UNHABITAT-Global Youth Help Desk-Newsletter

[Eduard Mihalas]

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	What's New? |    Feb , 2012
Introduction
The Global Youth Help Desk is a UN-Habitat initiative, developed in collaboration with partners, to provide up-to-date information on urban youth issues, regionally and globally. The site aims to promote best practices, knowledge sharing and action on urban youth issues. This initiative is an outcome of the UNHABITAT Youth Opportunities Fund. It is also an aggregator of news and views on youth and development and perhaps the only place where you will see all the research being undertaken on youth and development. We bring you this periodic newsletter to alert you to the new uploads that you may have missed or wished to revisit. We introduce you to our Youth Project grantees and the progress they are making in their work. The Newsletter is also to update you on the new documents, training material that has been posted on globalyouthdesk.org. Here’s also a glimpse of the latest in youth and development research! What is your point of view? What new on the youth front? Do you have or know of news that you might like to share with our readers? Write in. Read it, share it and log in to globalyouthdesk.org. And don’t forget to send us your comments. We look forward to interacting with you through globalyouthdesk.org! It’s your portal! Make it your home space! And tell us what you would like to see on the Global Youth Help Desk!

Theme of this issue

Given recent events, such as the appointment of a Special Representative on Youth to the Secretary-General and debates and discussions about paving the way ahead for youth representation at a global level, the United Nations has brought the youth into the spotlight! Since the “Youth 21: Building for Change Stakeholder Meeting” in Nairobi, UN-HABITAT, along with other agencies, has been pioneering the movement to promote youth leadership and inclusive governance. Hence this month’s newsletter is dedicated to the topic of ‘Youth: 21’!

Youth Projects

Al Toque Negro: La Juventud afrodescendiente fortalece su identidad, ejerce sus derechos y transforma su medio. As part of the mobilization around the 2011 International Year of People of African Descent, the project "The Black Touch: Young Africans strengthen their identity, exercise their rights and transform their environment" proposes a territorial approach in Montevideo to convene and promote participation of youth of African descent. Work is expected to strengthen ethnic-racial identity and gender in the construction of subject of rights and local development actors with a strong emphasis on promoting leadership and ownership. There will be workshops on human rights with emphasis on the collective rights of African descent and citizen participation. http://globalyouthdesk.org/YouthFund/ArticleView.aspx?vid=204 Youth Economical Empowerment This projects aims at improving the economical status of 30 disadvantaged youth through empowering them to establish, run, and develop micro-projects, and technical training in four demanded fields. A workshop with the loaning institutions will also empower these youths by facilitating the loaning procedures. The website will permanently contribute in empowering youths. These will contribute in improving the economical status of the participants and motivate other youths to adopt this idea. http://globalyouthdesk.org/YouthFund/ArticleView.aspx?vid=161

vStories: caught on camera

"We want peace!": Emmanuel Jal at Youth 21 Emmanuel Jal is a South Sudanese musician and former child soldier. While studying in Kenya, Jal started singing to ease the pain of what he had experienced. He also became very active in the community, raising money for local street children and refugees. In this video, Jal performs at the Youth 21 Planning Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. http://globalyouthdesk.org/Youth21/Youth21_Home/Youth21_Article.aspx?mid=77 The UN Secretary-General’s opening message on Youth 21 The video shows the message of the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, on the Youth 21 initiative, where he recognizes the importance of including youth in UN programmes and policies. He also encourages governments to include young people in their work. http://globalyouthdesk.org/Youth21/Youth21_Home/Youth21_Article.aspx?mid=76

eStories: what’s being said?

YDO launches "Youth Economical Empowerment" project, funded by UN-HABITAT. The Youth Development Organization (YDO) began the second phase of their project entitled “Youth Economical Empowerment” by starting the selection process of participants who would establish their own micro-projects in different fields as a source of income to alleviate their poverty. The project itself has four phases, which will train the participants on how to select, design, develop, study and implement their micro-projects on the basis of scientific principles to ensure their successful realization. http://globalyouthdesk.org/eStories/eStoryView.aspx?vid=140 The Nairobi Declaration: Recommendations from the Youth 21 building for change stakeholder meeting & global youth leadership forum on inclusive governance. Youth 21 identified several opportunities and reflected on the challenges arising out of the current global development context. It noted the willingness of young women and men across the globe to play a more determinative role in democratic governance and sustainable development processes. It called for the removal of social, economic, and political barriers to youth participation, youth leadership and inclusion of youth within and outside the UN system. http://globalyouthdesk.org/Youth21/Youth21_Home/Youth21_Article.aspx?mid=83 Global Youth Leadership Forum on Inclusive Governance Transcript of the speech made by Aeneas C. Chuma, head of the United Nations in Kenya, on the topic of Youth Engagement in the United Nations system. In his speech, Aeneas Chuma talks about the importance of giving youth the chance to participate, as stakeholders rather than spectators, in sustainable development processes. http://globalyouthdesk.org/Youth21/Youth21_Home/Youth21_Article.aspx?mid=82   Air on Web: food for thought   Youth should learn from holocaust to prevent future intolerance. Young people must learn from the past in order to prevent intolerance from occurring in the future, according to the UN Human Rights chief. Navi Pillay says studying events like the Holocaust, teaches the youth how hateful words can have dire consequences. http://globalyouthdesk.org/Youth21/Youth21_Home/Youth21_Article.aspx?mid=60 Job-seeking youth hard hit by global economic crisis. Today, nearly 76 million young people worldwide are unemployed, according to the World Youth Report released by the UN. Sergio Iriarte with the ILO’s Youth Employment Programme says that a major problem is that young people desperately need work experience in order to get a job. http://globalyouthdesk.org/Youth21/Youth21_Home/Youth21_Article.aspx?mid=59   Photo of the moment: Picture perfect   United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon on the Youth 21 Platform Norwegian Junior Minister for International Development, Mr. Arvinn Gadgil, takes part in a meeting between UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN-Habitat's Executive Director Joan Clos. http://globalyouthdesk.org/Youth21/Youth21_Home/Youth21_Article.aspx?mid=57 The Duty of Youth is to Challenge Corruption UN-HABITAT launched a new campaign in conjunction with the Youth 21 meeting which takes place from 15 - 18 March, 2012. This campaign is titled "Let's Get In" and aims to compile photos from youth, from all over the world, making a statement by leaving creative, meaningful messages on their hands. http://globalyouthdesk.org/Youth21/Youth21_Home/Youth21_Article.aspx?mid=62   Jon-Andreas Solberg, Doug Ragan, Padma Prakash, Eric Luguya, Abhijit Surya [cont...@globalyouthdesk.org] Hosted by www.eSocialSciences.org on behalf of UN-HABITAT Global Youth Help Desk, IRIS Knowlede Foundation, International Infotech Park, Tower 1, third floor, Vashi, Mumbai 400703. To unsubscribe this newsletter click on UNSUBSCRIBE