‘Aid Organizations Must Include the Youth Voice’ August 12, 2022—International Youth Day

By Yasmine Sherif and H.D. WrightNEW YORK, Aug 12 2022 (IPS) Today marks International Youth Day, a global celebration of the transformative power of young people. Introduced by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999, the event was inaugurated not only to observe the power of the youth voice, but to serve as a promise from those in power to activate the power of youth across the development sector. Yasmine SherifSince then, the United Nations appointed a Youth Envoy, dedicated to the diffusion of the day’s promise, and many aid organizations have followed suit by including the voices of young people in social media campaigns, high-level events, and stakeholder forums. In 2021, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, took a further, concrete step to democratically include youth in its governance structure and decision-making processes. Scores of youth-led NGOs applied to join a newly created youth constituency, and after only a few weeks, the sub-group had become one of the largest, most active, and most diverse constituencies within the fund. On the Executive Committee and High-Level Steering Group of ECW, young people were represented for the first time alongside government ministers, heads of UN agencies and civil society organizations, and private sector leaders — a refreshing example of intergenerational collaboration at the highest levels of humanitarian aid. Another significant step in ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Armed Conflicts Civil Society Education Education Cannot Wait. Future of Education is here Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Youth Thought Leaders IPS UN Bureau Source Type: news