Youth and the Millennium Development Goals
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YOUTH AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Challenges and Opportunities for Implementation Interim Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group for Youth and the MDGs FOR CONSULTATION November 2004 Please address correspondence to: Emily Freeburg [[email protected]] WORKING GROUP MEMBERS Amir Farmanesh (Iran) United Nations Environment Program, South Asia Youth Environment Network Cameron Neil (Australia) CEO, International Young Professionals Foundation; Youth Employment Summit Australian Country Network Facilitator Catherine Kamping (Philippines) Chair, Commission on Sustainable Development Youth Caucus (Co- Coordinator of the Working Group) Emily Freeburg (USA) Lutheran World Federation, Chair, NGO Committee on Youth (Executive Secretary of the Working Group) James Bradfield Moody (Australia) Executive Secretary, Task Force 10 of the Millennium Project Luis Davila-Ortega (Venezuela) Global Youth Action Network Melanie Ashton (Australia) Earth Charter Youth Initiative (Co-Coordinator of the Working Group) Mohammed Bah (Sierra Leone) Sierra Leone Scout Organization Nick Moraitis (Australia / Canada) TakingITGlobal Robert Sagun (Philippines) Young Volunteers for Sustainable Development, Policy Coordinator of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Youth Caucus Solange Marquez (Mexico) Mexican Youth Alliance, Rescue Mission: Planet Earth RESEARCHERS AND STAFF Brittany Gleixner, Lutheran World Federation Jill Mills, Global Youth Action Network Samira Afzali, Global Youth Action Network Sarah Valk, Global Youth Action Network ADVISERS Benjamin Quinto, Director, Global Youth Action Network Dato Lee Yee Cheong, World Federation of Engineering Organizations CONSULTED Emily Regan Wills, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Leontien Peeters, Youth Delegate to the 57th Session of the General Assembly, The Netherlands, Board Member, UN Association of Holland Mila Gorokhovich, Student Global AIDS Alliance May Miller-Dawkins, Oxfam International Youth Parliament Marije Rhebergen, Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International Richard Curtain, Curtain Consulting Tomislav Tomasevic, Friends of the Earth Croatia The Ad Hoc Working Group on Youth and the MDGs wishes to thank the United Nations Programme on Youth in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) for their assistance in preparing this report. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 PART I. EXISTING YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT POLICY ................................................. 7 A. YOUTH AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS .................................................................................................... 8 Youth Policy .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 B. YOUTH COUNCILS, PARLIAMENTS AND REGIONAL PLATFORMS......................................................... 9 C. YOUTH AND THE UNITED NATIONS ............................................................................................................. 9 Youth Delegates to the General Assembly............................................................................................................. 9 Youth delegates to UN Commissions................................................................................................................... 10 Youth and UN Agencies ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Youth and Sustainable Development ................................................................................................................... 11 D. YOUTH AND MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS .......................................................................................... 12 E. YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 12 F. YOUTH AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ......................................................................... 13 PART II. YOUTH AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ........................................................... 14 GOAL 1: ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER........................................................................... 15 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Increasing the Availability of Data on Youth living in Poverty ........................................................................... 15 Youth Engagement in Poverty Reduction Strategy Processes (PRSPs) ............................................................... 16 Youth and rural development............................................................................................................................... 18 Youth in urban slums ........................................................................................................................................... 18 Youth vigilance in combating corruption............................................................................................................. 19 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 20 GOAL 2: ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION............................................................................... 21 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 21 Encouraging School Participation ........................................................................................................................ 21 Young People as Students and Teachers .............................................................................................................. 22 Curriculum ........................................................................................................................................................... 23 Education and Information Communication Technologies (ICTS)...................................................................... 24 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 25 GOAL 3: PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN ........................................................... 26 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 26 Expanding and supporting the education of young women and girls ................................................................... 26 Empowering young women to help themselves ................................................................................................... 27 Promotion of Gender Equity in Education ........................................................................................................... 28 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 29 GOAL 4: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY.............................................................................................................. 30 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 30 Education ............................................................................................................................................................. 30 Youth Training Youth .......................................................................................................................................... 31 Youth actions for clean water and sanitation to promote public health................................................................ 32 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 32 GOAL 5: IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH ......................................................................................................... 33 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 33 Education ............................................................................................................................................................. 33 Training Young People in the Health Sector........................................................................................................ 34 Sharing Best Practice ........................................................................................................................................... 35 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................................................