AU Diaspora Youth Initiative’s Post

In these challenging times, the lack of youth participation in decision-making is alarming. According to the UNICEF's recent report: Meaningful Youth Engagement in the Multilateral System https://lnkd.in/ggyXa7Up -94 per cent of youth participants reported that they did not have sufficient support before, during and after participation to be able to meaningfully participate in multilateral forums. -90 per cent of youth participants did not find the processes and spaces for youth engagement to be inclusive, equal and representative enough. -For 81 per cent of young people, youth participation in international events is often tokenistic and young people’s ability to impact policies and decisions is limited. Whether in NDCs, national strategies, or international negotiations, it's time for young leaders to offer a new vision and drive the transformative change our world urgently needs. #youth #sustainability #climatechange #climatejustice #intergenerationalequity

The voices of diverse #youngpeople impacted by #warinUkraine need to be heard both in response to the ongoing #humanitarian response but also across all reconstruction and recovery efforts. Plan International calls for the participation of young people in all local, national and international decision making processes relating to #Ukraine. Listen here to why youth inclusion is so important. Plan International East and Central Europe #youthvoices #youthempowerment #youthpeacesecurity #warinukraine

Agree that AMR is a generational challenge. We need to listen to voice, interests and needs of the #youth and younger generations. They should also part of the solutions/interventions to address the #AMR crisis

🤔 How can the United Nations make youth engagement more meaningful? 📈 Unlock access: Addressing barriers like travel costs and visa requirements can ensure youth have equal opportunities to participate in the policymaking processes. 🇺🇳 Empower: Educating youth on how the #UN functions can empower them to engage with its system effectively and hold policymakers accountable. 🤝 Create sustainable, institutional change: Creating a platform for youth to contribute policy ideas can be effective in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (#SDGs). ⚖️ #Justice: Ensure #AccessToJustice for youth to provide them with a tool to advocate for their rights. 💡 Coalition building: Fostering partnerships between youth and refugee leadership movements can amplify young people’s impact on global governance. 🔑 Dive into our latest blog by Nate Edwards to learn about the 5️⃣ key takeaways from the 2024 #UNECOSOC Youth Forum 🔻 https://lnkd.in/eGr5Kw5g

Happy International Youth Day! As UNOY Peacebuilders, we advocate for more consultative processes led by youth, for youth and non-youth actors. To celebrate International Youth Day, we are launching our brand new 'Guide on Inclusive Youth Consultations'! Within the peacebuilding field, intergenerational dialogues are increasingly seen as a consultative process for fostering lasting and sustainable peace. This shows a recognition of the importance of youth voices and perspectives in these dialogues, nonetheless youth engagement remains largely ad hoc and tokenistic without adequate preparation and meaningful follow up. Moreover, even with a tendency to over-request youth participation, there is often limited consideration of how representative these youth actors are of the group on whose behalf they speak. Oftentimes, youth actors which are consulted come from complex context and are dealing with complex issues, and therefore increased awareness about issues of inclusivity are also vital to make these dialogues more meaningful. This consultation guide aims to address these challenges and provide actionable points for actors working on these intergenerational consultation processes, taking into account their context and status. The guide also seeks more broadly to promote the idea that young actors need to be co-creators of these consultation processes rather than simply participants in the processes. 🔗 Read the guide on our website: https://lnkd.in/egg7hnwb Written by Larissa Ahanhanzo and João Souza Funded by IREX Illustrations by Menah Marleen Wellen & graphic design by @Tjade Boema. #Youth4Peace

Last week, I had the privilege of delivering a keynote address at the Duty Bearers' Peace Engagement Review Summit on Young women’s engagement in #Peace Processes in East Africa. In my remarks, I emphasized that young women are pivotal in building peaceful and inclusive communities, and their active involvement in peace efforts is essential for creating sustainable peace and enhancing community resilience. I noted that young women face numerous barriers to participation in #peacebuilding, including societal norms, gender discrimination, and limited access to education and resources and, these challenges are compounded in conflict and post-conflict settings, where young women's voices are often marginalized, and their contributions undervalued. To enhance young women's role in #peacebuilding and #peacemaking, I proposed the following recommendations; 💫Ensure that young females have access to quality education. And strengthen advocacy for peace education to be included in the school curriculums. 💫Building the #capacity of young women to understand the complex nature of conflicts and equip them with the right tools and skills to respond to the effects and root causes of violent conflict. 💫Strengthen stakeholders’ advocacy and support towards the #development and implementation of the #YPS and #WPS agendas at the national level. 💫Addressing the barriers to young women’s participation in decision-making processes including the negative gender and social norms, and limited access to resources. 💫Increase funding for young women-led initiatives. These interventions also contribute to the #Agenda2063 and other youth development initiatives.

Today is International Youth Day 👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽 Half of the people on our planet are 30 or younger, and this is expected to reach 57% by the end of 2030. Survey shows that 67% of people believe in a better future, with 15 to 17 year-olds being the most optimistic about this. The majority of people agree that the age balance in politics is wrong. More than two thirds (69%) of people across all age groups agree that more opportunities for younger people to have a say in policy development/change would make political systems better. To this end, the National Native Title Council Youth Delegation to the twenty-third session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was adjusting the balance and prioritising youth policy voices. The theme for the May 2024 session was ‘Enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination in the context the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: emphasising the voices of Indigenous youth’. Three NNTC delegates delivered interventions advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and interests. It is through raising these voices on an international level and supporting youth to push their agendas that we can look to a positive future. #nntc #InternationalYouthDay #IndigenousYouth #Indigenouspeoples #Indigenousknowledge Image: C Collard, UN NNTC Youth Delegation, 2024 Matthew Storey / Donna Ward Storey / Alexandra Hill / Romany Tauber

📣 The results are out! #EUyouthstakeholders We have published the list of ❗41❗ European #youth organisations selected to become members of the EU Youth Stakeholders Group. This group is a legacy of the #EuropeanYearofYouth #EYY. It will connect the EU institutions with EU national youth councils, EU member states ministry representatitives, European youth organisations and stakeholders, and youth researchers. The group will kick off its work in 2025. It is important to note that the European Commission will continue to engage and partner with all European youth organisations (members of this group or not!), which contribute to the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy and support the learning #mobility,#volunteering, democratic #participation and development of young people in all their diversity. Read more about the call results and the selected organisations here https://lnkd.in/ezjvkXxj

The importance of youth participation in shaping policy. The future is now.

Are we wiping out the few remaining spaces for youth politics where youth could practice and learn about democratic values and systems? Be it in Nepal or any other developed European country, youth political participation is rapidly dwindling, alarms a fresh report published by UNDP. It underscores a global decline in party memberships by youth and their active participation, providing governments and political parties a few important insights to help respond to the decline urgently. "The rise of social media, the perceived lack of efficacy of traditional political parties," the report states, "makes political parties less attractive for young people". Read more: https://lnkd.in/dRExZryp UNDP UNDP in Europe and Central Asia Swarnim Waglé Khimlal Devkota Youth For The United Nations United Nations Youth Office Advocacy Group for African Youth at the United Nations United Nations Youth Assembly Model United Nations Beniam Gebrezghi RAHUL SHAH Binita Karki Sanjay Pariyar Sunita Chaudhary Barsha Lekhi