European Year for Development 2015: Involving Youth

As the New Year begins, European leaders have dedicated 2015 to international development, emphasising the important role EU member states have to play in this regard. The ‘European Year for Development’ was launched in Riga, Latvia on January 9th, tying in with global efforts to outline an international development agenda for 2015-2030.

At the United Nations, world leaders from the 193 member states are in the process of debating and defining a post-2015 sustainable development agenda, which will be launched at a summit in September of this year. This new agenda will succeed the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which have directed international development efforts since 2000 but expire in 2015. It is intended that the post-2015 framework will be broader in outlook, moving towards a conception of development that’s universal and applicable to all countries – therefore impacting upon the lives of young people in Europe and around the world.

The European Youth Forum is committed to playing an active role in the EYD 2015, and will work to ensure that youth rights are placed at the heart of the post-2015 agenda. On January 15th, we joined a broad range of NGOs to launch the ‘Civil Society Alliance’ for the EYD, which aims to foster critical discussion and engagement for global justice among the citizens of the EU. The alliance provides an opportunity to discuss new narratives on development beyond a simplistic ‘North-South’ divide, focusing on global solidarity and social justice.

In addition, the Youth Forum has convened a post-2015 task force to guide our engagement with the post-2015 debates. In June it identified youth-specific targets and indicators that can be used for youth development, focusing on areas of high priority for young people, such as education, employment equality, governance, and participation. It will meet again this week (January 22-23rd) to discuss our plans for advocacy during the national, European and UN post-2015 negotiations, as well as how we can engage our member organisations in these efforts.

Despite the current economic downturn, support for international development remains high across the EU, with some 85% of EU citizens saying that Europe should continue assisting developing countries despite the economic crisis, according to recent Eurobarometer data. The European Commission has stated that, given the international focus on development, 2015 presents a “key opportunity to raise awareness of development across Europe.” The European Youth Forum is pleased to see European (and World) leaders emphasising the importance of international development, and is in full agreement on the role of young people in this process. Throughout EYD 2015 and into the post-2015 development agenda, youth empowerment and the protection of youth rights must be seen as a high priority.

Read more:

European Year for Development: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/european-year-development-2015_en

Post-2015 Development Agenda: http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/mdg.shtml

European Youth Forum post-2015 task force: http://www.youthforum.org/latest-news/task-force-on-post-2015-sustainable-development-agenda-meets-in-london/

World Programme of Action for Youth: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/wpay2010.pdf