Asia and Pacific Regional Youth Caucus at the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2021

May 11, 2021 Admin Team

The Asia and Pacific Regional Youth Caucus was proud to take part in the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2021 for the Side Event “Youth and the Future of Governance” and the Regional Breakout Session (Asia and the Pacific). Find out more about the key contributions and messages below.

UN ECOSOC Youth Forum Side Event: Youth and the Future of Governance

Official flyer for the ECOSOC Youth Forum Side Event: Youth and The Future of Governance on April 6, 2021

In conjunction with the previous ECOSOC Youth Forum 2021, IYCMalaysia (through IYC4Peace initiative) together with other organizing partners (UNDP, UN DESA, Asian Youth Council, Friends for Leadership, Major Group for Children and Youth, and Asian Youth Network) had an engaging dialogue together with more than 100 participants from regions around the world, to discuss the importance of meaningful youth participation and youth rights within the framework of good governance.

The panelists comprised of 6 young public servants: Dr. Roman Chukov from Russia, Ms.Dania González from El Salvador, Mr. Harold Mugozi from Kenya, Sokthea Phay from Cambodia/ USA, Ms. Sharon Lo from China / UK, Ms. Christiana Xenofontos from Cyprus, and Mr. Nidal Cherkaoui Benali from Morocco highlighted the importance of intergenerational lens in decision-making processes, in order to further gender and racial equality in the system. This includes quotas to encourage women and minorities participation in politics and policy-making as well as increased educational support and capacity building for young people to be involved in politics beyond tokenistic traditions.

During his intervention, Mr. Sokthea Phay cited the example of #StopAsianHate movement and tackled the historically-rooted and very much timely racial challenges in the Global North, at which the participants were in agreement that anti-discrimination is at the heart of global citizenship education, as furthered by Mr. Aashish Khullar of UN DESA.

Our deepest appreciation for Dr. Mohamed Maliki Mohamed Rapiee, Director of International Youth Centre Foundation Kuala Lumpur / Secretary-General of Asian Youth Council, and Ms. Noella Richard, UNDP and GCYPS Youth in Politics Task Force Chair for the keynote address and welcoming remarks, and then concluded by Mr. Gilberto Duarte from UNODC and a message from the UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth. Such institutions cited best practices of meaningful - political - youth engagement, from youth councils and centres, to YPS Elearning for young public servants, to a variety of online programmes and campaigns such as “Not To Young to Run”, “16x16” and “Education4Justice” among others.

Thanks to all participants, speakers and co-organizers for the endearing support!

#Youth4Governance #NotTooYoungToRun #Youth4Peace #WomenLead #StopAsianHate #ECOSOCYouthForum2021 #IYC4Peace #FriendsforLeadership #UNDP #UNDESA #MGCY

Recording of the session is available here : https://t.co/wV5k3yFkMQ

Moderator:

Regine Guevara (Philippines), UN Representative, Asian Youth Council;

Sharifah Norizah Syed Ahamad Kabeer, Project Director, IYC4Peace iniative, International Youth Centre Kuala Lumpur; Regional Caucus Coordinator (Asia-Pacific), Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY)

Keynote speaker:

Dr. Mohamed Maliki Mohamed Rapiee, Director, International Youth Centre Foundation, Kuala Lumpur Malaysi; Secretary-General Asian Youth Council

Welcoming remarks:

Noella Richard, UNDP Youth Global Programme Manager; GCYPS Youth in Politics Task Force Chair

Panelists:

Dr. Roman Chukov (Russia,) Ms.Dania González (El Salvador), Mr. Harold Mugozi (Kenya), Sokthea Phay (Cambodia)/ USA, Ms. Sharon Lo (UK), Ms. Christiana Xenofontos (Cyprus), and Mr. Nidal Cherkaoui Benali (Morocco)

Key Messages of Regional Breakout Session (Asia and the Pacific), UN ECOSOC Youth Forum 2021

Official flyer for the ECOSOC Youth Forum Regional Breakout Session (Asia-Pacific)

Young people in the Asia and Pacific regions in all their diversity are at the forefront of sustainable response, accelerated transformation and bold action during the recent pandemic and beyond. Where barriers exist, young people are creating informal structures, expressing solidarity while taking the SDGs into “their own hands. However, partnerships with and spaces for youth to engage are often unaccounted for and their actions are less recognized. Without young people, the Decade of Action will not yield sufficient results. For a resilient and sustainable future, we have to commit to more inclusive investments in creating diverse spaces for youth - especially those left furthest behind - to volunteer in youth-led sustainable local action for SDGs. Youth centres, youth councils, and other self-organized platforms can foster South-South knowledge transfer to support the 2030 Agenda in the region. More recognition for youth-led innovations will promote a culture of solidarity, partnerships and bridge actions in communities. The diversity of the region allows for the unique strengths of collective action.

Regional Breakout Session (Asia-Pacific), April 8

The regional breakout session is successfully led by Asia-Pacific Youth Caucus MGCY and the Asia-Pacific Interagency Network on Youth (APINY). The session has explored the role of youth in responding to COVID-19 and building back more inclusive societies in the post pandemic period, in particular on meaningful youth participation / and leadership; through various youth SDG advocacy and practical solutions.

Recording of the session is available here :

http://webtv.un.org/.../asia-and-the.../6247554922001/...

Moderator:

Regine Guevara (Philippines) , UN Representative, Asian Youth Council;

Fsahat-ul Hassan, Convenor (Pakistan) , SAARC Youth Platform;

Adenanthera S. Fatma (Indonesia) ,Regional Focal Point (Asia-Pacific) , SD7, MGCY

Keynote speaker:

Sharifah Norizah Syed Ahamad Kabeer (Malaysia) , Regional Caucus Coordinator, Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY)

Youth Panelists:

Wakana Asano (Policy Adviser, Japan), Jekulin Lipi Saikia (Disaster Risk Reduction Advocate, India), Muhammad Amir Arif (Young Humanitarian, Malaysia), Ernest Gibson ( Climate Activist, Fiji), Alex Wang (Social Entrepreneur, China), Sofya Ignatenko ( SDG Advocate, Russia)