“I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the overarching global challenge of sustainable development – and how we can bring all partners together to advance this cause,”Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks at the UN Headquarters in New York entitled ‘Partnering for Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.’

The special ECOSOC event is organized by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Office for Partnerships, the UN Global Compact and the Global Partnerships Forum.

The event brought together these bodies as well as Member States, the private sector, foundations and civil society to boost efforts towards reaching the MDGs by the target deadline and to promote thinking on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

“Technological learning and innovation capacity is critical to enable the provision of essential amenities to all and is therefore fundamental to ensuring overall sustainable development,” Néstor Osorio, president of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said in his opening remarks.

“The absence of such capabilities results in limitations to application of existing technologies in all sectors, including those of public importance such as health, education, agriculture and climate change, to name but a few,” Mr. Osorio continued.

He noted that the messages emerging in today’s meeting dovetail with the key outcomes of yesterday’s ECOSOC Development Cooperation Forum special policy dialogue on private philanthropic foundations in the post-2015 setting.

“To achieve robust development results in future, a renewed global partnership for development must embrace diversity and recognize the roles of all stakeholders, including those of philanthropic organizations,” Mr. Osorio said to that group.

Today’s event features policy dialogues held in the morning and “partnerships clinics” in the afternoon focusing on potential solutions to development challenges facing Africa, as well as a keynote address from Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which awards a prize for good governance and leadership in Africa.

Given the importance of partnerships in the UN’s work, Mr. Ban announced today that he will propose the creation of a new UN Partnership Facility “to capture the full potential for partnership.”

“The Facility would help us deliver at scale – globally and at country level– across the range of UN mandates, goals and values,” Mr. Ban said. He added that the UN agencies, funds, programs and departments would continue to conduct the majority of related activities, but the Facility would strategically and systematically fill in any gaps, as well as build and strengthen partnership services.

The recommendations from today’s events will be presented to ECOSOC’s high-level ministerial meeting in July.

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Photo: ECOSOC discusses ‘Partnering for Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.’ UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

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Salesian Missions is one of the many nonprofit organizations working in collaboration with the United Nations and UNICEF to help the world’s poorest youth break the devastating cycle of poverty. Salesian Missions  holds a “Special Consultative Status” with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

To mark the day, UNICEF released the paper Generation 2025 and beyond: The critical importance of understanding demographic trends for children of the 21st century. This report forecasted a four percent increase in the global population of children by 2025, but added that child population-growth will shift significantly to countries in the South.

Almost one in three children under the age of 18 will be born in Africa, the study reported. It went on to note that deaths of children under the age of five will continue to increasingly occur in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in pockets of poverty and marginalization of heavily populated, low-income countries, and in least developed nations.

“What is important is whether the world, as it prepares for the post-2015 agenda, takes account of this fundamental and unprecedented shift,” said a co-author of the study, David Anthony of UNICEF in a recent press release. “We must do everything possible so these children get an equal chance to survive, develop and reach their full potential.”

“For least developed countries, serious consideration must be given to how to meet the needs of children, especially in health and education,” UNICEF said in the release.

The UNICEF report recommends targeting investments to areas where children will be born; focusing on neglected groups, especially in high-population, middle-income countries; reaching the poorest and most isolated households; and urgently tackling the issue of old age dependency.

In honor of Universal Children’s Day — focusing on the new UNICEF report — Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs providing hope and opportunity for youth that focus on the health and education for the world’s poorest.

Cambodia

More than one third of Cambodians live below the poverty line – surviving on less than $1 a day –according to UNICEF. To provide youth with greater opportunity, Salesian Missions partnered with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Education to open six vocational training centers. Approximately 1,300 youth ages 16 to 21 are preparing for their futures in two-year vocational training programs.  With their diploma, students take with them skills in mechanics, welding, computers, printing and communication – as well as the hope for a new Cambodia. New programs are already beginning supporting providing more youth a path out of poverty. At Don Bosco Vocational Center Kep first year students have already commenced programs in social communication, front office assistance, housekeeping and tailoring and electricity.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia is home to more than four million orphans, or 12 percent of all children.  More than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of AIDS, according to UNICEF.  The CARING Orphans and Vulnerable Children project in Ethiopia is funded by USAID to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. The program increases access to youth orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, and provides holistic care, community reintegration, and support for 60,000 orphans, street youth and children who have been made vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS. To date, more than 13,000 orphans and vulnerable children have received services ranging from shelter and care, formal education, non-formal education and economic empowerment activities.

India

Building the skills of India’s rapidly rising workforce is a key focus for reducing poverty, according to the World Bank. Nearly 44 percent of India’s work force is illiterate and only 17 percent has secondary schooling. To increase the potential of India’s youth, Salesian Missions is facilitating four projects dedicated to skills training in rural areas. The projects are a collaboration between Bosco Academy for Skills and Employment (BASE) and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) of the Indian government. Young people are trained in their interest areas, taking into consideration their unique capacities, skills and talents. Choices include welding, chauffeuring, auto mechanics, data entry operation, desktop publishing, secretarial skills, retail sales, IT services and others.

South Africa

In South Africa, youth are saying “yes” to learning job skills through the Don Bosco “Youth Employment Skills” project (YES). The YES project began in 2002 with a grant from USAID, focused on youth who want to enter the job market. Youth study four sets of skills: computer literacy and office management, computer maintenance and repair, bricklaying, and tiling and mosaic. They also learn life skills, set personal goals and learn resume writing and interview skills. A full-time job placement counselor works with the business sector regarding potential job opportunities. Empower girls through education South Africa has one of the world’s highest crime rates, according to UNICEF. While violence impacts everyone, gender-based violence is a significant problem. Girls who live on the street face violence, drug addiction, abuse and other dangers. The “Unwind Your Mind” camps are specifically-designed to encourage girls to talk about what brought them to the street and consider their goals for the future. They also looked at the importance that young women play in society.

Uganda

Uganda ranks 157 out of 182 countries in the 2007 Human Development Index. The people of Uganda are working to rebuild after decades of war which left many displaced, as well as to combat the serious increase of HIV/AIDS, which has left millions of children orphaned. The Don Bosco Children & Life Mission offers hope to at risk boys, ages 8 to 17, through a variety of programs. As they grow and develop, boys move through different stages until they reach the final goal of an independent, productive life.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – Our Work

UNICEF –  On Universal Children’s Day, look to the future, says UNICEF

Unicef paper – Generation 2025 and beyond: The critical importance of understanding demographic trends for children of the 21st century

The post UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY: Salesians Highlight Programs that Bring Hope to the World’s Poorest Youth by Providing Education, Opportunity to Break the Cycle of Poverty first appeared on MissionNewswire.