LOOKING BACK ON 12 DYNAMIC YEARS AND AHEAD TO THE FUTURE OVERVIEW Voices of Youth arose from an effort to connect young people with the 130 presidents and prime ministers, and other leaders from 185 countries at-tending the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995. This was UNICEF's first at-tempt to harness the power of the Internet and the new communications technologies of the time to amplify the voices of children for global ad-vocacy purposes. UNICEF sent out a call for young people to share their ideas, demands and dreams with the leaders who were at the Summit dis-cussing solutions to poverty and un-derdevelopment. There was no tell-ing what the response would be, as this call to action represented UNI-CEF’s first major experiment with youth participation via the Internet. Everyone was astonished when thousands of messages started com-ing in from across the globe, includ-ing messages from countries that had very few Internet users at the time and from marginalized young people. For example, UNICEF received mes-sages from seven year-olds who were living and working on the streets of Mexico City. Their deeply moving and disturbing words were transcribed and submitted by profes-sors and students. MEXICO “En México hay mucha pobreza. Hay niños y niñas que venden chicles, limpian parabrisas. También hay señores que tragan fuego, duermen en la calle, piden dinero.” [Translation: “In Mexico there is a lot of poverty. There are boys and girls that sell gum, wash car windows, and also there are men that spit fire, sleep in the street and ask for money.” boy, 7] “La contaminación sale de las fábricas, los carros y la basura. Puede ser mortal para los humanos y los animales. Los leñado-res no deben cortar los árboles cuando no necesiten la madera. Si la ecología se muere, los hombres se acaban.” [Translation: “Pollution comes from facto-ries, cars and garbage. It can be very dangerous for humans and animals. Woodcutters should not cut trees when they don’t need wood. If ecology dies, people die.” boy, 7] UNICEF uploaded the messages received from young people on a special web page which the leaders at the Summit were able to read at a cyber-kiosk and on a bulletin board. One boy posed the following difficult questions: “Why isn't a street sweeper respected as much as an industrialist? Why is a rick-shaw puller blamed, and then beaten, if a car which tries to overtake him in traffic gets scratched? Why are his tires left punctured, or, worse even, have his rick-shaw demolished by the driver? Because by society's standards, he is unimportant. I believe children must be shown that these people work hard, and, in most cases, work even harder than the people that get all our respect.” boy, 14 Many of the leaders stopped by to read the messages. Some even re-sponded, including the Vice-President of the United States, Al Gore, who encouraged young people “To keep up the good work.” The President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, was compelled to directly address some of the young people’s mes-sages, including the questions posed by the 14 year-old from Bangladesh: FINLAND “You ask very tough questions and I agree with your answer. Your argument that we need to change our standards about the kinds of work that are respected in society can, I think, be extended to the world at large. Many people in the countries of the North do not acknowledge how we have benefited from the work of people in the South. Not only must we change our stan-dards, we must also work to make sure that more people have the choice to live the kind of life they find valuable.” Martti Ahtisaari, President of Finland Some more hopeful messages from 1995 are: MALAYSIA “If everybody has a loving caring family and they live in a community where every-body plays his or her role then gradually the whole country will be like that. With these things the problems of today will not exist any longer.” boy, 14 EGYPT “There must be a solution to prevent peo-ple and society from poverty. In my opin-ion, [the] first priority is to provide people with essential needs. Governments must be just and [should try] not to make any religious, racial and national discrimination, and also fight corruption.” boy, 22 ZIMBABWE “We cannot change nature. If only we can help each other, respect and love each other as we love ourselves, and above all if we can accept reality, then this world will be a better place to live in and social con-flicts will end and social problems will be easier to solve. Lets put our heads together ladies and gentlemen.” girl, 23 From the start, Voices of Youth was a means for young people to speak and be heard, and amazingly, all this actu-ally started without an official website. By 1997, more technological progress was made. Instead of simply sending e-mail, young people were able to share important ideas of how they thought the world could change for the better directly on discussion boards launched by VOY. Voices of Youth’s mission was and remains helping young people learn more, say more and do more about the world they live in. Now in its twelfth year, with the help and input of members worldwide, VOY pledges to continue to grow as a vital resource for children and young people. WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW Voices of Youth works to ensure that young people’s voices are heard. Some important events in 2007 thus far include the 51st Session of the Committee on the Status of Women, the Biovision Forum, the UN Convention on the Rights of Per-sons with Disabilities, the First UN Global Road Safety Week and the annual Junior 8 Summit, which is planned for June. An important event that occurred earlier this year was the 51st Com-mittee on the Status of Women. This year’s topic was eliminating discrimination and violence against girls. In the months leading up to the Commission, VOY posted a ques-tionnaire online asking for young peo-ple’s suggestions on how to stop discrimination and violence, and re-ceived over 1,300 responses from 59 countries and eight regions. These suggestions were then com-piled into a report, titled It’s Time to Listen to Us! and presented at the opening of the Commission. In addition, VOY members participated in ongoing discussions about this impor-tant topic on the message boards. One such discussion pointed out the need for equal access to education. UNITED STATES “Educating girls means educating the whole family. Girls in the near future will be mothers and a mother is much closer to children… If she is not educated, rest of the community is useless, close-minded and living in darkness… Educating them is one of the best things society can think about to serve this world.” girl, >21 Following the Commission on the Status of Women, the Biovision’s Children Forum took place in Lyon, France. This forum explored the role of science in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and specifically focused on three important pillars: health, environment and agriculture. Again, the VOY online forum was a tool that allowed young people to share their thoughts and suggestions even if they were not present. One popular topic that was discussed was how to make current practices more environmentally sustainable. MALAYSIA “It may be too late for our generation, but it’s not too late to do something for the following generation and future genera-tions to come. So that they would not have to suffer the effects of climate change we are experiencing today. I am sure we can come up with ways to waking everyone up, so that they would see what’s going on and take action.” girl MEXICO “I think it's really good that awareness is beginning to be raised on environmental issues because big events like this could be fundamental for the future of environ-mental education all over the World...” girl, 17 CAMEROON «Dans ma région, le plus gros problème est celui de l'insalubrité, dû au manque d'éducation de la majorité de la popula-tion, c'est à dire la partie pauvre. Je suis au Cameroun, pays dominé par deux climats: équatorial et tropical. Ces climats entraînent des cas d'épidémies. Je pense que la solution serait d'éduquer la popula-tion. » [Translation: “The biggest problem of my area is that of insalubrities this because of the lack of education of the majority of people, that known as poor. I am in Cam-eroon, country dominated by two cli-mates: equatorial and tropical. Two cli-mates that bring epidemics. I think that education of the population would be the solution.” girl] On March 30 there was an opportu-nity for Voices of Youth members to raise awareness and take action on the issue of the Rights of Persons with disabilities. Two young leaders with disabilities spoke about the im-portance of securing rights for people with disabilities. They were the only participants that represented youth in the entire Convention. They prepared very powerful statements that created an influential impact on the leaders and representatives of 82 countries. This is an important issue for young people today all over the world. ARMENIA “As children with disabilities get a chance to participate and develop, they can con-tribute to their communities and societies – this not only benefits them, but all of society.” girl, 18 NICARAGUA “Que no existan más barreras, se debe garantizar la educación inclusiva y pro-gramas de rehabilitación, pero sobre todo sensibilizar a toda la sociedad para que los niños, niñas y jóvenes con discapaci-dad puedan tener la oportunidad de transformar el mundo.” [Translation: "Lets get rid of barriers, we should guarantee inclusive education and rehabilitation programs, also to sensitize society so that young children with dis-abilities can have the opportunity to trans-form the world." boy, 19] PHILIPPINES “Please treat other people, they may be disabled or not, the way you want to be treated as they say that to do things to others what you want to be done to you.” girl, 17 The World Health Organization and UNICEF organized the First UN Global Road Safety Week in Ge-neva, Switzerland (April 23-29). More than 400 young people participated in the conception of the first global declaration expressing how world’s roads can be safer for them. VOY members from around the world re-sponded to the call for action for this issue and submitted more than 200 creative essays that would answer the question on how they would im-prove Road Safety in their community. INDIA “There is a need for stricter licensing laws, particularly with regard to public transport operators. Laws could require prominent display of the driver’s license on his/her vehicle while driving, in addi-tion to safety regulations (such as ade-quate maintenance and the use of the seatbelt) and random breath testing poli-cies. Policies could provide for the crea-tion of better roads and pavements, su-pervised playing areas for children and monitored crossings near schools.” girl, 16 ARGENTINA “Al hablar de educación vial, hace refe-rencia a dos actores que se interrelacio-nan por medio de un mensaje específico digno de ser aprendido y aprehendi-do…Es manifiesto que uno de los actores será el municipio y el otro, los ciuda-danos, más puntualmente jóvenes y niños.” [Translation: “To talk about road educa-tion, there are two actors that are related and have a specific message in common. One of the actors is the government and the others are the citizens and more specifically the young people and the children.” girl, 22] The Junior 8 (J8) Summit provides a unique chance for young people to have their ideas heard by eight of the world’s most powerful leaders, called the Group of Eight, or the G8 (com-prised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United King-dom and the United States). At the J8 Summit, youth delegates from around the world meet to discuss the major issues on the G8 agenda. Together they produce a final document outlining their solutions to global problems and discuss these joint ideas directly with all the G8 leaders. Some important suggestions that came from the first J8 Summit in 2005 in Edinburgh, Scotland include prioritizing the Millennium Develop-ment Goals and promoting a greater understanding of how personal actions affect the whole environment. The second J8 Summit took place in St. Petersburg, Russia and this year, the 2007 J8 Summit is slated to occur in Germany. Because its main purpose is to promote the free ex-change of ideas, VOY’s discussion boards serve to bring the J8 youth delegates together with VOY members to discuss the event. GERMANY “I think the G8 leaders should give more attention to us, I mean they’re all talking about the future, but we are the future!” girl USA “I think there are many great causes to discuss at the J8 summit. For example, child abuse prevention, intolerance, HIV/AIDS, etc. However, all of these things can be prevented with one word, EDUCA-TION. The nations of the world need to make education their number one priority. Education would literally solve almost all of the world’s problems. People who know what child abuse and abduction are can learn how to prevent it or stop it. People who know why everyone in the world is the same regardless of skin color or creed will know not to discriminate. Furthermore, the economies of the world can benefit from an intelligent workforce. In a world moving away from a labor-based economy to an idea-based economy, our children must be educated properly. What do the less-fortunate children of the world have, if they have no education?” boy, 16 SOUTH AFRICA “I'd just like to say that the Junior 8 is very good and clever way in which we can help make this world a better place. In my opin-ion, I think the J8 helps to tackle issues by telling the G8 problems from the youth's point of view. Since we are the future (sorry to sound clichéd) we are the ones who are growing up into these problems and we are the ones who need to start finding ways to fix them.” girl, 15 Just as Voices of Youth acted as a means for communicating young peo-ple’s thoughts and suggestions to the world’s leaders in 1995 at the Summit in Copenhagen, it continues to do so twelve years later at a number of im-portant events and conferences. HOPES FOR THE FUTURE In its twelfth year, Voices of Youth remains committed to empowering young people worldwide. VOY will keep on reinventing itself as the Inter-net opens up new opportunities and young people discuss what they need and where they think the site should go. It is also dynamic resource for young people, since it is able to change frequently to better reflect the up-to-date issues that they find impor-tant. Through the online discussions young people provide feedback on how they foresee VOY. These recommenda-tions refer to what some members hope to see in the future, and how VOY can help them achieve their goals. Here are a few ideas: SOUTH AFRICA “…I for one believe that it is through edu-cation that we can change the world, with the results VOY can assist all means, by making sure that the positive words are out and implemented.” boy, 17 GREECE “VOY gives the opportunity to children and youths to express themselves freely and say their opinion about every-thing. I thank VOY for that.” boy, 16 MEXICO “I think that VOY and children can change the World together, honestly. By providing children with opportunities to take action a bit farther than they were used to, VOY makes its mission more effective; by par-ticipating, children don't only develop themselves, but also are able to have an impact on what's happening.” girl, 17 OMAN “I think what VOY is doing... is changing the world as it is giving us free space to talk about what matters to us and see how youth in other parts of the world is taking action and hear their ideas!!” girl, 15 In addition to responding to members’ valuable recommendations and con-stantly improving the site, VOY is committed to furthering its outreach. In particular, VOY is committed to ensuring that the voices of the hard to reach are heard. This includes young people living in marginalized or rural areas who do not have access to the Internet or similar technologies. One Voices of Youth member has already started “Rural Voices of Youth” in Nigeria, and VOY hopes to expand this program to other parts of the world as well. The voices of young people are strongest when they are joined by the voices of other young people around the world. The greater the number of those who take part in Voices of Youth, the louder those voices are, and the greater the chance for positive change. CONCLUSION Because some of the best advice on how to help make our world a world fit for children comes from young people themselves, Voices of Youth, as a forum for youth by youth, plays a tremendous role in shaping UNICEF’s agenda and positions. The insight that young people have on the issues that impact them the most adds a fresh, important perspective on policy. Young people are able to play a proactive role in introducing new ideas to the agenda as well as influencing the policies that will most affect them. This, in large part, is a result of VOY’s online community of dynamic young people who frequently use the site to engage in dialogue, to offer advice and ideas, and to learn. In its twelfth year, VOY’s mission is the same as when it began: to en-courage communication among the global youth and to empower young people to create positive change. Part of this entails a dedication to constant change in order to keep Voices of Youth updated on new events and information. As young people’s concerns change and as technology continues to develop, VOY remains committed to the idea of helping young people participate and get their voices heard. For more information, read past newsletters from Voices of Youth: June 2006: “Young people and me-dia: Making a big impact” August 2005: “The Millennium De-velopment Goals: A global fight against poverty” For more information contact: Maria Cristina Gallegos Voices of Youth Coordinator Adolescent Development & Participation Unit (ADAP), Programme Division voy@unicef.org CALL TO ACTION In the fall of 2007, government leaders will gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to come up with solu-tions and make recommendations on how to protect children in war. These leaders will look at the progress made since a 1996 report – which was prepared by a woman from Mozambique named Graça Machel – made innovative recommenda-tions on what can and should be done. The issue of children and conflict cannot be addressed without you! You can make sure government leaders and other decision makers know your opinions, thoughts and ideas by reading this brief report and answering the accompanying questions. Your ideas will be included in a report that will be a key document during the upcoming discussion at the UN. What to do: Read the background report below, answer the questions, and send your answers back to us by 8 June 2007. There are two ways you can send us your answers: • Online: Fill in the online questionnaire and submit • Focus group: Print out the questions, talk to young people and return the answers to voy@unicef.org, with “Children and armed conflict” in the subject line. Use the Facilitator’s Guide for help with conducting a focus group. We are especially interested in focus group responses from countries that have been affected by armed conflict and war. Thank you for your valuable contribution! YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROFILES SUBMIT YOUR YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROFILE TO VOICES OF YOUTH My name is Ani, I am 18 years old. I finished high school. I also studied in art school in the departments of vocal and piano. I decided to become a musician but when I applied for the conservatory I was told that my voice is still childish and I should wait several years. Although, I felt really upset at that moment, later I understood that from the profes-sional point that was a right thing. At that time I was already involved in journalism and soon I understood that journal-ism was the profession of my dream. I had and still have a feeling that I can be much more helpful by being a journal-ist. Now, I am studying in Yerevan State University in the faculty of journalism. I am writing about cultural and social is-sues, also about the problems that disabled and non disabled young people face. I am writing for the faculty newspa-per and for the “Sunflower” magazine, also I prepare TV and radio materials about well-known people. I value writing about problems, because in my opinion only by being aware of the problems can give a solution to them. I love writing about disabled people who despite of the difficulties they face achieved great success in their lives. Besides writing in University I organize debates about issues that young people are concerned in. In “Bridge of Hope” NGO I participate in discussions of “Responsible citizen” club and support groups. Mi nombre es Mauricio Javier Gutiérrez Gonzáles, tengo 19 y soy de Nicaragua. Bueno la verdad para mi es difícil reconocerme a mismo como líder pero talvez lo sea por que siempre he tratado de ser una fuente de motivación para la niñez y juventud con discapacidad, como para sus padres, además trato de darles palabras de esperanza. He par-ticipado en muchas actividades para demostrar no es impedimento una de ella fue la teletón compaña de recolección fondos para ayudar a la rehabilitación de la niñez con discapacidad de Nicaragua la verdad ser ejemplo, objeto de conciencia social, es difícil y una gran resposibilidad pero siempre es grato hacerlo, lograr ver las risas de los niños y jóvenes con discapacidad cuando ellos se ven como parte de la sociedad. [Translation: My name is Mauricio Javier Gutierres, I am 19 years old and I am from Nicaragua. The truth is that for me it is very difficult to think of myself as a leader, but maybe I am because I have tried to be a source of motivation for youth and young people with disabilities, as well as for parents, I also try to give them words of hope. I have participated in many activities in order to demonstrate that there are no limits; one of them was the telethon, a campaign to recollect funds to help with rehabilitation programs for youth with disabilities in Nicaragua. The truth is that it is difficult and a great responsibility to be an example to society and to achieve social consciousness, but it is always a great satisfaction to do it, especially when I see smiles in children and young people with disabilities when they see themselves as part of society.] My name is Nijatam Suri and I am currently a student in 12th grade at WWP High School North in Plainsboro, New Jersey, USA. I will be starting college this fall at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, USA. I am pursuing a degree in International Relations & Diplomacy at the Whitehead School of Diplomacy. At school I was placed in the learning disabilities classes but got a golden opportunity to study Economics, International Business, and Politics. I got a great opportunity to volunteer for UNICEF in the summer of 2006 and I was recently chosen by Voices of Youth to be a youth Ambassador to promote human rights for disabled children around the world. A MESSAGE FROM SOME OF OUR FOUNDERS AND COORDINATORS By Robert Cohen “Voices of Youth arose from an effort to connect young people with the 130 presidents and prime ministers, and other leaders from 185 countries attending the World Social Summit in Copenhagen in 1995. It was UNICEF's first attempt to harness the power of the Internet and the new communications technologies to amplify the voices of children for global advocacy purposes. UNICEF sent out a call for young people to share their ideas, demands and dreams with the leaders who were at the summit talking about solutions to poverty and underdevelopment. We were unsure what the response would be, as this was our first major experiment with youth participation via the Internet. To compen-sate a bit for the Digital Divide, we asked our offices in the developing countries to reach out to children lacking ac-cess to computers and the Internet, and solicit their participation. We were astonished when thousands of messages started coming in from across the globe, even from countries that had very few Internet users at the time. They came in English, French and Spanish. Some of the messages came from very poor kids. …They had received word of the initiative independently, not directly from UNICEF -- which shows the immense "viral" power of the Internet for social networking and advocacy. That's how VOY was born. Now this "baby" is 12 years old, doing important things that we never dreamed about at the outset. I think that the biggest challenge we face now is to find ways to link this kind of virtual participation with meaningful participation by young people -- including the poorest and most excluded -- in decision-making at home, in school, in the community and at the national level.” By Jeff Zucker “It seems fitting that the very first Voices of Youth project provided an interchange of ideas between young people from over 80 countries and the delegates at the World Summit on Social Development. The core vision was already there - that young people have a role to play in all issues of social development, not just those marked as "youth is-sues" and that the Internet has a role to play in facilitating the participation of youth and in providing access to nego-tiations and processes previously limited to a select few. The challenge that Voices of Youth took on was to use the new technology in new ways - to move beyond simply providing information to providing an opportunity for expressing opinions and beyond that to a platform for dialogue, and beyond that to a tool for active collaboration in solving prob-lems. If we are to see young people as partners in finding solutions to the world's problems, Voices of Youth must continue to support active collaboration on many levels - networking among youth involved in social change, involve-ment of youth in NGOs working for change, and participation of youth in the formation of social policy and the policy of UNICEF itself.” By Amber Oliver “Wow! 12 years! I can't believe it! I am Amber. I was the coordinator of VOY, in partnership with many of you and the UNICEF community, from 2002 - 2007.During that time we redesigned and upgraded Voices of Youth, brought in new technologies, added new content and made many, many new friends. By 2007, the community swelled to over 20,000 with more than 1 million visitors a month, we added Arabic, we built games, we provided leadership opportunities to members, we partnered with youth associations, we launched a newsletter, and we started many VOY youth-led ini-tiatives, most notably Rural Voices of Youth and Article 2. Now, on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the Special Session on Children, and with only eight years left to achieve the MDGs, VOY needs to once again rethink itself. While VOY has had great success building awareness about child rights, it has been less successful at supporting meaningful and vibrant discussions that progress past basic com-mentary and information exchange. In fact, the majority of VOY users do not post, or post only once. We are missing an amazing opportunity. VOY, unlike any other online youth community, has the ear of global decision and policy makers. It is the mechanism by which children and adolescents can be heard and impact decisions that affect them. The challenge that I put to all of us – the whole VOY community - is to harness the potential of VOY and technology to galvanize its young community to speak and contribute loudly and meaningfully. It is all our responsibility to raise our voices for child rights. The world is waiting to listen to children - let's not keep it waiting any longer.”