World Unity Week – Youth-focused event

Youth engagement looks different across the world, and yet there is a common misconception of youth engagement simply being a ‘ceremonial’ act or a tick-box exercise. Young people are often given entry-level positions, such as internships or volunteer roles, with limited scope for growth.

We believe that young people are expertly positioned in understanding current and local contexts, and therefore able to engage effectively with processes of peace-building and grassroots organizing.

With this in mind we ask the question, what does meaningful youth participation look like in our field? And what are the strategies and mechanisms for meaningful youth engagement that we can learn from each other? How can older generations be allies to young people in creating opportunities for and supporting deeper youth engagement?

In this event with our representative from Larsa CC, we engaged in dialogue around these questions and create the space for young people in URI to share their views and questions in conversation with a representative from UNDP.