Author name: Administrator

Background On 14 June 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 73/299 to commemorate in 2020 the 75th anniversary of the establishment of United Nations under the theme “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism”. The resolution emphasized the need to engage young people in all commemorative activities and decided to convene a youth plenary at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, under the auspices of the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session and the President of the Economic and Social Council, in conjunction with the youth forum of the Council in 2020. The Youth Plenary, an inclusive, forward-looking, youth-driven global dialogue on the theme of the 75th anniversary of the UN, was to take place on March 31, 2020, followed by the ECOSOC Youth Forum, April 1-2, 2020. As per the GA Resolution (73/299) youth representatives from the Youth plenary are expected to address the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the UN 75 anniversary on 21 September 2020, sharing a summary and outcome of the discussions. In addition, the outcome of the discussions will be shared during the HLPF on 7-16 July 2020. The youth plenary is also seen as an opportune moment to support and amplify youth voices for a peaceful, just, and sustainable world as outlined in the priority area of the UN Youth Strategy: Youth 2030, which the UN Secretary General launched in September 2018 to strengthen UN’s position as not only working “for” young people but “with” young people. As the preparation for the UN75 Youth Plenary in conjunction with the 9th ECOSOC Youth Forum were in full swing in February 2020, the world was hit by the coronavirus pandemic which has affected the lives of people in over 199 countries and territories. Due to the crisis situation, in early March, the convening bodies of the two events, the ECOSOC President’s Office (PECOSOC) and the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA), in collaboration with the co-organizers, the Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth (OSGEY) and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) decided to postpone the events for later in the year. Discussions on possible dates for the UN75 Youth Plenary are underway, while the ECOSOC Youth Forum will be either canceled or scaled-down and organized in a different format which will still allow for youth input into the HLPF in July. Despite the current circumstances, the two Member States co-facilitators for the development of the Member States Declaration for the UN 75th Anniversary, namely Qatar and Sweden, through their Permanent Representatives to UN in NY, consider youth input into the UN75 Declaration important and valuable, and have reached out to OPGA and OSGEY to collectively elaborate a plan for making this possible. Objectives To gather youth input into the Member States Declaration for the UN 75th Anniversary which will be adopted at the high-level meeting in September 2020, through engagement of key youth organizations and networks. To organize an online townhall meeting with young people representing diverse youth organizations and networks from all regions of the world during which they will present their constituencies’ input to the two co-facilitators of the intergovernmental negotiations on the UN75 declaration. Format The discussions will revolve around the elements paper that the Permanent Representatives of Qatar and Sweden as co-facilitators of the intergovernmental negotiations on the UN75 declaration has circulated to Member States. Key questions and guidance to be used for gathering youth input will be developed to guide the process. These will be shared with the youth organizations and networks who in turn are to gather input from their membership (i.e. hold virtual consultations, survey, polls, etc.) based on the guiding questions using formats which best suit their capacity in the current COVID-19 pandemic context. Youth organizations and networks will summarize the discussions in short and concise manner to be shared as input by young people during the Townhall Meeting with the two co-facilitators of the intergovernmental negotiations on the UN75 declaration. Outcome Youth input into the Member States declaration for the UN75th anniversary contributing to the shared vision for a common future and the commitment to multilateralism in tackling world’s greatest challenges. Link to the survey http://bit.ly/UN75YTH

Here are some useful resources: A Closer Look at UNSCR 2250: The UN Security Council Resolution 2250, Youth, Peace & Security is a key tool for those who want to promote policy or implement programs that enhance youth participation and inclusion in peacebuilding. To better understand what 2250 means, take a look at: 2250 explained: A more in-depth explanation of the resolution and what it means Guide to 2250: Everything you need to know about 2250 in one place: what does the resolution say? Why does it matter? What can you do with it? Guiding Principles on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding and Practice Note on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding: Guidance to key stakeholders, including Governments, UN entities, donors, national and international non-governmental organizations and civil society actors on meaningful youth engagement and participation, especially in conflict or transition settings. Agreed UN Language on youth participation in peacebuilding:  An analysis on the language used and decisions made at the United Nations in Relation to youth, peace and security in the past decades. Explore the Tools Available to You The resources below are intended to help with the implementation of 2250 through local YPS coalitions, national policy in collaboration with Governments, or programs with peacebuilding organizations. Translating youth, peace and security policy into practice: Use this guide to kick-start UNSCR locally and nationally. Framework for Action: Youth, Peace and Security, From Policy to Practice: A strategic guide by the Inter-Agency Working Group on ways to shape this field. Transforming Violent Extremism: A Peacebuilders Guide: Insight for practitioners on successes and challenges of current practices to address violent extremism, including a chapter on youth, transforming violent extremism. Network for Youth in Transition: Comprehensive, evidence-baed, free resource site to foster an exchange of ideas and resources focused on youth, conflict and transition. It includes extensive research, funding, evaluations, blogs and informative videos on the topic. Build on What Has Been Done Amman Youth Declaration: Outcome document of the Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security that offers a roadmap towards a strengthened policy framework on Youth, Peace and Security Youth Action Agenda to Prevent Violent Extremism and Promote Peace: Outcome document of the Global Youth Summit against Violent Extremism, exploring youth participation in countering and preventing violent extremism. There are other countless ways in which you can #Acton2250. You can join the conversation and share your input by registering on the Youth4Peace Portal, posting and connecting with other young peacebuilders through social media, or participating in online and in-person forums. For more information on how to get involved, click here.

For UHC Day 2019, Youth Partnership for Peace and Development will partner with WASH-Net in organizing a national  roundtable that will bring together diverse media institutions, civil society and health sector practitioners as means to raise the profile of Universal Health Coverage in Sierra Leone. The Media round table will be culminated with joint civil society press statement that reminds and urge government for accelerated delivery of health for all and in line with the UHC core demands. Follow-up media activities will be series of Radio and TV panel discussions targeting CSO and government representatives in health.The event will be held on 12 December, 11 am – 4 pm. This event presents a great opportunity to increase awareness of universal health coverage, but one challenge will be ensuring that the increased awareness will reach the audiences that need the greatest awareness – the political leaders. The roundtable event will provide a unique platform for dialogue between diverse array of stakeholders such as government representatives, health workers and civil society. It is expected that inviting varied stakeholders will increase the number and scope of partnerships around UHC and UHC advocacy. This event will also help build a united voice on the state of health coverage in Sierra Leone.The media coverage and high-level engagement will expand awareness of universal health coverage in Sierra Leone. We hope that increasing awareness will further lead to increased advocacy and momentum among the wider citizenry.

Dear IfE Members, Partners and Friends, Initiative for Equality (IfE) is all set to launch our Action Groups, providing coordination for global collaborations on critically important equality-related issues. We need your help to make it happen! Can you make a donation to support this exciting initiative? Each Action Group will start out with a global teleconference, including presentations on the topic followed by an on-line discussion for members to begin developing strategies and actions. Nearly 400 people representing every continent have already signed up for the Action Groups, so a free service such as Skype won’t work – we need funds for a world-class teleconferencing system that is able to handle large meetings, and works well for participants with poor internet connections. We also need to support the annual costs of our website and mass email platforms in order to coordinate this project. As a grassroots network, we don’t receive corporate or government funding; we only take on projects that our network members support. Please donate here to help make this happen! The specific Action Group topics include these listed below. In addition, there will be general strategy discussions among IfE members on the most effective ways forward. You can read more about these groups here, and can sign up here. Arts for Equality Refugees & Migrants Democratic Economies Environment and Resources Equitable Development Participatory Politics Ending Discrimination Friends, the world appears to be in trouble these days. We are witnessing an upsurge in conflict, social breakdown, environmental degradation, climate change, economic crises, displaced persons – and a dangerous political backlash driven by fear. Each of these problems is made worse by the growing inequalities that block participatory solutions. IfE’s global network, with members in over 130 countries, is one of the bright spots! We are coming together with serious intent: to share information, develop strategies, and plan for a more equitable future. We need your participation in one or more of the Action Groups, and we need your donation, large or small, to help us put together the needed communications infrastructure for a truly global community. Please make a donation now so we can launch the Action Groups! As soon as we have enough money to support the needed communications technology, we will begin opening the Action Groups one at a time. We look forward to your participation and support, however you can help. Together we can take urgently needed steps that will help to change the world!