UN Youth Delegates Advocacy training

Last week the European Youth Forum hosted the United Nations advocacy meeting in Brussels, a three-day training session for UN Youth Delegates 2015-2016.

This training was a great opportunity for the newly appointed UN Youth Delegates to learn more about their key role and to learn more about the UN system, its mechanisms and procedures. Special sessions were dedicated to the World Programme of Action for Youth, the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development, the Post-2015 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The delegates explored and discussed the links between the UN, youth NGOs and young people in general. The three days were also a chance for the delegates to get to know each other better, which is essential to build and strengthen joint advocacy actions.

A special focus was dedicated to the Third Committee. As there will be a youth resolution voted this year by the UN General Assembly, the UN Advocacy Meeting looked at the context of the resolution, past resolutions and tips of making wording proposals for resolutions in the frame of the Third Committee. This upcoming resolution will be the first opportunity to consider youth development in the context of the newly adopted global sustainable development agenda. The Youth Forum hopes that it will be the opportunity to define clearly the role of youth in the implementation, monitoring and accountability of the post-2015 agenda.

The delegates had the chance to exchange with the UN Youth Envoy, Ahmad Alhendawi over a skype session. They also watched a documentary video, produced by the Youth Forum, about the experience of a UN Delegate: « The YoUNg ».

The Youth Forum wants to thank the facilitators who made this meeting possible and all the UN Youth delegates who took part, with a special mention to the ones from Ireland that are having delegates to the UN for the first time!