Max Weidenfeld Travel Grant Report on the UN High Level Event commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the World Program on Youth at the UN General Assembly, 29th May 2015
Never before have there been so many young people in the world. Never again is there likely to be such potential for economic and social progress. How we meet the needs and aspirations of young people will define our common future. – The State of the World Population, UNFPA 2014
A little over 20 years ago young people were expected to be passive observers in local, national and global policy dialogues. Yet in 1992, leaders set out the principles of sustainable development at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. Youth interests were considered implicit in the classic definition of sustainable development by the Brundtland report which defined Sustainable Development as “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” An intergenerational social contract was made to future generations when governments adopted sustainable development as a guiding principle.
Today, that commitment is at risk of being broken. Nation-states affected by the economic downturn have cut-back on benefits and key services for students and young people. To compound the challenge, the nature of employment is rapidly changing. 65 percent of primary school students today will be employed in jobs that do not currently exist. The average youth of today will change jobs 10 times or more in their lifetime, compared to three to four times for their parents’ generation. Young people of today also stand at the frontier of climate change. Youth aged between 10 and 24 years constitute over 1.5 billion people in the world, 70 percent of us live in developing countries where the impact of climate change is most acutely felt. The impact of climate change is causing large scale displacement and migration, this coupled with political instability and radicalisation threatens to disrupt the monotony that we have settled into in the 21st century.
(UN Headquarters)
20 years ago world leaders gathered in recognition of the importance of resolving the problems facing youth by adopting an international strategy – the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond. The World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) provides a policy framework and practical guidelines for national action and international support to improve the situation of young people. The 15 priority areas of the World Programme of Action for Youth are directly linked to the range of challenges facing young people, namely, education, employment, hunger and poverty, health, environment, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls and young women, full and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision-making, globalization, information and communications technology, HIV/AIDS, armed conflict and intergenerational issues.
Much has changed since, and as of April 2014, of 198 countries, 122 countries (62%) have a national youth policy, up from 99 (50%) in 2013. But overall, the progress in implementing these policies has been slow, and available policies or actions do not adequately meet the challenges faced by young people. Clearly much more needs to be done. Youth policies potentially have several limitations including a lack of reliable and accurate data; a lack of comparable data across countries and regions; a lack of pro-jobs and pro-youth economic growth agendas; a lack of comprehensive youth policies that are integrated into national development plans; a lack of broad macroeconomic policies and the need to mainstream youth policies; the fact that the costs of programs and sources for funding are not fully known; and the fact that governments lack the capacity to undertake comprehensive monitoring and evaluative processes. It is not enough that investments and policies are directed at young people. Youth continue to be excluded from the dialogues and processes that shape their futures.
On 29th May I had the opportunity to participate in the High Level Event at the General Assembly to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the World Program of Action on Youth. At the Event the Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon emphasised the need for young people to be involved in the creation of youth policies. Drawing attention to the significant progress that Member States and the UN have made towards meeting the MDG’s, he pointed out that today’s generation of youth is the first generation that can end poverty and the last generation that can act to end climate change. He also noted the critical timing of the WPAY anniversary commemorations, in September 2015 a new set of sustainable development goals will replace the MDG’s. Pointing out that although we live alongside the largest generation of youth the world have ever known, Young women continue to face discrimination and 14 million young people have been displaced. Each day 3000 young people are newly infected by HIV. Much more needs to be done to give young people the opportunity to flourish. The WPAY provides a platform for action. Youth policies must be inclusive, participator, gender inclusive, knowledge based, fully resourced and accountable.
In his address, Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi, the secretary General’s Envoy on Youth highlighted the need for a stronger Political will to make youth issues a priority and the need for the economic resources to back commitments. He also emphasised the need to invest in tools and research to help us better understand youth and keep track on areas of youth development.
(Nikhil and Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi, the secretary General’s Envoy on Youth)
In her Key note address Ms. Vivian Onano, Education Spokesperson for Meremi Africa, reminded the audience of the importance of girl’s education in achieving gender equality noting that “without access to education, it is impossible to make gender equality a reality.” The 24-year-old youth leader stressed that: “Achieving gender equality is more than 50-50 representation; it is also about recognizing and respecting women’s rights as human rights, treating women with dignity, offering them equal opportunities to participate fully in the socioeconomic and political development of their individual countries.” She also highlighted the need to engage men and boys in the fight for gender equality, emphasizing that “in defending women’s rights, men are actually preserving their own dignity.” She spoke of the need to engage with businesses in skill creation among youth. She drew attention to the attacks on schools in Nigeria, and in Peshawar and called on Governments to make schools safe havens for children to get the education they deserve.
The Opening session was followed by a plenary of Statements by Member States outlining their progress in implementing the WPAY: Highlighting that Africa is the world’s youngest continent with the highest proportion of youth in relation its population, the Deputy Permanent representative from Nigeria, Usman Sarki, speaking on behalf of the African Union drew the attention of the General Assembly to work of the African Union in making life wholesome for youth in Africa. He spoke of the destabilising impact on youth of conflicts in many parts of Africa. Empowering youth would be key to ensuring Africa’s growth and stability. Vanja Udovičić the Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports and a former Olympic Silver Medallist in water polo, pointed out that coordinated action among different stakeholders would be necessary. China highlighted the importance of volunteerism in increasing civic engagement among youth. Member States drew attention to the series of recent political developments fuelled by youth that have caused dramatic shifts not only in the lives of young people, but also their societies. In a number of countries, recent youth movements and student protests have altered traditional power structures. It became clear from the plenary that young people around the world, empowered with technology, have asserted themselves as powerful agents of change that world leaders need to engage with.
The plenary was followed by a panel discussion on “Stocktaking of the past 20 years since the adoption of WPAY” this panel explored some examples of successful implementation of the WPAY to date and the role of youth and youth-led organizations in WPAY implementation and youth policy development, monitoring and evaluation. This was followed by a panel discussion on the “Role of WPAY looking ahead” which explored the effectiveness of channels of communication between policy-makers and youth led organisations at the local and international level, the panel also looked into how crucial partnerships have been in the implementation of the WPAY moving in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
A very interesting panel discussion was chaired by Jessica Abo, an award-winning television journalist who is a descendant from Holocaust Survivors and H.E. Aida Hadzialic, Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training, Sweden who spoke about overcoming challenges as a refugee from Bosnia and Herzogovina in Sweden and growing up to fight for youth priorities as a Minister for Education in Sweden.
(Aida Hadzialic, Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training, Sweden)
The story reminded me of another inspiring personality, a young George Weidenfeld, today Lord Weidenfeld, who came to England in 1938 as a dashing, fearless refugee, and at 19 became the BBC’s youngest journalist. Before he was 30, he started his own publishing house and almost simultaneously became political adviser and chief of cabinet to Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann. With the right opportunities to make a difference a young Lord Weidenfeld, built a leading global publishing company and published classics including Nabokov’s Lolita, The Siege of Krishnapur and James Watson’s The Double Helix.
The case for youth inclusion is built on the demographic argument. It goes without saying that by their sheer numbers – over a billion and constituting around 18 per cent of the world population – young people do deserve ‘a seat’ at the negotiating table. However, in several parts of the world, young people continue to remain at the margins of the political, social and economic mainstream and often lack access to education, training and job opportunities, as well as human rights.
In recognition of this, extensive consultations have been held by the UN, in an attempt to bring the voices of youth in shaping the post-2015 Development Agenda. The UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth initiated a global Partnership on Youth, through which youth organisations around the world helped create local awareness on these issues in their communities and draw the voices of youth into the creation of the Post 2015 Development Agenda. But for change to be truly meaningful, this dialogue must not stop here but must translate into effective engagement of Youth at the national level by Member States.
“Society”, wrote Edmund Burke, is “a contract… between those who are dead, those who are living, and those who are to be born”. It is time again for decision makers and leaders of today to renew that contract with the leaders of tomorrow. On 25th September 2015, Heads of State and Government will gather in New York to agree the post-2015 development agenda. With this agenda, world leaders will have an opportunity to define a post-2015 sustainable development framework, built on lessons learned, that empowers youth and includes specific indicators and targets on education, skills development and employment, health, especially sexual and reproductive health, youth participation and leadership. The aim is to adopt “a single framework and set of goals, universal in nature and applicable to all countries, while taking account of differing national circumstances and respecting national policies and priorities. An online consultation process is now underway through which young people from around the world can contribute towards this important document that will shape the course of the future.
Today, I study at the University of Oxford through the Weidenfeld Scholarship & Leadership Program, a program made possible by Lord Weidenfeld and the Louis Dreyfus Foundation to cultivate the leaders of tomorrow by providing outstanding university graduates and professionals from developing and transitional economies with the opportunity to pursue fully-funded graduate studies at the University of Oxford. The program has given me opportunities to engage in dialogues about global challenges with leading journalists, academics, business leaders and an inspiring peer group. These experiences have helped me develop the skills and networks I need to make a meaningful contribution towards economic law and policy development when I return to India after my studies. Lord Weidenfeld’s initiative is a remarkable example of the amazing work that is being done by individuals and businesses internationally to engage with youth. If Governments are to succeed in enabling the 123 million children who cannot read and write access a high quality education. Partnerships with the private sector, with NGO’s and youth organisations are crucial. The key is investment in education, employment and engagement. By raising skill levels and access to formal employment governments can reap the benefit of an increasing number of new entrants in the labour force – the so-called “demographic dividend”. At a time when policy-makers and business leaders look for new sources of economic growth, we need to acknowledge that young people cannot contribute to economic development if they do not have access to education and opportunities for gainful employment.
(President Bill Clinton delivers the keynote address at the 2015 ECOSOC Partnerships Forum on the importance of partnerships in implementing the Post 2015 Development Agenda)
As David Hallam, UK Envoy on Post-2015 Goals, said “the 25th of September will come and go in a flash. In this flash of a lightbulb moment, we must realise what is at stake and the fantastic potential that we have within our grasp.”
I
hope that we are able to use the momentum gained to move beyond this lightbulb moment to leverage the tremendous potential of youth to create a future where present and future generations are able to work together to tackle shared challenges.
Nikhil D’Souza (Bachelor of Civil Law), Louis Dreyfus-Weidenfeld Scholar
