Global Youth Forum 2012

From December 4-6, 2012 8 WAGGGS youth representatives will be participating in the ICPD Global Youth Forum (GYF). They are part of the 250-strong group of young people who have been selected and funded by UNFPA to participate in the Forum. GYF is part of the review process of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The Review will identify progress and achievements towards the goals set out in 1994 in Cairo when 179 governments committed to a 20 year Programme of Action to deliver human rights-based development.

The ICPD Programme of Action made the needs of youth a priority and yet in all countries of the world, progress on youth issues is lagging. Despite their enormous stake in future, youth voices have been missing from the development debate[1]. The ICPD Global Youth Forum aims to address this. Led by young people for young people the Global Youth Forum aims to give youth a stronger voice in addressing the following life transitions of youth:  

• Staying healthy
• Comprehensive education
• Transitions to decent employment for youth
• Sexuality, families and rights
• Fully inclusive civic participation

The Outcome document of the GYF will identify concrete recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders and address the policy gaps on youth across the world. The recommendations from the Forum will also feed into the post-2015 development agenda[2]. About 900 participants comprising at least one youth representative from each country, youth networks, NGOs, Governments, the private sector, educational institutions and the UN system, will agree on global recommendations for action on these five crucial themes.

WAGGGS at the Global Youth Forum 2012

WAGGGS has been involved as a member of the International Steering Committee (ISC) of the Global Youth Forum aiming to support and facilitate the process and ensure that interests and priorities of girls and young women are taken into account.

Virtual Participation at the Global Youth Forum! – How can YOU get involved? 

You don’t have to be in Bali to make your voice heard. You can be a fully contributing delegate to the Global Youth Forum in Bali (December 3–6, 2012) from anywhere – your home, your office, a local internet café if you register as a virtual delegate.  If you are a Girl Guide or Girl Scout 14 to 25 years old, visit the website  and select “How to Get Involved” to get yourself registered. Approved delegates will be given log in details to access the more social and interactive parts of the website and a 'welcome pack' that sets the Forum in a broader ICPD and post 2015 development context. In addition, this will give you access to live broadcasting from the Forum. This is a great way to get your voice heard and get involved... from a single Girl Guide or Girl Scout to a Member Organization and the World Centres.

The deadline for registration is December 2, 2012.

Background Information

The ICPD review process will culminate in two reports – a long global report capturing data from national, regional and other sources and a shorter report by the Secretary-General derived from the global report – which will be considered by both the 47^th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) in 2014 and a United Nations General Assembly Special Session of the same year.

In order to generate additional data and information as well as recommendations beyond the global survey and to provide platforms to further address key issues for the implementation of the ICPD agenda, a number of global thematic conferences on human rights, young people, women’s health, faith and culture and indicators are being planned. The first of these is the Global Youth Forum. The Global Youth Forum will produce a document entitled ICPD Bali Youth Declaration, which civil society organizations can use as reference for future negotiations around the ICPD agenda.

Objectives of the Global Youth Forum

1. Identify best practices for addressing issues related to youth and promoting their well-being and rights.
2. Generate data and information as well as concrete recommendations on youth issues for the global reports, based on a technical consultation on adolescent and youth programming experiences of NGOs, the UN, governments, the private sector and academia.
3.  Build visibility and global consensus and support for action on youth issues.