75th Anniversary of UNESCO: Youth to Take the Lead

Basma Louis, IYCW leader

 IYCW News - On 12^th July the NGO-UNESCO liaison Committee organized a preparation meeting for the 75^th anniversary event which will take place this coming September by virtual means.

The NGO-UNESCO liaison committee works with more than 240 NGOs, but only 40 attended this meeting when asked to delegate young people under the age of 30. It is obvious that the NGOs need to include more young people in their organizations and structures.

The objective of the meeting was to develop a Position Paper on Youth and Guidelines for Advocacy to be presented at UNESCO’s 75th Anniversary celebrations. During the meeting, the delegates split into 4 different breakout rooms to discuss more specifically the position paper and the launching of the event. 

The IYCW leader Basma Louis attended the meeting and brought the proposal of the movement to be included in the position paper.

“In the meeting there was special emphasis on advocating for youth engagement in different areas and for youth to take the lead. The movement and I are strongly in line with the idea of empowering youth in different organizations, different fields and let them take the lead of the event,” Basma said.

Launching the event

At the launching of the event, the delegates agreed to maximize different moments such as the International Clean Up Day in different countries and cities, so we can give an active, concrete, and environmental impact to this event. 

The organization can also hold different sessions with guests and different panels, based on each topic and at different hours because of the time zones. Another way of launching is to organize discussions with NGOs which have common interests and stakeholders. Social media campaigning with common hashtags is also a way to promote the event with video on the social media as a strong statement.

Young people are creative and love challenges, creating challenges related to topics within the position paper for groups with a few people. It could also be a way to create social cohesion. The organization is encouraged to open a wide and large consultation with the rest of the youth to get ideas from them. 

Three major things to focus on are the interaction with youth, youth leading the event, and engaging everyone so that no one should be left behind.

“I am sure that the IYCW will fully support and follow the conclusion of the preparation meeting to bring and motivate young people to lead the event,” Basma concluded.