Saba Loftus and Kiara Worth, UN Major Group for Children and Youth
For twenty years, there have been great deliberations on how to create a sustainable future. Change has been seen at all levels, ranging from information sharing, policy, implementation and processes. What has not changed, though, is the fierce commitment of young people to be involved in these discussions and the championing the voices of young people globally.Youth form a vibrant and dynamic sector in the fight for sustainability, and the UN Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), has been actively involved in advancing the participation of young people at all levels: local, national, regional and international, in the protection of the environment and the promotion of economic and social development. This includes trying to ensure concrete and meaningful youth participation in international planning and decision-making processes.
The MGCY is made up of volunteers, youth/child-led organisations, youth networks and individuals. Despite financial and logistical challenges, it has successfully networked and collaborated with tens of thousands of young people representing millions around the world to develop policy recommendations for the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) process. The MGCY has subsequently participated in the CSD negotiations to lobby for the adoption of these recommendations, many of which have been accepted into the negotiating text over the years. In addition, the MGCY has systematically advanced a platform for youth involved in sustainability at a local level to share their ideas, tell their stories and voice their opinions. As the CSD comes to an end, it is an interesting time to reflect on what the MGCY has done and what still needs to be done.
Throughout the CSD process, the MGCY has strongly advocated for a number of key policy recommendations that we feel are cross-cutting issues across all topics. These include tackling youth unemployment, increased commitment to supporting formal and informal education systems for sustainable development, raising accountability for unfulfilled promises and inequalities, pushing for the 10-Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), and trying to ensure that the most disempowered sectors of society are not forgotten in the negotiations.
In addition to actively contributing to the progress made at the CSD on a wide range of sustainable development issues, these meetings have served as a key entry point for young people into the UN system and the complex world of multilateral negotiations. What’s more, the failures of the CSD have in many ways served to strengthen the resolve of the MGCY to participate and influence the intergovernmental process on sustainable development to achieve stronger, more ambitious outcomes that make a real difference to the lives of young people and other stakeholders on the ground.
Children and youth participated en masse at Rio+20 (a special high level event of the CSD) in person as well as virtually, signalling that young people were dissatisfied with the current state of affairs, but also keen to engage and try to push for an ambitious outcome. As well as being heavily involved in the formal Rio+20 policy processes, the MGCY also demonstrated their positions and beliefs through a range of ‘actions’ within the Summit’s Riocentro venue. Yet, despite these efforts, much of what the MGCY called for seemingly fell on deaf ears, and for many young people the official outcomes of Rio+20 were deeply disappointing. The biggest criticisms are that the Outcome Document has few actions and commitments, was non-binding, failed to promise resources for sustainability, and did not reflect the urgency with which these issues needed to be addressed. Nevertheless, the MGCY has expressed a willingness to move forward, decisively and with action post-Rio+20.
As the High Level Political Forum begins a new era of intergovernmental action on sustainability, we hope that the positives of the CSD process such as civil society participation are strengthened and the negative aspects are left behind. The one thing that it must stay committed to, however, is the development of young people, by staying open to their ideas and participation. It is a time of change but the challenge now is to determine what that change will be, if it will reflect the views of the unheard and silenced, or if it will continue to reflect the voices of those seeking power at the expense of both the earth and its people. The MGCY is committed to creating a sustainable planet, marked by justice, integrity and respect for human rights. We recognise that while natural resources are finite, human potential is not, and we will actively continue the fight until this vision is achieved. – Outreach Magazine
