Final Day at the World Conference on Youth 2014

 

 

Colombo Declaration adopted

 

The Colombo Declaration on Youth 2014 was adopted by World Conference of Youth in Colombo on 10 May 2014.

 

Gender equality, ending systemic inequalities, empowering marginalized youth, inclusive youth led-development, realizing equal access to quality education, realizing peace, reconciliation and ending violence have been identities as priorities for action in recommendations. 

www.wcy2014.com

 

Day 02 - World Conference on Youth 2014

It was a great pleasure to facilitate back to back two sessions on "Youth Rights" and "Poverty eradication and food security sesions"

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Cambodia Dr. Marc Derveeuw stressed the importance of educating young people on overall health and the need for school curriculums to include physical, mental health and comprehensive health. He said that the definition of health is inclusive of mental and social health. The comments were made as he addressed delegates of the World Conference on Youth (WCY) 2014 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, Colombo, on Thursday (May 8). He pointed out that social media and marketing campaigns do not necessarily educate youth on health and went on to explain how new media, by promoting unattainable beauty and substance abuse, encourage risky behavior. He also spoke of how young people are sometimes denied family planning and contraceptives, and some women still need to seek permission to use contraceptives.

The majority of the world’s youth are growing up in poverty or in near poverty situations he said, adding that the issue had resulted in some youth selling themselves in order to obtain money. He drew the attention of the audience to the issue of young migrant girls being subject to abuse. Policies should favor the girl child so as to prevent sex selection, Dr. Derveew said. Youth were urged to make policies with a view to promoting mental and nutritional health and eradicating suicides. Adolescents are the ultimate stakeholders of health, and it is necessary to ensure a proper health service is delivered to them, he said. In conclusion, he urged the youth to ensure a legal framework that protects the health of young people.

Mr. Josko Mise, President of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), spoke about the lack of accessible, affordable, stigma free and youth friendly healthcare. He emphasized the need for youth to be included in health awareness programs and discussions. In addition, he spoke about how precise and up-to-date information on adolescent health will help ease the current general lack of knowledge on health issues among youth.

Day 01 - World Conference on Youth 2014

It was a great pleasure to facilitate back to back two sessions on "Youth Rights" and "Poverty eradication and food security sesions"

 

A continuation of the roundtable discussion on “Youth Rights” was held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) this morning. The speakers of the session included Assistant Representative for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for Sri Lanka Mr. Gamini Wanasekara and President of EIJ Mr. Alejandro Blancas Alvarado. The discussion was a continuation of the discussions from the last two days, which focused on topics such as implementation of youth rights and different definitions found in different countries on youth rights, among others.
The moderator commenced the session by talking about the importance of the three factors discussed at earlier sessions: Recognizing youth rights, access to youth rights and cultural differences among youth in the world, which set background for the continuation of the discussion.

Mr. Alvarado commenced his speech referring to collective efforts from the past to ensure better living conditions in the world at large, paying special attention to the contribution of the United Nations. He believes that the three factors of the role of the youth, achieving the set goals for the youth and the role of youth in realizing their goals are of importance. He also emphasized the significance of a framework. He said that there should be a common understanding as well as a common framework for youth rights that are being discussed. He believes that the absence of a framework can lead to pressure. Further, he also added information on the steps taken globally in ensuring youth rights by referring to the special commission appointed by United Nations on ensuring youth rights. Talking about the plight of young women in the world, he said that half of sexual harassments incidents happen to young women under 16 years old.

Mr. Alvarado thinks that goal setting for 2015 should be ambitious and concrete. He also believes in
strengthening the mechanism process related to goal setting and implementation. His comment on
building new models on youth rights was that youth should be given the opportunity for direct
involvement. The second speaker, Mr. Wanasekara, spoke on how to achieve what needs to be achieved. Mr. Wanasekara believes in fighting for youth rights. “Dignity will not come to you in a platter” he said. He calls upon the young generation to take action to achieve their needs. He further explained his thoughts by referring to the relationship between the “right holders” and “duty bearers.” He believes that right holders should claim rights from the duty bearers and in return the duty bearers should fulfill their responsibility towards right holders. He believes that though the youth rights are in existence at present, there should be a mechanism to reach them. Concluding his speech, he showed the two choices the youth have: To fulfill their needs and live a “comfortable” life or to claim your rights and lead a “dignified” life.

At the World Conference on Youth 2014 - Opening Ceremony

Excited to be at the opening ceremony of the World Conference on Youth took place on May 6th in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. For the first time a world youth conference was held in Asia and celebrated youths from all over the world. Over 1500 youth participants, from ages 18 to 29, two official delegates from each country and 350 from marginalized backgrounds gathered to celebrate the beginning of the conference.  The goal of this gathering is to create an inclusive youth participation platform that enables young people to review the progress of the Millennium Development Goals and to share ideas, experiences, and innovative approaches for effectively contributing to the post-2015 development agenda and its implementation.