Last week I met with our co-hosts of the forthcoming CIVICUS World Assembly, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, for what promises to be another important event for CIVICUS, its members and its partners. While in Scotland I also met up with the Scottish Youth Parliament. With the support of Oxfam in Scotland, they are taking the lead in the organisation of the first ever CIVICUS Youth Assembly. To introduce you to this opportune event I have asked my colleague, Roseline Zigomo, the World Assembly Manager, to write this week’s column. Roseline will update you on the exciting plans to increase youth participation and voice at the World Assembly. If you are a young person yourself, or if you have young people in your organisation or network, then please read on since this is an opportunity you would want to share with your networks. One thing I’d like to share here now is that participation is 100% free for chosen delegates and will include all accommodation, food and social programme events for the week.
To find out more about the Youth Assembly, please visit www.civicusyouth.org. This website is regularly updated to show the latest additions to the programme, speakers and the event as a whole. Warm regards, Kumi Naidoo.
CIVICUS Youth Assembly to urge for ‘Accountability to Future Generations’
By Roseline Zigomo, CIVICUS World Assembly Manager
We have all heard that young people are the future leaders. But has this not become a mere slogan, a clichéd statement that both politicians and civic leaders spout at appropriately convenient times? Whether yes or no, CIVICUS is paying more than just lip service to this statement. Finally, the Youth Assembly has come to the World Assembly!
You may ask yourself what is the Youth Assembly (YA)? And what is the World Assembly (WA) for that matter? Both of them are CIVICUS events: the former is a logical outcome of the latter. The CIVICUS World Assembly has proved itself to be a primary venue for civil society to share ideas and experiences on strengthening citizen participation. The central goal is to convene a diversity of civil society voices and the voices of civil society stakeholders, such as government, business, donors and media, from different regions across the globe, exchanging experiences, challenges, successes and dreams and, most importantly, concrete ideas for a more equitable and just world.
It is imperative that all the voices of the global village be heard in these discussions, and at the risk of stating the obvious – this includes women and youth. At the 7th World Assembly this May, for the first time, young people will get the opportunity to hold their very own Assembly. The Youth Assembly will run prior to the World Assembly from the 22nd to the 23rd May, overlapping one of the days with the World Assembly. The Youth Assembly is being run in partnership by the Scottish Youth Parliament and Oxfam Scotland and hosted in conjunction with the World Assembly organisers, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO).
Although youthful voices at the World Assembly have certainly not been silent in the history of the CIVICUS Assemblies, 2007 heralds a new and exciting initiative by young people. The CIVICUS World Assemblies have previously been held every two years since 1995, the first of which was hosted in Mexico City, the second in Budapest, Hungary in 1997 and after that we gathered in Manila, the Philippines in 1999. The Manila Assembly introduced youth participation to the Assemblies. The fourth World Assembly was then held in Vancouver in 2001, where young people played a prominent role through the Youth Engagement Project. After Botswana in 2004, the World Assembly moved to Glasgow, Scotland in 2006.
Both in Botswana and in Glasgow, the Assemblies’ overarching theme was “Acting together for a just world” as it will be again this year. One of the cross-cutting themes discussed within the broader framework was youth empowerment. The addition of the Youth Assembly to the CIVICUS World Assemblies is the fulfilment of a long desired dream for CIVICUS. In 2006, the dream to have the Youth Assembly as a co-located event had to be postponed due to several unfortunate circumstances, chief among which was the absence of adequate funds. The 2006 WA programme was however organised to include young voices, with several workshops hosted by young people, the most popular being the maxi-workshop hosted by the International Youth Foundation entitled: Youth As Change Agents. However, a grouping of various youth organisations from around the globe and young people sharing the same vision had a Planning Meeting in anticipation for this year’s YA.
Now, in just 74 days one of the biggest gatherings of civil society globally will be held in the city of Glasgow, Scotland from 23 – 27 May under the overarching theme of Acting Together for a Just World. The CIVICUS World Assembly has undergone a make-over since the Glasgow series was launched last year, and is offering a leaner programme which will have as its sub-theme: Accountability – Delivering Results. This is a call for civil society as well as governments, businesses, media and donors to walk the talk. The exploration of this focus theme will begin at the Youth Assembly where the young people will unpack the issue of accountability from their perspective under the theme: ‘Accountability to Future Generations’.
The conveners of the Youth Assembly worked hard to secure funding from the Big Lottery UK for a greater youth initiative called “Roars Not Whispers” of which the Youth Assembly forms a part. Both the Scottish Parliament and Oxfam Scotland were active at the 2006 CIVICUS World Assembly and of course the Big Lottery is the sponsor of the hugely successful Intelligent Funding Track of the WA. The Youth Assembly will start on Tuesday the 22nd May and conclude on Wednesday the 23rd. It will be held in the same venue as the WA, which is the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), familiar to those of you who were at the WA last year in Glasgow.
So what can you expect if you attend this exciting event? Delegates are promised that they will do much, much more than listen to speeches and draw up declarations. The Youth Assembly is designed to sharpen skills and give delegates a space to think and plan solutions. It will also give you opportunities to see what other young people are doing around the world. It will offer a unique opportunity to meet and work with young women and men who are really making changes in their communities. It will also give young people a programme to develop and commit to action internationally.
In addition, all the Youth Assembly delegates will also go on to attend, as full delegates, the CIVICUS World Assembly where they will have a voice and opportunity to meet and influence some of the world's leaders in civil society, governments, business, media and donors - individuals who are committed to the creation of a more just and equitable world. Youth delegates will also have the opportunity to meet a number of young Scots who are involved nationwide in social justice programmes. These opportunities will help build global linkages and offer delegates and young Scots opportunities to understand issues from a global perspective.
Now, if you are between the ages of 18 and 25 (or you know of young people in that age group) and are interested in the plans around the Youth Assembly, here are a few points you need to take note of:
• All delegate places are 100% free and will include all accommodation, food and social programme events for the week.
• Delegate places are limited (there are only 150 places) and these will be awarded to the strongest applicants from around the world.
• Delegate places will be available to successful Applicants aged from 18 to 25 years old.
• Youth Delegate places also include entrance to the CIVICUS World Assembly which will be from 23-27 May.
• We will be able to offer a very limited number of delegates assistance with their travel to the event. More details of these bursaries will be available on www.civicusyouth.org.
Many applicants have already managed to secure some assistance to cover their travelling expenses. Therefore, if you haven’t registered yet don’t hesitate. The Youth Assembly organisers are especially keen to hear from you if:
• You are a Youth leader in the Social and Civic Justice Arena, particularly if you have planned or taken part in youth-led projects and groups in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
• You are able to demonstrate firsthand knowledge of social and civic justice work and/or through current or previous involvement in a project of your own.
So don’t be late. Register now!
Please pass the word around to young people who are interested in participating. For more information on the application process please visit www.civicusyouth.org.
Yours sincerely,
Roseline Zigomo
Below you will find all previous columns published within e-CIVICUS editions.
