 million out-of-school children in his country and that some 1,000 schools had been destroyed by extremists. Developed countries had not followed through on their pledges to allocate 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to developing nations.
The youth representative of Azerbaijan said today was national youth day in her country. Azerbaijan had hosted the first Global Youth Forum last fall, in which 700 policy experts had taken part.
Responding, Mr. RABENS said internships often went to those who could afford to take unpaid work. The United States in 1993 established the Corporation for National Community Service, which oversaw the paid AmeriCorps programme. His country’s community college structure was also working to erase stigma among some professions and to raise the profile of others.
Ms. BENÍTEZ explained that the youth council in Spain still existed; its legal status was undergoing change. The Government provided bonuses to companies that offered young people their first jobs, to ensure that fewer youths collected unemployment benefits.
Mr. VELIAJ said if employers hired a young person, his Government would pay four monthly salaries and 12 months of social security. It was attractive because it gave youth fair work experience. As well, last year, a paid internship programme was piloted.
Mr. DE MENDONÇA E MOURA said a meaningful assessment of measures outlined in the World Programme should be carried out. Portugal would present a resolution asking Governments to prepare an evaluation with help from their youth organizations.
Mr. AL TENAIJI said there had been discussion about how to better integrate young people into the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Ms. BENGALY said education systems often did not reflect the labour market. In Madagascar, her organization had trained 10 young people to start their own businesses in agriculture. It asked each student to set aside money each month for one year, funds that were then used to find three hectares of land, on which they grew produce for sale. “We don’t have to wait for work. We can create it ourselves,” she stated.
Panel II
Panel discussion II began with presentations by Salifou Dembele, Minister of Labour, Vocational Training and Youth of Burkina Faso; José Manuel Romero Coello, Director-General of the Mexican Institute of Youth; Li Qing, Deputy Secretary-General of All-China Youth Federation; Joan Conca Domènech, Vice-President of the European Youth Forum; Juan Carlos Reyes, Director of Colombia Joven; and Cristian Cosmin, Secretary of State, Ministry of Youth and Sport of Romania.
Answering a question on the situation of youth posed by Mr. Alhendawi, Mr. DEMBELE said, as a new minister, he saw that the world had arrived at a crossroad. Amid pressing concerns over unemployment and insecurity, the fact that Burkina Faso bordered Mali and Niger made his country’s youngsters a target for Al-Qaida. “Now it was time to walk the walk,” he stated. “If we don’t do anything today, tomorrow will be a disaster.” Action was needed to address youth-related issues, including establishing legitimate youth councils, he said, pointing out that education in Burkina Faso had failed and emphasizing that professional education must be relevant to current employment demands. Short-term jobs were not careers. Lasting decent work for youth needed to be created and developed. To combat unemployment, youth should be involved in all actions conducted by the Government. “You need to start taking your place,” he said, cautioning that taking no action would result in a catastrophe the world could ill afford.
In response to Mr. Alhendawi’s question on recent developments, Mr. COELLO said Mexico was building a national programme together with its youth, taking into account some of the 70,000 suggestions the Government had received from young people. Seeing them as a group of rights-holders, he said youth must be taken into account when shaping their own programmes. During the process, academia, law makers and practitioners had also participated, resulting in a national programme that included many elements such as subsidized housing for working youth. Young people were stakeholders and agents for change and, as a result, the programme was already yielding positive results across the country.
Answering Mr. Alhendawi’s question about investing in youth, Ms. QING, speaking for China’s 420 million young people, said that the Government and her organization had achieved a range of results. Among them was the implementation, in cooperation with the United Nations, of the World Programme of Action on Youth. While China did not have a dedicated ministry for youth, she said all governmental departments, including those for education and health, addressed youth-related issues. The recent growing economy had also benefited young people. Pointing to additional steps the Government had taken, she said comprehensive youth policy and youth-related laws had been enacted, illiteracy had been eradicated and more jobs for youth had been created than in the past.
Mr. DOMÈNECH, responding to a question asked by Mr. Alhendawi with regard to the relevance of the Programme of Action today, said two decades ago the voice of young people had been heard. However, reflecting on how much had been done and achieved was challenging because there was no real monitoring mechanism. Figures and measures were needed to assess progress. In Europe, education, with its increasing tuition fees and unemployment rates were serious issues today, he noted. At the Programme of Action’s twentieth anniversary, it was important to ensure that the document’s goals were included on the post-2015 agenda.
In response to a question by Mr. Alhendawi about the momentum of Colombia’s youth policy and the peace process, Mr. REYES said a highly important and unique, but often overlooked, facet of young people was their autonomy, including having their own independent ideas and proposals on how situations could be addressed. Colombia had seen a great change in youth laws in 2013 resulting from young people that had pin-pointed flaws in the previous legal system. Negotiating with Congress and policymakers, the youth had helped to shape a better way. The link between education and employment must be recognized. Identifying the role of youth in each of the 17 goals must be undertaken, he said, adding that, as a result of past practices, it was clear the youth should be included in all of the country’s policies, including the ongoing peace process.
Mr. COSMIN, answering Mr. Alhendawi’s question about how Romania’s policy of social inclusion ensures no young people were left behind, said the overall national strategy had centred on that theme. All young people were included, he said, announcing that the strategy had just been approved by the Government and would now be implemented. The problems of the younger generation must be addressed today, through establishing a framework for their involvement in social and political spheres. Unfortunately, high unemployment rates had persisted and efforts were being made to find new solutions. Youngsters needed to be empowered, perhaps even involving them in the decision-making process. Recalling being inspired, as a youth, by the Programme of Action two decades ago, he said today, working with Romania’s Ministry of Youth and Sport, the Government was involving youth in elaborating on action plans. “This is our legacy,” he said.
During the interactive discussion, young speakers commented on achievements in their countries and voiced their concerns about a range of issues, from reproductive health and rights to the noticeable absence of Government officials from Middle Eastern Member States.
The youth representative of Kazakhstan said her country had a strong youth policy. Appealing to youth delegates, she said “let’s stop asking what our countries can do for us and start asking what we can do for our countries”.
The youth representative of Guyana said in order to achieve the Programme of Action’s goals, young people must be involved. He asked whether, as with the feminist movement, it was time that national parliaments should consider a number of youth representatives and what role the United Nations was taking in ensuring and promoting that notion.
The youth representative of Botswana said his country had achieved gains in addressing concerns of young people, noting that the Government ministries had a youth representative. Going forward, critical information should be shared among all stakeholders.
The youth representative of Georgia, noting that sexual and reproductive health and rights were important topics for adolescent life, then asked panellists to update the Forum on the situation in their countries.
The youth representative of the State of Palestine said he had noticed a lack of governmental representatives from the Middle East and asked for an explanation for that, given the importance of youth-related issues in the region.
The youth representative of Bulgaria asked whether developing strategies to address disabilities and other related issues would be more effective than just addressing unemployment.
The youth representative of the United States asked for more information on Mexico’s youth housing project, including how it could be scaled up to other countries.
Two youth representatives from Panama asked panellists to share more details about the role of youth in ongoing programmes, including the peace process in Colombia and the national plan in Mexico. That country would be hosting a conference for young people, they noted, stressing that youth and Governments had to work together to ensure that the topics of concern were indeed addressed.
Included among the detailed responses from panellists were Ms. QING, who said that concerns about urban areas were being addressed and Mr. COELLO, who provided an overview of governmental collaboration with youth in shaping programmes. Mr. DEMBELE said it was a vital issue to include young people in processes, the most relevant being in parliaments, a matter that should be highlighted in the United Nations. Mr. REYES underscored that if young people did not take part in the process, they would be spectators, pointing out that his Government was committed to ensure reproductive health and rights of young people. He also said young people had been encouraged to participate in the national peace process in Colombia.