Children weigh in on the world they want post-2015
September 24th– Children from around the world are gathering in New York to demand leaders at the United Nations General Assembly take seriously their views on what should follow the Millennium Development Goals.
The Amplifying the Voices of Children event in New York today – organised by World Vision and Plan International – is providing a forum for children to call for the inclusion of young people’s voices in post-2015 development decisions.
Children and young people represent 43% of the world’s population, but their voices are regularly excluded from decisions that affect them, say the development organisations.
Children and young people represent 43% of the world’s population, but their voices are regularly excluded from decisions that affect them, say the development organisations.
This event builds on the momentum of the youth takeover at the UN led by Malala Yousafzai, and the participation of youth delegations at the High-Level Panel on Post-2015 events in the United Kingdom, Liberia, and Indonesia.
The success of these events led two High-Level Panel members to call on the UN Secretary General to support a Youth High-Level Panel on Post-2015, a proposal that will be discussed at the General Assembly.
“One in every three people in the world is under age 18. In many countries, children and young people make up half of the population. And it is children who are more vulnerable and less able to cope with the damaging effects of poverty,” says World Vision Executive Advisor on Child Rights - Corina Villacorta. “Today’s young people are also the adults of the future, who will live and work in the post-2015 world. This is why it’s critical decision makers set ambitious targets that reflect the world we want for our children and youth, and that children and youth want for themselves.”
CEO of Plan International, Nigel Chapman, says “The report of the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, released in June, recognised the important contribution children and young people can make to securing a safer future and improving well-being in their own communities.“Children and youth will grow up under the post-2015 framework and it will be a deciding factor in whether they will access quality education, find jobs, and feel empowered to demand their rights. It is their opportunities – and those of their own children – that will be most affected by the successes and failures of the framework. It is only right that their views are not only heard but acted upon as the post-2015 agenda continues to take shape.”
“Not only do I want share the views of young people from Sierra Leone, but I’m also looking forward to hearing and learning from other young people,” says 15-year-old Alice, who will be taking part in Amplifying the Voices of Children event.
Participating in the event are children and young people from Albania, Bangladesh, Brazil, Malawi, Mexico, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
About the Event:
What: Amplifying the Voices of Children: A Child Forum on the Countdown to the MDGs and the Post 2015 Development Agenda
When: 24 September 2013, 1:15 pm – 2:45pm
Where: Instituto Cervantes, New York
Plan International:
Plan International works in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty. Visit the website.
*Children and young people involved in the event will be tweeting their thoughts live during the United Nations General Assembly from @WorldVisionUN