Bali Youth Multistakeholder Meeting: 25th March 2013

Putting Youth at the Heart of Development

More than half of the population today is under 25 years old. The successes or failures of the post-2015 framework will be driven by young people and it is today’s young people who will bear most responsibility for the post-2015 agenda. This communiqué presents the outcomes of the BaliYouth Multi-stakeholder Meeting of 25th March 2013, which brings together nearly 100 young people working in civil society organisations from 26  countries around the world.

Young people have recently been recognised as key stakeholders in global conversations on post-2015, but more work is required to ensure that we are consistently given the space to meaningfully contribute to the decision-making process. Given that the goals targeted for 2015 are not likely to be fully achieved, it becomes even more imperative to engage young people from diverse groups. Why? Because we bring fresh and  innovative perspectives, we engage in different ways in the process, we are best positioned to identify youth priorities and because we make up the largest proportion of the world´s population today. Young people can carry forward the banner of the new development agenda with unique insights.

We have been involved in the process from the very beginning: through the thematic consultations, national dialogues, campaigns and also through participating in High Level Panel (HLP) meetings. In London, we said that poverty cannot be eradicated without the meaningful involvement of young people. In Liberia we urged panel members to put youth at the centre of economic transformation and social equity. Now, here in Bali we are calling on all stakeholders to ensure that partnerships with young people are at the heart of the whole post- 2015 process, which must include the active engagement of young people on planning, implementation and monitoring.

Youth perspectives on global partnerships 

We believe that strong global partnerships are crucial for the future of international development. Furthermore, young people can play a key role in facilitating coordination within and between states,and non-state actors such as the UN, Civil Society Organisations, the private sector, academia and the media. Fundamental principles of strong global partnerships must include:

• Clearly defined roles and responsibilities, including a policy, structure and plan for ongoing and future meaningful youth engagement at all levels of global partnerships.

• Youth empowerment for active and meaningful engagement with all relevant partners

• Commitment to transparency, sustainability, inclusiveness and redistributive justice.

• A clear mechanism for sharing best practice and ensuring ongoing multisectoral dialogue.

• Cross-cutting commitment to human rights and equality, with full recognition of diversity in identity, needs and wants.

Based on our experience, we believe that a multi-stakeholder approach to global partnerships will strengthen the post-2015 international development framework. We advocate for youth constituents to be integrated as a  key stakeholder group.

Means of implementation: What does this mean? 

The post-2015 development agenda must be implemented in a transparent, accountable and participatory way.  This will only succeed if young people, including those of us from the global south and the most marginalised groups of young people, can play an active role in the design, planning, implementation and monitoring & evaluation of the new framework. Young people’s ability to participate relies on access to information, resources and technical skills. Therefore capacity-building and reciprocal transfer of knowledge are both vital in creating an enabling environment for meaningful youth participation. Nations and stakeholders must make a specific commitment to provide sufficient, innovative and sustainable funding for youth-led and youth-serving programmes and organisations to ensure success in all post-2015 development priorities.

Young people as monitors for development and accountability 

We believe that youth participation must be a guiding principle in developing indicators and monitoring
programmes for accountability. Young people are effective monitors in development, playing an important role in designing tools for data collection and analysis. Technological advancements since the design of the MDGs provide great potential for improving and increasing the channels through which monitoring data can be gathered and shared. Access to information and the ability to connect and mobilise effectively is one of the strongest characteristics of youth. Not only do we believe that this should be a priority for the post-2015 agenda, but, we are also confident that it will be one of the strongest enablers for development and transparency. In a strong monitoring framework, development priorities will drive the design of clear, measureable and realistic indicators, and each thematic goal will have youth-specific indicators.Quantitative data should be disaggregated and analysed by sex and ageto reflect the reality for all vulnerable groups, and should be supported by  qualitative data where needed.

7 themes for post-2015

Young people want to see universal access to quality, relevant education that extends beyond primary schooling,and which integrates life skills, vocational training, and values informal education methods. We are also keen to contribute to the design and delivery of curricula and ask for more of a focus on comprehensive sexuality education, and education for sustainable development.There is a clear call for universal access to affordable, quality healthcare and youth-friendly services that are accessible and particularly sensitive to young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially those living with HIV. Young people want to be supported to make informed and consenting decisions about their health and their bodies. We’d like to reaffirm MDG 5b to further include young women and girls who face unique barriers to information and services due to harmful gender norms and patriarchy. On governance, young people are calling for firm commitments to justice, transparency, integrity and inclusive representation. Young people demand employment and access to economic opportunities that encompass fair wages, possibilities for funding and mentorship, equal opportunities, job and social security that offer chances for career development and training. Young people want to see an explicit commitment to gender equality and equity, and for sexual and reproductive health rightsto be mainstreamed throughout all priority areas. Respect for young people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities is crucial. We also want to see the elimination of sexual and gender-based violence, especially for young women, girls and sexual minorities. Inequality and discrimination must be eliminated through a human rights based to approach to development.

Young people believe that environmental sustainability must be linked to social, economic and political agendas. Within this, we want to beengaged in efforts to mitigate climate change, environmental degradation and scarcity of resources and we want to see a larger focus on the creation of green jobs. We demand that governments demonstrate the political will to establish a strong framework to tackle environmental challenges.

After Bali

The HLP outreach process should continue toincorporate the voices of youth by including issues they haveraised during nationalconsultations and at other fora. Finally, young people should be involved in writing the HLP’s recommendations to the UN General Assembly. Young people in all our diversity must occupy a meaningful space in our new development agenda. We refuse to be an afterthought.It is only with our voice and involvement that the post-2015 agenda will be a success.