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Geneva is maybe the world's NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) capital and also has a strong United Nations presence. The World Alliance of YMCAs has been in Geneva since 1878 and since 1947 the World Alliance has had consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. This means the YMCA is able to attend UN meetings and make representations through written and oral statements. We take full advantage of this status and have recently made statements at the Commission on the Status of Women (New York), the Commission on Human Rights (Geneva) and the 10 year review of the World Programme of Action for Youth (New York). We regularly attend many other UN conferences and commissions.
Once a year the so-called "High Level Segment" (HLS) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meets, alternating between Geneva and New York. In July 2006 it will be held in Geneva and, as part of an NGO Forum, the World Alliance of YMCAs will join with other youth organisations to run a workshop on youth employment.
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Statement of CONGO Committee of Youth Organisations
to the 2007 ECOSOC High-level Segment (2-4 July)
Submitted by: The CONGO Committee of Youth Organisations in Geneva.
With more than 50% of the world’s population under the age of 24, and with young people disproportionately affected by poverty, youth organisations strongly believe that in order to achieve the MDGs (Millenium Development Goals) and, therefore to eradicate extreme poverty, governments, the private sector and civil society must all work closely with young people.
We know from experience that for development policies to be truly sustainable we need to involve the people most directly affected by those policies. So we call on policy makers to involve young people at all levels of the decision making processes. “Participation is an essential part of development, for development is the process by which communities, families and individuals grow stronger, can enjoy fuller and more productive lives and become less vulnerable – including to poverty. A community may be considered developed if it ensures that all its members, whatever their age, are involved in trying to shape lives of dignity for all. “ (Children and Young People, Participation in Decision Making, UNICEF and the Alliance of Youth CEOs)
Our recommendations:
1. Governments should work alongside youth and youth organisations in relation to political youth processes. An example of good practice in this regard is the cooperation between the Ibero-American Youth Organisation (made up of youth ministers) and the Latin American Youth Forum (young leaders of national youth platforms).
2. UN agencies and governments must give support for youth led programmes, especially in the developing world where there are few youth ministries. There should be separate youth ministries.
3. There must be spaces for young people to co-ordinate their actions if development is to be tackled seriously. There must be spaces for young people at all UN and government meetings and at every level – local, national, regional and global. The current spaces are too small and need enlarging.
4. Governments must think seriously about the issue of migration and must consult seriously on this issue with young people.
5. The UN agencies need to coordinate global youth processes, something which is seriously missing at present. This should be supported by human and financial resources.
6. All member states should bring youth delegates to the General Assembly as well as to important meetings in the UN as they can defend the interests of young people. They should be given financial support to attend and this financial support should be extended to other young people too.
7. We don’t need more commitments, we need action
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To get your voice heard it is good to co-operate with other organisations working on the same issues. That's why the World Alliance of YMCAs is part of the Conference of NGOs (CONGO) in consultative status with the UN. The aim is for NGOs to have a forum for debate, planning and supporting each other and to influence policy making in the UN system. The World Alliance of YMCAs is especially active in the CONGO Committee of Youth Organisations and in the NGO Committee on the Middle East, both of which we chair.
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Another example of World Alliance of YMCA co-operation with the UN is the Youth Employment Network (YEN). This is a co-operation of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Bank and the United Nations. Its aim is:
• to get young people recognised as an asset for economic and social development;
• to create an understanding that young people are a diverse group with various needs based on factors such as gender, ethnicity, geographical location and the economic development of the countries in which they live;
• to advocate more inclusive employment policies to fully utilise the potential of all young people.
The goal is to develop a global strategy and to have national action plans. Four priorities have been identified in this context:
• Employability: invest in education and vocational training for young people – and improve the impact of these investments;
• Equal opportunities: give young women the same opportunities as young men;
• Entrepreneurship: make it easier to start and run enterprises to provide more and better jobs for young women and men;
• Employment creation: place employment creation at the centre of macro-economic policy.
YEN brings governments, experts, the private sector and civil society together to tackle youth unemployment. Youth organisations play a key role in the process. There is a so-called "Youth Consultative Group" where the YMCA shares a seat with other organisations and can make its voice heard at the highest level of policy making. Together with the other stakeholders this group encourages UN member states to develop national action plans to fight youth unemployment.
A current YEN project is the Global Stocktaking of youth employment interventions. This initiative will build a global inventory of good practice accessible to youth employment policy-makers and practitioners. The YMCA has presented successful examples to show how it is possible to enable young people to get access to the labour market.
Here
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The World Alliance of YMCAs has worked closely with UNICEF for years. Since March 2006 we have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between our two organisations to "support programmes, activities, events and networks that will enhance the development of youth leadership and the meaningful involvement of young people in creating a more just and peaceful society." The MoU focuses on three areas in particular:
1. HIV and AIDS
2. Basic education and gender equality
3. Protection of children
This is an excellent opportunity for national movements to approach UNICEF country offices to explore ways to work together to promote the rights of children and young people.
You can download below the "Memorandum of Understanding" we signed with the UNICEF.
The World Alliance of YMCAs liases with the UN Focal Point on Youth part of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, so that YMCA experiences can be shared with the UN to influence national and international youth policies. One example of this is the World Programme of Action for Youth.
In 1995 the United Nations strengthened its commitment to young people by developing the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) which is an international strategy to address more effectively the issues facing young women and men and to increase opportunities for their participation in society.
This World Programme seeks to make Governments more responsive to the aspirations of youth for a better world, as well as to the demands of youth to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
The WPAY covers ten priority areas: education, employment, hunger, poverty, the environment, drug use, juvenile delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls and young women, and the full and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision-making. In each of these areas, the Programme looks in depth at the nature of the challenges and presents proposals for action.
The YMCA works in all of these areas and has been influencing the WPAY. For example, for over a year, young people and youth organisations, including the World Alliance of YMCAs, reviewed UN member states' commitments to really implementing the WPAY. The World Alliance of YMCAs was active at the 60th General Assembly of the UN in October 2005 when 300 representatives of youth organisations united to send clear messages to governments: the WPAY needs more resources, improved co-ordination and a higher priority on national agendas.
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