Friendship Ambassadors Summer Youth Assembly at the UN

Press Release from the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation:

Friendship Ambassadors Foundation (FAF) invites youth from around the world to apply for this year's Summer Youth Assembly, set to take place from August 9 - 12, 2017 in New York City, USA.

Delegate applications are open to youth between the ages of 16 - 28 who exemplify strong potential or have made an impact as leaders and changemakers in their communities. Interested applicants who are 29 years or older may apply as an Observer.

Delegate Packages: The Delegate Packages are designed to extend the Youth Assembly experience beyond the conference and provide various learning and networking opportunities to delegates, in addition to affordable accommodation and meals during their stay in the United States.

Participants who sign up for the packages enjoy access to additional events and activities, which aim to enrich their experience in both practical and inspiring ways.

 Outstanding Youth Delegate & Youth Assembly Scholarship Opportunity

FAF recognizes that meaningful youth participation in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires empowering young people, especially those who are furthest behind.

Therefore, in addition to recognizing two Outstanding Youth Delegates at the conference, FAF is pleased to introduce a merit-based scholarship opportunity which will be provided to one deserving youth to attend the Youth Assembly at the United Nations in New York.

All three winners will have the unique opportunity to speak on the podium and inspire other young people through their work and commitment to global development and the success of the SDGs. 

These opportunities are only the beginning of the Foundation's growing efforts to make the Youth Assembly an open and inclusive platform for youth coming from various socio-economic backgrounds.

Visit our website to learn more. Please stay in touch and look out for further announcements coming soon! Sincerely, Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, Inc.

Volunteer at the WAGGGS World Conference in INDIA

Are you aged 18 – 30? Do you want to volunteer in Delhi?

WAGGGS has 10 opportunities for young women who would like to join the World Conference Service Team!

As an active member of the Movement, you would need to be able to travel to India and be available from the 16 – 23 September 2017.

You would need to cover your own travel costs and make a contribution towards subsistence and accommodation of £400. You also need to be a confident English speaker as this will be the Service Team’s working language.

You will benefit from working in an international team, working closely with young women of the Bharat Scouts and Guides of India. In addition, you will meet the WAGGGS Global Team and experience what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ of a World Conference.

You would be warmly welcome to attend any developmental opportunities during World Conference for young women.

If this is of interest, please download the application form and return it to woco@wagggs.org by 30 April 2017.

Event Tomorrow: Investing in Every Last Girl

WAGGGS is co-hosting an event tomorrow (March 15, 2017) at 10:30am on investing in girls. The event will highlight necessary steps to ensure fair financing and gender-responsive, equitable investment in girls.

Following a musical performance, there will be an interactive discussion with representatives from Save the Children, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Women Deliver, and Women, Business and the Law, Development Economics, World Bank Group. Please RSVP here.

 We hope you can join us and do feel free to share the event with your colleagues and networks!

Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Events

For two weeks, the United Nations holds a major conference on gender issues and successes. While many events are closed to the public unless you apply for a conference pass, non-profits hold hundreds of public events around NYC between March 13 and March 23. The list of events can be found here and the locations given in the document correspond with the following locations:

Girls are not only allowed to attend, they are encouraged to! It's a great opportunity for a girl to learn about organizations working on gender issues, find out about topics being addressed internationally, and for them to raise questions or comments about issues that girls face specifically. It's also a great way to learn about Gold Award topics/ideas! (Girls under 18 should bring a parent/guardian/adult with them!)

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is hosting a parallel event on March 14 at the Armenian Convention Center at 4:30pm, titled Girls' and Women’s Economic Empowerment: Addressing Gender Norms and Stereotypes. Please do attend! It will be led by Girl Scouts/Guides from around the globe!

Again, these events are free and open to the public! Check out the full list of parallel events here.

UN Women's CEDAW for Youth Helps Young People to Explore Women's Rights

Just before Christmas, UN Women launched its new youth-friendly version of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, also known as CEDAW for short (pronounced "see-daw"). CEDAW protects core human rights for women and girls and was signed by the UN General Assembly in 1989. This treaty is recognized by international law as a binding agreement and you can read the treaty in full here. CEDAW has been signed by 191 countries, as highlighted in blue below:

Light blue indicates countries that have signed but not ratified the treaty (only the US and Palau), dark blue indicates countries that have signed and ratified the treaty, orange indicates countries that have not signed the treaty

According to UN Women: 

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international legal instrument that requires countries to eliminate discrimination against women and girls in all areas and promotes women’s and girls’ equal rights.

CEDAW is often described as the international bill of rights for women, and is one of the key international agreements that guides the work of UN Women in achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. CEDAW for Youth is a youth-friendly version of CEDAW, that was authored by a young woman and young man. 

This resource explains why CEDAW is important to youth, describes CEDAW’s impact in advancing gender equality and human rights for women and girls around the world, and summarizes the articles of CEDAW, including the specific forms of discrimination that must be ended and how CEDAW is implemented and monitored.

Using the Youth-Friendly Report

The youth-friendly CEDAW resource is available here and is a great overview of CEDAW. I recommend it for a troop meeting where young people can read it and learn about their rights under international law. After reviewing the youth summary as a group, some activities you can do:

• In small groups, different groups can have a different article that they are meant to "market." How would you explain and promote this right on TV, radio, or in print? Create a full-page ad or TV/radio sketch as a group, and present it to the rest of your troop.
• Have a reflection moment where girls can write down thoughts about international standards for rights for girls. How does it make them feel that 191 countries have signed the treaty? Why is it important to have a treaty? How did this exercise help them to realize their own rights? This exercise can also be an opportunity to use the creative arts, such as poetry: ask girls to translate their thoughts/feelings/reflections into a freeform poem. At the end, girls who volunteer to can present their poem to the troop (do not pressure girls to perform their poems, as they can be deeply personal in nature; if no one volunteers, perhaps a troop leader can volunteer to go first). 
• Pretend that your troop has been asked to draft an "alternative report" to the CEDAW committee on the status of girls rights in your community and country. What are some of the issues you would want to discuss? What are some things that your country is doing well and what are some areas of improvement? What kind of evidence would you use, or how would you strategize to find the evidence you need to prove your point?
• For US Girl Scouts: The United States has not ratified the treaty, meaning that it is not subject to review by the CEDAW treaty body. Do you think the US should? Why do you think the US has still not ratified the treaty? What do you think is the value of being subject to review? If you think ratifying the treaty is a good idea, what would you do to advocate for ratification? Create an advocacy action plan/strategy, such as talking to local representatives, create an ad campaign, write a report that you can publish online, write op-eds for your local paper, etc. As a troop pick at least one idea and do it!

UNICEF also has a youth-friendly CEDAW document which I highly recommend as well. You can check it out here to decide what works best for the age level of your troop.

UN Team Event: A Girl's Journey to Success!

YUNGA Seeking Youth Advisory Council Members for World Oceans Day

YUNGA is seeking ten young leaders (ages 16-21) from around the world to serve on a new Advisory Council to help expand the reach and impact of World Oceans Day. Held annually on June 8th, World Oceans Day provides a unique opportunity to unite the world to protect and conserve our shared ocean. The Ocean Project has led global efforts to promote and coordinate World Oceans Day since 2002, as a way to raise the profile of the ocean in June, and continue to provide ways for people to become more engaged – no matter where they live – in protecting and conserving our shared ocean throughout the year. YUNGA works with a wide range of partners, from all sectors. For the last decade YUNGA has worked closely with World Ocean Network,WAZA, and AZA, among many others. In late 2008, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution officially recognizing June 8th as World Oceans Day and the worldwide celebration has been growing quickly ever since.

Advisory Council members will be instrumental in helping shape the development of World Oceans Day. YUNGA is seeking new and unique perspectives, ideas, and recommendations on developing this global event. Together, the Advisory Council and our network of partners, will work to expand opportunities for ocean conservation throughout the year. For more information go to: http://www.worldoceansday.org/world-oceans-day-youth-advisory-council-call-for-applications/

What is YUNGA?

Formed in 2009, the Youth and United Nations Global Alliance (YUNGA) is a partnership between United Nations agencies, civil society organizations and other entities that work with children and young people. YUNGA acts as a gateway for children and youth from around the world to participate in the activities and initiatives of the United Nations. YUNGA seeks to empower children and young people to have a greater role in society, raise awareness and become active agents of change. YUNGA aims to engage young people in activities of key environmental and social concern at both national and international levels.