UN Commission for Social Development

I just returned from New York and the UN Commission for Social Development (CSocD).

Highlight of the week: The adoption of a resolution that encourages national Governments to support the establishment of independent National Youth Councils. The Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has proposed for the Member States that they should all have National Youth Councils by 2015. THAT is progressive!

The UN connects with the real world
And it is important. The member organisations of the European Youth Forum have already mandated us in the Bureau to work for the establishment of and support to the development of National Youth Councils in 9 countries in 2009 and 2010:

• Albania
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Kosovo
• Macedonia
• Montenegro
• Poland
• Serbia
• Turkey

In March we gather experts from our member organisations to make the strategy for this work. Of course we are proud to have support from Ban Ki-moon!

Ban Ki-moon with help from Youth Delegates
But it would not have been possible without some great helpers. Because, yes, there was lot of scepticism. Let us not mention the big country which just had elections and does not have a National Youth Council - yet. But indeed, some countries were not exactly progressive.

Anyhow, let us forget about them for a while and celebrate those countries who made it possible. Portugal did a great job. Same goes for Senegal and Moldova. And my all time favourites from this session of the Commission, the Youth Delegates from Romania (Alexandra in the pictures is getting ready to speak on behalf of Romania in the plenary), Germany and Switzerland - who negotiated on behalf of their Governments. Well done!


More from the Commission to come!

3 billion reasons

Did you know that close to half the world's population are children and youth? Rather prosperous, right?

But did you know that half of the more than one billion people in developing countries who are living on less than a dollar a day, are children? That eighty-five per cent of the world’s youth live in developing countries, where they are 3.8 times more likely to be unemployed than adults? Industrialised countries are not far btter - also there young people are 2.3 times more likely to be unemployed than adults. And you probably knew that young people are the first to loose their jobs in times of crisis? Prosperous, you say?

3 billion reasons - 3 billion resources
Every single child and young person has rights. And no, we Norwegians can never forget the American diplomat stating "My Government can not acknowledge that children have rights" in negotiations at the UN. We will keep reminding young (and older) Americans that the United States and Somalia are the two only member states of the UN not recognizing the Convention on the Rights of the Child - till the pressure for signing the convention is strong - and convincing - enough. Same goes for Somalia. Every single child in America and Somalia deserves that.

But it is equally important to focus on each and every country that signed the convention but still did not ratify or implement it. Every Government exposing children and youth to the death penalty or to discrimination, every Government that denies children and youth the right to organize or the right to education - we shall remind them on their crimes and their duties.

And show them! Today's generation of young people is the best educated ever. THAT is prosperous! Every single child and young person living today is a source for development. A resource!

Working in organisations
I believe in children and youth making change through their own organisations. Why? Because I have seen that it works. In Guatemala rural youth gather and build an organisation that brings the future back in their war-torn villages - and the hope back in the eyes of their mothers. In India strong unions of child workers demand that they get education - and reach agreements with their employers. Young people in the newest member states of the EU take the lead in the countries' growing development cooperation.

Truly - the future IS prosperous. But someone need to remind the decision-makers what is at stake. That is why I am involved. And I am privileged. I get to work with children and youth who every single day try to make this world better. That motivates - and it makes it easier when we are fighting the windmills of bureacracy in the international institutions.

With this blog I want to share and remind. And yes, I want you to get involved as well. I will be more personal than the youth organisations sometimes allow me //even they have limits - how boring is that? // I hope you will share with me too!