WAGGGS #YouthDay Initiative: #IToldMyStoryTo

Want to get involved in International Youth Day on August 12? WAGGGS is hosting a social media campaign to raise awareness about the actions girls worldwide have taken in their communities!

What have you done in the past year to contribute to your community? How are you engaged in your neighborhood or with global issues?

Opportunities, especially for young women, to be involved politically, economically and socially in their communities, countries and on a global level are few and far between. International Youth Day is an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of girls and young women as agents of change and as volunteers on the ground. It also gives us the chance to celebrate girls' contributions to development of their communities and governments.

Tell your story! 

Did you do the Global Action Theme (GAT) badge? Did you participate in or organize a World Thinking Day event? Did your Gold, Silver, or Bronze Award address issues such as hunger, poverty, or social injustice? All of these actions contribute to civic engagement and actively contributing to your community.

Help raise awareness that young people make an essential contribution to these goals! Share your story of civic engagement. You could tell your story to your school, your teacher, at an assembly with your community, your friends, your workplace, your local council, your Government! Share who you have told your story to on social media using the hashtags #Itoldmystoryto and #YouthDay and don’t forget to tag us @wagggs_world.

Youth in action: 12 stories of change 

Look out for 12 stories of change from Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from Member Organisations of all five WAGGGS regions, working towards the Millennium Development Goals, which were goals established by the UN in 2000 that are coming to a close now (you can read about the new Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, here).

WAGGGS will be sharing a story of change every two hours starting Tuesday 11 August. This will end on International Youth Day 12 August with exciting findings from our research on the Global Action Theme badge, which focused on ways in which girls and young women helped to deliver the Millennium Development Goals.

 Follow the stories and our research results on our Twitter and Facebook pages and on our website here.

More resources and information are available here: http://www.wagggs.org/en/internationaldays/InternationalYouthDay

Sustainable Development Goals Adopted + Child-Friendly Version

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of goals/targets that the United Nations will set from the years 2015-2030. The series of goals are important for identifying funding needs for projects and programs as well as creating measurable targets so the countries can see their progress.

On August 2, all member states of the UN have agreed to adopt the SDG agenda, which will not be officially adopted until September. The goals not take go into effect until January 2016, when the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are completed.

Alongside the adoption, there has been a release of a child-friendly version for parents, teachers, and volunteers to work with children around the world and teach them about the new SDGs, or "Global Goals." This is a great opportunity to talk with young children about the UN, human rights, and global issues around poverty, hunger, discrimination, and the environment. The child-friendly version is available here: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SDGs-child-friendly.pdf

Adults and youth can check out the full SDG agenda here: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/7891TRANSFORMING%20OUR%20WORLD.pdf

A press release from the UN with more information can be seen here: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/08/transforming-our-world-document-adoption/
and here: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51546#.VcDFiflVikp

UN Climate Action Video Contest Deadline: August 17

The UN Envoy on Youth is giving away the opportunity to attend the upcoming climate conference COP 21, which will be held in Paris, France this December! Attending COP is an amazing opportunity to demonstrate the impact you and other youth have had on influencing climate change policies and actions. For more information about COP, please check out this website: http://www.cop21paris.org/

Below is from a press release from the UN Envoy on Youth, available here: http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2015/06/lights-camera-paris-win-way-cop21/ 

If you are between the ages of 18 and 30, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) wants to hear about your inspiring actions for Climate Change.

Think about a project or campaign you are involved in to combat climate change, an action which convinced your parents, school or college to take climate action, a lobbying of your elected members of parliament or your city leaders.

Whatever is making a difference, turn it into a snappy concise 3 minute video and join the competition.

Some key questions to answer are:
• Why did you choose to engage in this climate action?
• What were some of the key things that took place?
• What were some of the successes?
• Where did these successes occur (locally, nationally or internationally)?
• How can youth from similar countries replicate the activities that have been implemented?

The Prizes Each winner will receive:
• Round trip to COP21/CMP11 in Paris, France from 30 November to 11 December 2015 (inclusive of accommodation and other expenses); and
 • Position as a youth reporter for COP21/CMP11, responsible for assisting UNFCCC Newsroom team with videos, articles and social media posts. 

Deadline to submit your video: August 17, 2015

 Guidelines
 - You convinced your school, employer or local/national government to take climate action;
- You created formal/non-formal mechanisms/spaces that enable dialogue between young people and company or government representatives on climate action;
- You contributed to government approved documents or regulations that address climate change;
- You have shaped a government’s position at an intergovernmental meeting on climate change;
- You have prevented new fossil fuel infrastructure;
- You have engaged the media on climate change;
- You have organized a successful divestment campaign.

 To submit your video, and learn more about the Rules and Regulations click here.

 The Global Youth Video Competition is collaboration between the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UNDP GEF-Small Grants Programme, the United Nations Joint Framework Initiative on Children, Youth, and Climate Change and Television for the Environment.

Sign up NOW for August 12 UN Event for International Youth Day!

This August 12 is International Youth Day! This is an internationally recognized day to celebrate youth. This year's theme is on civic engagement. Civic engagement is defined as: the encouragement of the general public to become involved in the political process and the issues that affect them.

On August 12, there will be an International Youth Day event held at the UN headquarters in NYC! This event is meant for youth (under 25 years old) and is an exciting opportunity for you to go to the UN and have your voice heard, while also meeting other young people who are passionate about global issues and social justice. You can register for the event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/register?orderid=444627433623&client_token=1b0aae330df74ff08265490586bb7a86&eid=17770214189

Didn't get picked for the event or can't get to NYC? Create your own event in your community! The UN's Envoy on Youth has some excellent suggestions for you to take with your troop, friends, or community organization. Or, you can take action online.

More information here: http://bit.ly/1L2KsS2

United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) Survey on Youth, Peace, and Security

The United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) is calling for youth to respond to their survey/consultation on youth, peace, and security to understand the opinions and concerns of youth in this area. You can access the consultation here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1U0CgqkY3vGkd7RZ2UHXJLUYNhbtd0gzyc67BJjV15gw/viewform?edit_requested=true

More Information About the Consultation:

Young people around the world face a wide and diverse set of experiences, challenges and problems, which vary according to their nationality, ethnic and racial background, gender, sexual orientation, religion and much more. In order to ensure that the declaration will truly reflect the youth’s viewpoint and include such multiplicity of perspectives, we would like to ask for your contribution. This is your chance to make your voice heard by helping us draft the declaration!

Through the questionnaire below, you can express your opinion about the most pressing aspects within the field of Youth, Peace and Security. The questionnaire is composed by two multiple choice and nine open-ended questions. The open-ended questions are optional, thus, you are not required to answer all of them. Instead, you can focus on the ones of your interest. Please, try to be specific and short in your answers.

Who is UNOY Peacebuilders?

UNOY Peacebuilders is a network of youth peace organisations from around the world. We currently have 60 member organisations in 45 countries. We have an office in the Hague coordinating the network, with four members of staff. We also have an International Steering Group, representing the different member organisations around the world, and a board based in the Netherlands.

More info here: http://unoy.org/who-we-are/

#OrangeDay: What does a future free of violence against women & girls mean to you?

This Saturday is Orange Day! Upload your short video to social media to share what a future free of violence against women and girls means to you. Be sure to use the hashtag #OrangeDay so that others can see why youth are making the call to end violence against women & girls.

What is Orange Day?

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women has proclaimed the 25th of each month as ‘Orange Day’, a day to raise awareness and take action against violence against women and girls. As a bright and optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from violence against women and girls, for the UNiTE Campaign. Orange Day calls upon activists, governments and UN partners to mobilize people and highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year, on 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), but every month. This month, the UNiTE campaign highlights the role of one particular group whose efforts are vital if a future free from violence against women and girls is to become a reality; the theme of action for 25 July, Orange Day, is “Orange our Future: Engaging youth to prevent and end violence against women and girls.”

More Info on How to Participate

Here’s how you can add your voice:

1. Take a short video of up to 30 seconds of yourself, your friends or your organization answering one or more of these questions:

• What does a future free of violence against women and girls mean to you? 
• Why are the Sustainable Development Goals, which will be agreed in September 2015, an important framework for realizing a future free of violence against women and girls?  How can young people help to end violence against women and girls? 
• What do you commit to do to end violence against women and girls? 

2. Make sure there’s a touch of orange in your video and don’t forget to introduce yourself and say which country you are from.
3. Upload your video to YouTube or Instagram.
4. On 25 July, share the link to your video on Twitter using the hashtags #OrangeDay and #OrangeOurFuture
5. Encourage other young people to do the same!

More information here: http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/orangeday.shtml

International Day of the Girl Call for Submissions Until 7/17!

Exciting news about International Day of the Girl (IDG) being held this October 9! The International Day of the Girl is a global celebration of girls and their struggles, successes, and rights. The UN hosts the event annually by collecting arts submissions from girls around the world who share their experiences. Submissions are selected and displayed or presented to UN officials as well as girls and women from around the globe! Selected submissions that are presented are often performed or acted out by girls in the NYC area. The discussions from these works are powerful and emotional--touching on everything from living with a disability as a girl, to sexual abuse, to body image and the media.

This year will be another great year for girls to celebrate themselves and put their thoughts and ideas in front of the UN! Here is the intro to the call for submissions (due 7/17!):

Imagine: The year is 2065 and girls hold all leadership positions at the United Nations and more than half of the governmental positions in countries around the world. Girls’ rights are honored, respected and the global economy is booming. Why? How did this happen? What was the event that changed everything? How did you, your parents, teachers, friends, and siblings help make this happen? What did community leaders, government officials, the UN and YOU do RIGHT NOW, in 2015 to improve our world for girls? 

You can help us make IDG 2015 the greatest celebration of girls, girl power, and the unique roles girls play in our world. We invite all girls ages 18 or younger to send us your creative writing or artwork so you can share your voice and your ideas to help shape the Girls Speak Out 2015!

Girls  have two great ways to be involved. Firstly, girls around the world can submit their artwork, poem, songs, etc. to be presented at the IDG Summit at the UN. See the above flyer for information about this year's themes! Please note the submission deadline is very soon!

Secondly, girls in New York City and nearby areas can actually perform these great works. Below is the IDG audition flyer with more info and how to get involved:

Last year, the WAGGGS UN team attended the IDG Summit! You can check out more info here: http://wagggsunteamnyc.blogspot.com/2014/10/international-day-of-girl-speak-out.html And here are a few select photos from last year: